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SapphireKat β TUTORIAL: Basic Illustrator Part 6
Published: 2013-03-16 02:34:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 2266; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 45
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Description
I kept getting requests for an Illustrator tutorial, so here it is! This covers the basics of the program. Note that this focuses more on line-based styles, but you should be able to draw shape-based styles using the tips I list here.There are four parts: Basics of the Basics; Pen, Pencil, Brush; Coloring; annnnd Prepping Linework Photoshop. Hopefully, this will help anyone having trouble with Illustrator!
Basics of Basics Part 1: [link]
Basics of Basics Part 2: [link]
Pen, Pencil, Brush Part 1: [link]
Pen, Pencil, Brush Part 2: [link]
Color Part 1: [link]
Color Part 2: [link]
Color Part 3: [link]
Prepping Linework for Photoshop: [link]
Previous Tutorials-
Basic Flat Coloring: [link]
Tiled Lighting: [link]
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Comments: 10
I Just wanted to say thank you so much for this tutorial! It has helped me so much with doing my project for my illustrator class! I had to create a character doing three different poses and I was struggling tremendously! This has saved my life and Now I can't wait to see what grade I get! I will keep you posted! Thanks again! Please make more tutorials.
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Yay! I'm glad it helped you!
And I might, but this year has been very, very busy for me.
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Hello~
First of all thanks so much for making this tutorial, you have no idea how much of a godsend this is for me, so just... THANKS. SO MUCH. I'm just starting to get the hang of doing stuff on illustrator, mainly because it's easier to use for someone who doesn't have a tablet.
I was just wondering, though. You've mentioned masks and explained a bit about it but would it be possible for a tutorial concerning masks in illustrator? Like how to use them basically and what else they can be applied to. You've mentioned it several times as options for coloring and I don't know if it's just me (it probably is, I'm a bit stupid sometimes ahaha) but I can't seem to get whatever effect it is I'm supposed to be getting with masks. I mean, when I first fiddled with the pen tool it was a mean piece of work but I got it after some practice. The mask is just... something else.Β
It's probably me, but still.
Actually it doesn't have to be a tutorial-tutorial, if you could maybe just tell me the basic use and function of the mask I'd be set for life. 
Again thanks for this really awesome tutorial, you've helped me LOADS, I love it so much~
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What do you need clarified- making a mask or the function of a mask? I know I showed how to make one in the tutorial.
Masks only have one function- they allow you to have multiple elements show in only one specific shape without having to trim all of those elements yourself.
Think of it like this: when you paint on a piece of Illustration board, you usually mark a border around the piece. It's too much of a pain to make sure every stray bit of paint doesn't go over the border, so what most artists do is paint the picture without worrying about going over the line. Then, after they're done, they cut a piece of mattboard (or stiff paper) the exact size of the border and put it on top of the painting. Masks in Illustrator follow the same principle- anything in the mask group follows the shape of the mask, no matter how much the elements go over the 'border'.
I hope this helps!
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Oh I see. Um one last question. Is there any way that a mask can be used to kind of mask over a piece of color over the entire piece (therefore making coloring a bit easier)?
Like, you'd select a portion of lineart, and kind of smother it with color then use mask and the color would stick to that selected lineart but not have colors sticking out of the lineart--am I making sense? :I
I've tried fumbling around with the mask tool but so far all I've done is basically cutting out the area I selected and no color gets applied.
Sorry if I'm too confusing or demanding. D:
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...I think you're better off doing that in Photoshop. You're trying to color black lines directly, yes (i.e. only the black lines take on the color)? Are these lines you drew in Illustrator, or scanned linework? If it's scanned linework, uhhhhh you either have to use Photoshop, trace the whole thing with the Pen or Brush tools in the color you want, or LiveTrace it and than change the color.
I talk about how to do colored linework with masks in Photoshop here: sapphirekat.deviantart.com/art⦠but it's not something you can do in Illustrator. If you only want a solid color, just change the color of the lines in the Color tab.
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Um, no I was actually talking about coloring the area inside the lines, not the lines themselves. Β 
Sorry if I'm being such a bother. D:
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Then just use the method described in this part- use the pen tool to make a color shape that's underneath the lines. If you try to make a mask WITH the lines, the lines will disappear and only the color will remain. You can go back with direct select, select the mask path, and reset the path color, but it's such a freaking pain.
To make things easier, you can create a new layer for your colors and put it underneath the linework layer. Lock the linework layer so you won't accidentally select any lines.
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Oh alright. Thanks, I was just asking just in case there was the off-chance that it could be done, ahaha.
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You're welcome, glad I could help!
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