·         Select the center point of the circle and then alt to create a circle within a circle. If you don’t press alt it will just create the circle from the center
Line Tool
·         Used to create lines
·         Can edit the thickness and qualities of the line using the stroke editing tools on the top control panel
·         Use Stroke Panel on the right control panel and choose Show Options to experiment with arrow head options
Stroke and Fill
·         You can remove the fill to see through the shape
·         You can change the colour for both stroke and fill by selecting an object and choosing the colour on the top task bar
·         You can make the line thicker for stroke by clicking the drop down menu in the top task bar
·         Fill can be patterns, gradients or solid colour
Selection Tool (black arrow)
·         Enables you to pick up an object and move it around
·         Selection tool can also be used to resize the object
·         Drag your curser over multiple shapes to select them together
Direct Selection Tool (white arrow)
·         Enables you to manipulate a part of that object or shape
·         Drag your curser over the section of the shape you want to manipulate
Align Function
·         Use selection to select all the shapes you want to align
·         Use the align tool to align the way you want
Shape Builder Tool
·         Use the selection tool to select all the shapes
·         Select the shape builder tool
·         Drag from one shape to the other to join to shapes
·         To cut out a shape use the same shape builder tool but press alt at the same time
Image Trace
·         Select the Window menu in the control panel
·         Click on Image Trace
·         Choosing Low Fidelity Trace will trace the pixel image to make it into a vector image
·         You can experiment with all the different options such as grey scale, line art, 3 colours etc.
·         Selecting Silhouette then Expand will allow you to change the colour of the new formed vector shape
Use Image Trace to create a Pattern
·         Once you have your vector shape Press Object, Pattern and the Make
·         You can move, rotate, lower the opacity and change the colour of the shape and it will update the pattern
·         Select Done and it will be added to your swatches
·         You can then put the pattern onto a shape
Add another Artboard
·         Select Window then Artboard
·         You can also select how many artboards you want when you open a new file
Finalizing and Uploading your work to your blog
·         When you are finished and want to upload you work to your blog click File, Save and choose Adobe Illustrator Ai from the drop down menu. (Important: Always keep an illustrator file format saved in case we need it for later use.)
·         Then click File, Export and choose JPEG from the drop down menu. Click okay to the standard settings