Best products from r/AdobeIllustrator
We found 24 comments on r/AdobeIllustrator discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 22 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork (2nd Edition)
- Input Voltage: 110V
- Delivers reliable 48V phantom power for condenser microphones and transfer sound signal to sound card in a compact, durable, plastic housing.
- Universal XLR input and output, compatible with all kinds of microphone music recording equipment.Comes with one XLR audio cable with high quality XLR male and female connectors.
- Features a single channel unit with balanced mic inputs and outputs to connect in-line with your mic and mixer.
- On/off power switch and LED indicator for ease of operation. One Adapter is included. Simple to use and ideal for stage and studio use.
- Note: Phantom power provides a 48V voltage to the condenser microphone, but phantom power does not enhance the microphone sound quality and improve the normal volume; Microphone, Pop Filter, Mic Stand and 3.5mm to XLR Female Microphone Cable in the picture Not Included
Features:
2. XP-PEN Artist12 11.6 Inch FHD Drawing Monitor Pen Display Graphic Monitor with PN06 Battery-Free Pen Multi-Function Pen Holder and Glove 8192 Pressure Sensitivity
[Warm Reminder: Artist12 drawing pen display must be used with a computer] XP-PEN’s latest smallest 1920x1080 HD display paired with 72% NTSC(100%SRGB) Color Gamut, presenting vivid images, vibrant colors and extreme detail for a stunning display of your artwork. Features a slim touch bar that can...
3. Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator
Used Book in Good Condition
4. Pantone FHI Color Guide, Fashion, Home & Interiors FHIP110N
- 2, 310 FASHION, HOME + INTERIORS with a TPG suffix
- Colors have been reformulated to be more
- Portable easy-to-use fan decks
- Colors are arranged by color family for fast and easy inspiration and color location
- Portable fan decks are ideal for sample shopping, client or vendor meetings and on-site reviews
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5. Lenovo ThinkPad T410 Intel Core i5 2.5GHz 4GB RAM 320GB HDD Windows 7 Professional
This refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes functionality testing, basic cleaning, inspection, and repackaging. The product ships with all relevant accessories, and may arrive in a generic box
6. Acer Aspire 7 Casual Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD IPS Display, Intel 6-Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB, 8GB DDR4, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Fingerprint Reader, Windows 10 64bit, A715-72G-71CT
8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 4.1GHz)NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display8GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory, 128GB SSD & 1TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive802.11ac Wi-Fi |Backlit Keyboard | USB 3.1 Type ...
7. Adobe Illustrator CS4 How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques
- ISBN13: 9781449381653
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
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9. Logitech G13 Programmable Gameboard with LCD Display
- Naturally contoured design follows the natural shape of your hand and fingers for increased comfort during long sessions
- Onboard memory lets you program up to 5 ready-to-play profiles, so you can take your personal preferences with you
- Customizable backlighting lets you choose your colors and easily locate the right key in low-light conditions or lights-out play
- 25 programmable keys allow you to assign keyboard functions to suit your style of play and create macros on the fly
- The high-visibility GamePanel LCD displays game stats, system info, and communications from fellow players
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10. Darice 121724 Calligraphy Font Upper and Lower Case Alphabet Stencil, 2-Inch, 1 Set, Original Version
2 Inch Size lettersUpper Case lettersLower Case LettersCalligraphy style letters
11. HUION H610PRO V2 10 x 6.25 inch Graphics Tablet Drawing Tablet with 8192 Battery-Free Stylus Tilt Function, 8 Shortcut Keys, Compatible with Mac, PC or Android Mobile
- Drawing On-the-go : Huion H610PRO V2 graphics tablet is not only support OS Android /tablet connection, but also macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 7 or later. capture and express your ideas anywhere.NOTE: The cursor does not show up in SAMSUNG at present,except SAMSUNG Note Series. If you are not sure whether the product is compatible with your phone or if you have any problems, please contact us.
- Battery-Free Pen for Energy Saving: New pen stylus technology supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt-response and virtually lag-free tracking. ±60°range brush tilt on softwares such as Photoshop, SAI and so on that boast such function.
- 8 Express keys & 16 hotkeys: Designed for both right and left hand users. The driver allows the express keys to be attuned to many different software like photoshop, Paint tool sai, Illustrator, Clip Studio and so on, provide you convenient work surface, enjoy your drawing and create more!
- 10 x 6.25 inch Working Area: You get more space to create or get work done. Pen resolution:5080LPI;Report rate:233PPS; Sensing Height:10mm. Newly designed pen holder PH03, it contains 8 pen nibs and a non-removable pen extractor inside.
- What You Get: Pen Tablet X 1; Battery-free Pen X 1; Micro USB Cable X 1; Pen Nibs x 8; Glove x 1; Pen Holder PH03 X 1; OTG Adapter (Micro USB) X 1; OTG Adapter (USB-C) X 1; Quick Start Guide X 1; Free lifetime technical support and 12-month manufacturer's warranty.
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12. Wacom Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablet with Bonus Software, 7.9" X 6.3", Black (CTL4100)
- Certified Works with Chromebook: Wacom is the only drawing tablet that is certified to work with Chromebook for students, teachers and creators, Intuos is simple to use and set-up for any project
- Customize Your Creative Process: The 4 ExpressKeys on the tablet are customizable to fit your style so you can program your favorite keyboard shortcuts and unlock your process and creativity
- Natural Pen Experience: The included ergonomic EMR 4096 pressure sensitive battery-free pen is light, responsive and easy to control; it feels like you are writing on paper
- Perfect Tablet for Software: One by Wacom is a versatile choice for students, artists, and educators with its portability and compatibility. Use with Mac OS and Windows, and is certified Chromebook
- Wacom is the Global Leader in Drawing Tablet and Displays: For over 40 years in pen display and tablet market, you can trust that Wacom to help you bring your vision, ideas and creativity to life
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13. aLLreli Programmable Gaming Keypad, T9 Plus Mechanical Keyboard Gameboard with 29 Programmable Keys and RGB LED Backlit
【ERGONOMIC DESIGN】T9-Plus keyboard provides a feel good rubber wrist rest, in the game can reduce the fatigue of the wrist. Large keyboard hand palm rest, reasonable ergonomic design, which allows you to enjoying longer with less strain. New button layout, fit the game operation. New shaft struc...
14. Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB Tunable Gaming Mouse, 12,000 DPI On-The-Fly DPI Shifting, Personalized Weight and Balance Tuning with (5) 3.6g Weights, 11 Programmable Buttons
- Old version of G502 with optical gaming sensor (PMW3366)
- Cable Length 6 feet or 1.83 meters
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16. It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be: The world's best selling book
- Phaidon Press
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17. Pantone Plus Series CMYK Guide Set GP5101
2,868 process colorsChromatically arrangedScreen tint percentages are providedTwo-guide set on coated and uncoated stockAccurately select, specify and communicate color for four-color process printing
18. Pantone Coated & Uncoated GP1601N, Formula Guide Set
- Two-guide set with 1, 867 solid colors and ink formulations
- Match PANTONE matching system (pms) solid colors on press
- Colors arranged in chromatic format, with 112 new colors displayed on both coated and uncoated paper
- Set demonstrates the effects of printing on coated and uncoated stocks for each color
- Two-guides are included: solid coated and solid uncoated
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19. PANTONE COLOR BRIDGE SET Coated & Uncoated
Two-guide set, coated & uncoated, demonstrates the effects of printing on coated and uncoated stocks for each color1, 845 solid colors and cmyk, html/Hex and srgb valuesBest manage your on-press or digital color reproduction expectationsCross-reference PANTONE matching system (pms) colors to srgb, c...
20. Huion Artist Glove for Drawing Tablet (1 Unit of Free Size, Good for Right Hand or Left Hand) - Cura CR-01
- Work for both hands - Huion Artist Glove with two fingers; The package includes one unit of glove which can be used on both hand, free size; 20cm in length, 8cm in width.
- Anti-fouling design - It can prevent smudges from your hand on a Graphic Tablet, Graphics Monitor or some other items, leaving no more scratch.
- Comfortable Material - Made from Soft Lycra and Nylon, extremely flexible, comfortable to work with; It can reduce friction between your hand and the surface.
- Classic color - The glove is black, peaceful and charming color; And the most important point is that this color is soiling resistant so you do not need to wash it frequently.
- Flexible using - Works perfectly for sketching, inking, coloring and digital drawing on graphics tablets.
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If looking for an Illustrator only solution, and regarding the first image, take a look at Lynda.com courses. Many schools and libraries offer this to their students/members for free. I've also subscribed to Plutralsight and taken courses on Udemy (as well as free YouTube), and in person at our local college and design school; I have found Lynda the best for this type of content.
This drawing is not isometric, but Von Glitscka has a great course on isometric drawings and his process for color combinations and building up his illustrations. This is also another good course on perspective drawing in illustrator. I've watched and done exercises from both of these courses.
Burt Monroy was an early adopter of illustrator for this type of drawing (the first one you included). He shaped out his drawings (e.g. Time Square) in Illustrator and refined them in Photoshop. His book from 2000 is probably still relevant for its process, and he has videos on Lynda.com where he talks about those techniques. He has some great photo compositing courses on the site as well.
However, if you are looking to get a good overall grounding in Illustrator, I could not more highly recommend Deke McClelland's courses. For Illustrator and Photoshop, he has "One-on-one" courses: Intro, Advanced, Mastery. These are fantastic hands on and very practical, and he is probably the best online lecturer I have watched.
As for the second image, that looks like output from 3D software. If you are a student, you can get free access to Maya or 3DS Max from Autodesk for up to 3 years, and you could produce the second image in one of the intro tutorials. The output looks like it might have used a cartoon output type (limited colors, drawn outlines). One face would need a custom UV map; you could instead modify the 3D output in Illustrator or Photoshop afterward. You could also use Blender, which is free. 3D software would also be a great way to output similar to your first image, or at the very least, could create a good template (and guides) for the correct perspective.
Good luck.
Finding out the Color Profile is always a good idea - there are differences between US SWOP Coated and GRACol, for example (the two I most often use), and submitting what looks good in one, when they print in the other, will result in Color Profile Conversions that may or may not preserve the integrity of your colors.
But whether or not they're printing Spot or CMYK should be something you know before you even start designing. Many places don't print Spot colors at all, so you sending them Pantone means nothing to them, they're just RIP'ing it out to 4 color seperations, and whatever happens, happens.
On the other hand, if your client always uses Pantone 123C because that's the same logo color that's always been the case, that's different - and you need to make sure the printer is actually mixing Pantones. OR, if you're using an imprinter (you mentioned printing a design on a piece of kitchenware), it's MUCH more likely they're using Pantone, as they can then mix together some Pantone pigments and end up with a specific Pantone color for screenprinting your pan or breadbox or apron or whatever. You should still purchase the Pantone book - but find out which colors they use, as there are Pantone Home & Interior inks that are different from the paper inks (including being created w/o lead, for safety.)
If they're printing one color (Spot color), then color profiles don't matter.
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Edited to add a quick crash course in CMYK vs. Spot Color.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (formerly referred to as Key color, hence the K)) are the inks used to print just about everything that appears in full color: Magazines, newspapers, textbooks, etc. Everything that comes off a personal inkjet or color laser printer also uses CMYK (some use expanded colors, for example my photo printer has 8 inks, CMYK + lighter Cyan and Magentas, and 2 grays, but the principle is the same.).
Spot Color printing (you may see this as 1-color, 2-color, or 3-color printing) means printing with 1,2,3 colors that YOU specify. To make sure everyone is talking about the same color, Pantone is one of the (and probably the most popular) industry standard color systems (there are others). With Pantone, you specify a color (from the swatch book, right???), and when you submit your print order, the print shop literally mixes together the various Pantone inks to make that color.
The nice thing about Pantone is that their inks aren't derived from Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, so you can get much richer colors, and colors that aren't part of the normal CMYK gamut (which is relatively small, compared to RGB-what your monitor/cellphone/TVs use, and MUCH smaller than what we can actually see). Pantone colors also include things like metallics and neons with characteristics (reflectivity, florescence) that even the best RGB display can't reproduce.
Another nice thing about Pantone inks is that assuming the recipe is followed correctly (and that you're printing on paper or other material that has the same surface characteristics and color), one printer's Spot color job should exactly match another's. You can't say the same about CMYK (4-color process) jobs, because different presses are calibrated differently, different color profiles have to be considered, etc.
Additionally, when printing Spot color, if printed at 100% coverage, the edges will be nice and clean, and there's no dot pattern. Virtually any color you specify in CMYK (if not pure CMY or K), when printed, will have dots and potentially rough edges, not to mention registration/alignment concerns. Spot color jobs don't have to worry about that.
However, there are also 5-color, 6-color, or more-color jobs - which might incorporate CMYK PLUS 1, 2, 3, or more Pantone colors. Food packaging very often uses this method, as it makes specifying a certain "brand" color easier, and allows the box to stand out on the shelf by using a more vivid ink than can be achieved through CMYK. Go take apart a cereal box and you'll see the registration and color bars - this one has CMYK, as well as Frosted Flakes Blue and Tony the Tiger Orange, making it a 6-color job.
Anyway, it's Saturday night and I've been drinkin' for a while, so I should stop - but feel free to ask any questions/clarifications on the above, and I'll follow up! ;-)
Can you recommend a good thin-and-light? I don't know hardware much at all, but I would love something more carry-able.
I learned Illustrator and Photoshop on this brick. (This was 2015-16) It was a good brick. Like a brick, heavy, blocky, had no battery life to speak of, and was incredibly slow processing images of any size or complexity. Also like a brick, it was reliable and unbreakable - A month after I got it, at the airport, TSA dropped the laptop bag from the conveyor belt onto a concrete floor. You couldn't tell it had been dropped. It was great. I miss that brick.
Then I upgraded to this, I think. It was okay. Mine didn't have the 1tb hard drive listed on that site, but it did have 8gb ram, which was way better. It ran objectively better, but felt less sturdy and reliable. I didn't like or dislike it, particularly.
Now I've got one of these. It is amazing, it runs both AI and PS way better, but it's a bit bigger than feels comfortably portable.
The running theme with my laptops is that they're old, heavy hand-me-downs. Eventually, I'd like something with at least the middle level of performance, but that I can comfortably carry around all day. I have no clue whether this is feasible or affordable.
Hell yeah, Thinkpads! They're still around except the internals are better now! They actually have some sort of deal on now...
If you're getting a laptop with a decent GPU it probably won't be thin unless you're willing to throw a bunch of money at it. Otherwise (in a similar price range) the Surface Laptop is also an option although don't expect to run seriously graphics intensive workloads on it because it doesn't have a dedicated graphics processor.
The Dell XPS 13" is a great computer but once again is >$1000.
TL;DR, if you want great performance it is tough to find in a thin light laptop without spending a heck of a lot of money. Definitely don't drop serious cash on a laptop with a crummy bottom of the lineup (read: not worth your money) Nvidia GPU though, spending the $200 on the Acer Aspire 7 looks like it would go a long way in this situation. IMO that's a pretty good price for the specs you're getting although I don't know much about Acer's build quality so that can be up for debate. My thinking is that if you're going to spend $700 on a laptop spending $900 isn't the end of the world if it will last you longer and open you up to some video work in the future (if need be) which that hardware would definitely allow for.
I don’t know of one specific resource I’d recommend but the best method I found for myself when learning Illustrator was to use books and YouTube tutorials to learn the basics. Once I got comfortable I found art that I liked from places like Dribbble and Behance and tried to recreate it for practice. If I got stuck, I’d hop on YouTube or forums to find the answers I needed. Just practice and take time to learn shortcuts so your process becomes more efficient.
This was the book I used when I was first starting out. It’s a little updated now but still a lot of useful/relevant info:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321562909/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_NIdPAbBMCDR76
I think it would be best if you could provide a screenshot showing us where you currently are having issues with creating this stencil.
From what I can understand, though, you'll need to add some white shapes over the text to anchor the insides of your letters. As to where to place these, the best place to start are the thinnest parts of the letter forms, but I'd suggest you use several stencils for reference to get the best result.. (If you take a look at some stencil examples, you'll see what I mean.)
Just to be clear, are you aiming to make a stencil similar to these?
I've had this in my Amazon cart for a while now but haven't bought it yet so take this with a grain of salt. I've read a ton of reviews and watched some on YouTube, it seems like a solid tablet for beginners. I don't hand draw a lot of stuff but the rare occasion I'd want to it seems like a good enough tablet.
I've never gotten a whole lot out of online resources but bought this book vector basic training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork and it really turned things around for me. Definitely recommend it, although the writer uses a few plug ins I don't use but overall his approach and clockwork method made everything seem so much simpler.
>Intuos S
You are doing better than I can with one of those. I am trying to improve my drawing skills with a graphic tablet I got, but I needed a screen so I could see how my lines are as I draw them.
https://www.amazon.com/XP-PEN-Artist12-Battery-Free-Multi-Function-Sensitivity/dp/B07GNK18VJ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Artist+12&qid=1551200574&s=electronics&sr=1-3 This is what I got, and I love it. If you ever decide to bump up to one with a screen.
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Wacom is always the way to go.
This is the tablet I use at work and home. So far the best small tablet Wacom has made. Very affordable. Small but great.
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Software-Included-CTL4100/dp/B079HL9YSF/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2VI2I6FI23ME4
If you prefer mechanical keyswitches, this is a good deal. It's fully customizable, and while you have to use Windows to program it, the settings are written to firmware, so there's no driver required. Also, you can use yr fave Cherry MX keycaps to better display the assignments, although the keyswitches are not Cherry.
I started with this guide and it’s pretty awesome
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0134176731/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_VhpMDbT88AVMT
I can't work on any other mouse now that I have had the logitech G502. I have mapped the buttons to zoom in and out and undo and redo and the one right under my thumb is spacebar so I can use the pan tool really easily. I bought an extra just in case they ever discontinue it because I love it so much.
It's Not How Good You Are It's How Good You Want To Be
Wear a half glove. Don't know what they're actually called.
Here's one on Amazon by Huion. It's what I use. Also decreases smudging. https://www.amazon.com/Huion-Artist-Glove-Drawing-Tablet/dp/B00VTHAS00