Earn Your Adobe Illustrator Certification

Official guidelines

• 1.1 Identify the purpose, audience, and audience needs for preparing designs and artwork.
• a. Determine whether content is relevant to the purpose, audience, audience needs, user experience, and has an appropriate design for target devices.
• i. Key Terms: client goals, target audience, demographics, accessibility, etc.
• b. Identify requirements based on how the designs and artwork will be used, including video, print, and web.

Resources & Tutorials

How to succeed as a digital designer

An introductory guide to design thinking

Designing Accessible Experiences at Scale

Official guidelines

• 1.2 Communicate with colleagues and clients about design plans.
• a. Demonstrate knowledge of techniques for communicating about design plans with peers and clients.
• i. Key Terms: sketches, specifications, design process, wireframes, prototypes, iterations, change orders, drafts, feedback loop, etc.
• b. Demonstrate knowledge of basic project management concepts
• i. Key Terms: project scope, scope creep, cloud utilization and file management

Resources & Tutorials

Project Management Basics

Best Practices for Presenting Design Concepts to Stakeholders

Design Business & Ethics

Official guidelines

• 1.3 Determine the type of copyright, permissions, and licensing required to use specific content.
• a. Identify legal and ethical considerations for using third-party content, such as copyright, permissions, and licensing.
• i. Key Concepts: Creative Commons, public domain, intellectual property, derivative work, commercial use, attribution, work for hire, fair use, fair dealing, stock images and vector graphics, etc.
• b. Identify when and how to obtain permission to use images of people and locations.
• i. Key Terms: model release, location release, etc.
• ii. Key Concepts: permission to use a photo is separate from permission to use a person’s face or restricted location, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Intellectual Property

About CC Licenses

What’s a model release, and when do you need one?

Official guidelines

• 1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of key terminology related to digital graphics.
• a. Demonstrate knowledge of digital graphics terminology.
• i. Key Terms: image resolution, image size, file types, pixel, raster, bitmap, vector, path, object, type, rasterizing, rendering, resizing, image size measured in pixels vs. document size measured in inches/centimeters, etc.
• b. Demonstrate knowledge of how color is created in digital graphics.
• i. Key Terms: color mode, bit depth, gamut, CMYK vs. RGB vs. grayscale, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Drawing Basics

Importing Bitmap Images

Using Color

Official guidelines

• 1.5 Demonstrate knowledge of basic design principles and best practices employed in the design industry.
• a. Communicate visually by using the elements and principles of design and common design techniques.
• i. Key Terms: space, line, shape, form, color, texture, emphasis/focal point, unity/harmony, variety, balance, alignment, proximity, repetition, rhythm, scale, movement, negative space, gestalt, etc.
• b. Identify and use common typographic adjustments to create contrast, hierarchy, and enhanced readability.
• i. Key Terms: font, size, style, color, alignment, kerning, tracking, leading, horizontal and vertical scale, line length, etc.
• c. Define common graphic design and illustration terms and principles.
• i. Key Terms: aspect ratio, rule of thirds, foreground, background, color, tone, contrast, framing, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Basic Design Principles

Line and Character Spacing

Text and Type

Official guidelines

• 2.1 Create a document with the appropriate settings for mobile, web, print, film and video, or art and illustration.
• a. Set appropriate document settings for printed and onscreen artwork.
• i. Key Concepts: width/height, orientation, artboards, bleed, raster effects, resolution, color mode, etc.
• b. Create document presets to reuse for specific project needs.

Resources & Tutorials

Create Documents

Changing Page Size and Orientation

Setting Up Multiple Artboards

Official guidelines

• 2.2 Navigate, organize, and customize the application workspace.
• a. Identify and manipulate elements of the Illustrator interface.
• i. Key Concepts: Control bar, menus, panels, toolbars, artboards, 100x canvas, etc.
• b. Organize and customize the workspace.
  
• i. Key Concepts: using and switching between default workspaces; tabbed documents; showing, hiding, nesting, and docking panels; shortcuts and menus; customizing, saving, and resetting workspaces; etc.
• c. Configure application preferences.
  
• i. Key Concepts: General, Type, Units, Guides & Grid, User Interface, File Handling & Clipboard, Appearance of Black

Resources & Tutorials

Workspace Basics

Illustration Techniques

Customizing Workspaces

Official guidelines

• 2.3 Use non-printing design tools in the interface to aid in design or workflow.
• a. Navigate a document.
  
• i. Key Concepts: panning, zooming, pasteboard, etc.
  
• b. Use rulers.
  
• i. Key Concepts: showing and hiding rulers, changing the measurement unit on rulers, adjusting and resetting ruler origin
• c. Use guides and grids.
  
• i. Key Concepts: adding, removing, and locking/unlocking guides; hiding guides and grids; showing grids; using snap or align options; creating guide layouts
• d. Use views and modes to work efficiently with vector graphics.
  
• i. Key Concepts: Outline vs Preview, Screen Mode, Presentation Mode, Isolation Mode, Drawing modes

Resources & Tutorials

Rulers, Grids, and Guides

Lock, Hide, and Delete Objects

Viewing Artwork

Official guidelines

• 2.4 Manage assets in a project.
  
• a. Open artwork.
  
• b. Place assets in an Illustrator document.
  
• i. Key Concepts: embedding, linking, replacing, copying and pasting, import options, etc.
• c. Use the Links panel.
  

Resources & Tutorials

Move, Align, and Distribute Objects

Importing Artwork

Using Links

Official guidelines

• 2.5 Manage colors, swatches, and gradients.
  
• a. Set the active fill and stroke colors.
  
• i. Key Concepts: Color Picker, swatches, Eyedropper tool, color values, etc.
• b. Create and customize gradients.
  
• i. Key Concepts: Gradient panel, editing color and transparency stops, gradient types, Gradient Mesh, etc.
• c. Create, manage, and edit swatches and swatch libraries.
  
• i. Key Concepts: color, global color, pattern, and gradient swatches; identifying color swatch type, including Process, Spot, and Global Spot; creating, managing, and loading swatch libraries (including commercial libraries like Pantone), etc.
• d. Use the Color Guide panel to select coordinated colors.
  

Resources & Tutorials

Using Color

Using Gradients

Using and Creating Swatches

Official guidelines

• 2.6 Manage preset brushes, symbols, styles, and patterns.
• a. Open and browse libraries of included brushes, symbols, graphic styles, and patterns.
• b. Edit preset brushes, symbols, graphic styles, and patterns.
  
• i. Key Concepts: stroke, fill, brushes, brush types, width tool, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Using Brushes

Using Patterns

Using Graphic Styles

Official guidelines

• 3.1 Use layers to manage design elements.
  
• a. Use the Layers panel to modify layers.
  
• i. Key Concepts: adding, deleting, hiding/showing, locking/unlocking, duplicating, and renaming layers; layer options; etc.
• b. Manage and work with multiple layers in a complex project.
• i. Key Concepts: using sublayers, Paste Remembers Layers, hierarchy and stacking order, selecting and targeting objects using the Layers panel, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Using Layers

Moving, Aligning, and Distributing Objects

Adjusting Appearance Attributes

Official guidelines

• 3.2 Modify layer visibility using opacity and masks.
• a. Adjust the opacity of a layer.
  
• i. Key Concepts: Transparency panel and Opacity masks.
  
• b. Create, apply, and manipulate clipping masks.
  

Resources & Tutorials

Transparency Blending Modes

Clipping Masks

Official guidelines

• 4.1 Use core tools and features to create visual elements.
• a. Create graphics or artwork using a variety of tools.
  
• i. Key Tools: drawing tools, painting tools, Pencil tool, Paintbrush tool, Pen tool, Curvature tool, shapes, Blob Brush tool, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Core Illustrator Tools

Drawing with Pen, Curvature, and Pencil

Overview of Painting

Official guidelines

• 4.2 Add and manipulate text using appropriate typographic settings.
• a. Use type tools to add typography.
  
• i. Key Tools: Point Type tool, Area Type tool, Type on a Path tool, Vertical Type tool, Vertical Area Type tool, Vertical Type on a Path tool, and Touch Type tool
• ii. Key Concepts: difference between area type, point type, and type on a path; placeholder text.
• b. Use appropriate character settings.
  
• i. Key Settings: font, size, style, alignment, kerning, tracking, leading, horizontal and vertical scale, color used to enhance readability and hierarchy, enhanced type, etc.
• c. Use appropriate paragraph settings.
  
• i. Key Settings: indentation, alignment, paragraph spacing
• d. Convert text to graphics.
  
• i. Key Concepts: converting text to outlines, benefits/disadvantages.
• e. Manage text flow.
  
• i. Key Concepts: multiple text areas, managing overflow text, threading text, wrapping text, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Creating Text

Fonts and Typography

Formatting Paragraphs

Official guidelines

• 4.3 Make, manage, and manipulate selections.
  
• a. Select objects using a variety of tools.
  
• i. Key Concepts: targeting vs selecting, saving selections, selecting based on object attributes (color, stroke, opacity), etc.
• b. Modify and refine selections using various methods.
• i. Key Concepts: keyboard modifiers, selecting multiple objects with selection tools or Layers panel, moving and grouping objects, regular Selection tool vs Direct Selection tool vs Lasso tool vs Group Selection tool, etc.
• c. Group or ungroup selections.
  
• i. Key Concepts: grouped objects, Isolation Mode, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Selecting Objects

Moving, Alighing and Distributing Objects

Grouping and Expanding Objects

Official guidelines

• 4.4 Transform digital graphics and media.
• a. Modify artboards.
  
• i. Key Tools: Artboard tool; resizing, cropping, and copy and paste art and artboards within and between documents, etc.
  
• ii. Key Concept: understanding the relationship between the art and the artboard.
  
• b. Rotate, flip, and transform individual layers, objects, selections, groups, or graphical elements.
• i. Key Concepts: scaling, scale options, transforming, warping, distorting, skewing, using distortion tools or menu options, Repeat objects, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Using Multiple Artboards

Rotating and Reflecting Objects

Editing Artwork Basics

Official guidelines

• 4.5 Use basic reconstructing and editing techniques to manipulate digital graphics and media.
• a. Apply basic auto-correction methods and tools.
  
• i. Key Tools: Simplify tool, Smooth tool, Join tool, etc.
• b. Repair and reconstruct graphics.
  
• i. Key Tools: eraser, scissors, knife, Shape Builder, pathfinder, Live Paint, etc.
• c. Evaluate or adjust the appearance of objects, selections, or layers.
  
• i. Key Concepts: fill and stroke, Appearance panel, brushes, Eyedropper tool, etc.
• d. Use Image Trace to create vectors from bitmap images.
  
• i. Key Concepts: Trace presets, tracing settings, expanding, etc.
  

Resources & Tutorials

Editing Paths

Appearance Attributes

Image Trace

Official guidelines

• 4.6 Modify the appearance of design elements using effects and graphic styles.
• a. Use effects to modify images.
  
• i. Key Concepts: identifying the difference between raster and vector effects; drop shadows, feathers, and glows; editing applied effects, etc.
  
• b. Create, edit, and save Graphic Styles.
  
• i. Key Concepts: creating, deleting, and managing graphic styles; breaking links to graphic styles, etc.
  
• c. Expand the appearance of objects.
  
• i. Key Concepts: expanding transformations, stroke, effects.
  

Resources & Tutorials

Applying Effects

Graphic Styles

Drop Shadows, Glows and Feathering

Official guidelines

• 5.1 Prepare images for export to web, print, and video.
• a. Verify project specifications.
  
• i. Key Concepts: setting document color mode (color space), resolution (raster effects), pixel dimensions, metadata, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Setting Up Files for Printing

Creating Efficient Illustrator Files

Illustrator Sharing Basics

Official guidelines

• 5.2 Export or save digital images to various file formats.
• a. Save in the native file format for Illustrator (.ai).
  
• i. Key Concepts: compatibility, save options including Cloud documents.
• b. Save graphics in appropriate formats for print or screen.
• i. Key Concepts: file formats (including vector vs. raster), CMYK vs RGB, resolution, pixel dimensions, etc.
• c. Export project elements.
  
• i. Key Concepts: exporting assets, exporting specific selections or artboards, exporting for screens, etc.
• d. Package an Illustrator project.
  
• i. Key Concepts: font and image management and troubleshooting, file packages, etc.

Resources & Tutorials

Exporting Artwork

Saving Artwork

Package Files