graphic designers: opinion about illustrator class

In My Humble Opinion
1

hi,

i am looking to possibly start a t-shirt business on the side. i feel that my best strategy on the creative side is to learn the basics of illustrator to be able to execute my ideas into somewhat modern caliber level graphic designs.

i feel confident in being able to pick it up somewhat swiftly, as i am decent with photoshop, final cut, and some music production software.

i am looking at this workshop: Los Angeles Computer and Business Skills Training Classes | Training Connection

are there any designers on here / illustrator heads who can give their opinion on paying $1000 on a 3 day class like this vs. going the youtube tutorial route?

again mainly just looking to get a firm grip on illustrator basics to be able to flip dope graphics / t-shirt designs.

any advice/wisdom/relevant experience much appreciated

peace

2

I have taught Illustrator.

Couple of comments:

$1000 for a course is not wildly expensive, but it is wildly expensive for a THREE DAY course!

Illustrator is partly teaching the tools, but most of it is practice, practice and more practice…you ain’t gonna learn squat in just three days!

You need the time to really sit down and play/practice with the software and get comfortable with each step. Only then can you go back and ask for specifics - and learn all of the finer points and other tools and tricks.

I used to give a short, 60-90 minute workshop on the basics of Illustrator (as well as Photoshop and Dreamweaver). It was enough to get students a start in the usage of the tools and the software, but nowhere near enough time to show them some other tricks and tools and nuances of the software.

However, most of our classes were 10 weeks long - two classes per week - and that was about enough time to really practice, and fully learn, all the the tools and techniques. Even with that 10 week course, that was considered “beginner” level and you will only be able to do some simple design work…it is only with a second or third or fourth class that you start to put it altogether and learn how to really create some amazing art.

Yes, on occasion I would have an extremely talented student who would take to the software like the proverbial duck to water, and just fly off to amazing heights…but those students were few and far between, and most had come from an art training background.

Check into what courses you might find at an adult school/local university night school or whatever.

Again - $1000 for an entire course is not wildly expensive (although I think you can find much cheaper, better courses elsewhere). From a quick glance, they are teaching you about 4-5 chapters from a beginners book, with the attached exercises, and pretending that is ample to go out and be a designer.

Uh - no.

I can show you the keys on a piano, or the chords on a guitar, and perhaps teach you to play one song - but I think you would agree your money would have been better spent on several weeks/months of learning - AND PRACTICING - than a three day crash course.

3

You’ll need more than Illustrator basics to make “dope graphics” with it. The basics of Illustrator are in my opinion harder to grasp than Photoshop. It’s a totally different way of going about making images. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a lot of trouble with it, but it’s just a different beast and very little of other Adobe programs outside of InDesign reflect the workflow at all.

The price tag seems a bit hefty, and it’s only 3 days. You won’t have much time to ask instructors for help. You may have an easier time simply looking at local community college options. It will take the length of a normal semester but you will be able to bug the professor all you like if you need help.

Frankly, from what I saw of other students in a full fledged university Graphic Design program - 80%+ of people need help to even grasp Illustrator, and will still complain that professors “taught them nothing” and “I don’t know how to do anything” at the end of the day because they didn’t practice practice practice.

4

great replies, thanks much… i was definitely planning on comparing that class to the community college options.

5

BTW, learning the Pen Tool alone is enough to make most students cry the first day they learn it…later it is their favorite tool, but there is a learning curve and it can drive you bonkers. That alone would take a good week to just get the hang of it.

6

Yes, the Pen Tool represents the very basis of why Illustrator is a totally different beast than paint-style programs like Photoshop. Some students don’t fully “get it” even after months of using it.

After that enjoy Pathfinder - completely necessary for advanced illustrations but still something that after years of use I still click the wrong button in at least once a day.

7

^word, thx for the tips on the pen tool stuff.
funny, i just made a call and found a 10 week course at an art school nearby thats $560.

8

And there you go!
Take the 10 week course…I guarantee you will be far happier, and learn a whole bunch more!
And that is a GREAT price!

9

totally.

DMark, another quick question:

in the course description, it says it’s for students with basic graphic design skills and prior Illustator experience.

(even though when i called i just asked about taking a beginner illustrator course)

there doesn’t seem to be any other illustrator class. i dont have any prior graphic design or illustrator, do you advise against taking that class for that reason?

on the other side of it, sometimes knowledge corrupts and i kinda like the idea of taking an illustrator class specifically without any graphic design experience / so as to go in with a clean slate and not be aware of ‘typical graphic design’ methods or whatever.

kind of the same way there are a lot of great musicians without formal training, as opposed to music school nerds who have a lot of formal knowledge but lack inspiration or creativity.

i might see about emailing the professor

10

I would email the instructor and ask what that means.

It could be they want only students who have worked in some form of design - and your Photoshop might be enough, along with Final Cut.

I suppose you could do one of those “intro to Illustrator” classes on YouTube to get some basics before taking the class.

But ask the instructor - and let him know you are prepared to do some work on your own before starting the class.

I assume you have the software - and Lynda.com is a good source, as well as many other “free” video courses online.

However, this does sound like it might be a middle level Illustrator class, so before you plunk down any money, I would make sure you are signing up for the correct course.

As mentioned - if you are assigned a project using the Pen Tool on the first day, I think it might be your last day…but if you know this a few weeks prior to the class start, you should be able to learn some of the basics on your own. Get a good step-by-step book and just go through it alone…teachers help with specifics, but the basics shouldn’t be ALL that hard to grasp with some effort and practice on your own.

11

I just sent you a Private Message.

12

thanks for all the help… checking the pm now

13

Yes, the 10-week course sounds like the better option, because it will give you more time to practice.

The thing about Illustrator is, it enables you to make “vector” artwork, which is indefinitely-scalable.

This becomes extremely important when you are dealing with things like logos, which may need to be plastered a metre wide on a banner or made all tiny to fit on a letterhead. Everyone who’s dealt with logos acquired from other people (say, clients or other departments at work) knows the bother of getting a file in raster format (all pixels, like Photoshop or a paint program produces), and then having to resize it. If you need to make it bigger, it will end up either blurry or with huge pixels. If you have to make it smaller, the result will not be as clean as resizing vector artwork.

That said, get one of the free vector-drawing programs like Inkscape and try it out. This will give you a taste of what using Illustrator is like before you plunk down your money and start the course.

14

sunspace, thx for the weigh in.

15

Sign up for Lynda.com. Seriously.

And master the pen tool.

16

I remember when lynda.com was just books. That’s where I learned Web Design and Photoshop (and dabbled in Illustrator, though I haven’t touched it since). Absolutely recommended.

17

A point that hasn’t been raised, quite: mastering the tool does not make you an expert. Having MCSE certification as a Word specialist/trainer doesn’t mean you can write a coherent memo in it, much less a story or novel. Mastering Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign etc. doesn’t mean you have acquired any skills that will let you use it effectively.

The OP needs to find a path to developing his artistic and graphic skills, with tools and tool mastery being a parallel and support path, not the focus.

BG: My vitriolic hatred of “sign designers” comes from the fact that hardly any of them have any graphic or art skills at all. They got into the business on an entrepreneur level, bought or leased a couple of machines, took the 1- or 3- or 5-day manufacturer course in how to use them, and away they went, cranking out absolutely abysmal signs - often the initial logo and image created for a new business, thus becoming the archetype of all that followed.

Right now I’m looking at a suite of logos and such for a local business that’s a new client. They are horrid, amateurish, eye-searing cookie-cutter glop… but their TECHNICAL execution is near-perfect. I’m going to have to go back to the client on Monday and start the long, painful and often abruptly terminated process of telling them I can’t do what I do without a start from scratch on these things.

So, OP: concentrate on your art and graphic skills and absorb the tool skills as you go. Don’t waste time and - especially! - that much money on technical training that won’t make you a real pro or even a better amateur/journeyman… just a well-trained monkey who knows what button to push.