Adobe Illustrator CC Masterclass with ACA Exam 5 Days - London

Illustrator ACA Masterclass 5 Days Overview

This 5-day Masterclass course helps you learn about the tools and features available in Adobe Illustrator CC. We will help you understand how this industry-leading program takes graphical design to a new level. You will learn how to create and manipulate shapes and curves, combining them with text to produce simple logos ready for the web and for print. Together, we will work with colours, gradients, layers, fonts, and photos to create eye-catching illustrations and text effects. We will then move on to more advanced topics, such as enhanced control of Bézier curves, creating custom brushes, and automating workflows.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Navigate the Illustrator environment
• Create a logo using simple shapes
• Draw and understand Bézier curves, the root of drawing in Illustrator
• Enhance control of Bézier curves by creating compound paths
• Apply gradients and patterns
• Edit paths and anchor points
• Set attributes in the Appearance panel
• Measure objects and place them with precision
• Trace and colour your hand-drawn artwork with Live Trace, Live Paint, and Live Colour
• Define custom brushes and graphic styles
• Add transparencies, drop shadows, and other effects
• Export illustrations for web and for print
• Prepare documents for composite and commercial printing
• Automate your workflow with other Creative Cloud programs

The final day of the course is dedicated to the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Illustrator exam, including trying a mock exam, reviewing answers, and then taking the real exam. The ACA exam represents an official qualification, and you will be provided with an instant pass or fail result. We are confident that you will join everyone we have already helped to pass the exam and collect an official certificate of Adobe Certified Associate status.

As well as giving you the opportunity to take the ACA exam, this course is the perfect preparation if you plan to take the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) exam.

Our goals are for you to be able to create and manipulate vector graphics, to understand the advanced features of Illustrator, to become a confident power user, and to leave with an ACA qualification under your belt.

This course can be taken in a single 5-day block or split into a 2-day block (Introduction) and then a separate 3-day block (Advanced plus ACA exam) taken at a later date.

Course Target Audience and delegate prerequisites

This course is intended for graphic designers and textile/fashion designers, and anyone else who has visual-design responsibilities.

You will need basic PC or Mac skills, including a solid understanding of a computer's operating system (Windows or Mac OS). You will also need to know how to launch a program, create and save files, and copy files from CDs and other media.

 

Illustrator CC ACA Masterclass Course Outline

The following is a general outline. The range of topics covered during your training is dependent upon student level, time available and preferences of your course booking.

Creating basic Documents

• Explore the pre built Document Profiles
• Shortcuts to navigate the Artboard effectively
• Work in a Custom Workspace

Drawing in Illustrator

• Use the Pen tool for straight lines
• Add, delete or adjust points along a path
• Understand how Bezier Curves work, learn to draw and edit these Curves
• Freeform drawing and editing with this powerful tool
• Create Logos using simple Shapes
• Using Live Trace to transform your hand drawn sketches into vector artwork that can be further adjusted

Modifying Objects

• Lasso select and the other goodies in the Select Menu
• Transform objects with scale, shear, rotate & reflect tool
• Be precise using Smart Guides, Grids & Guidelines
• Align, Group & Duplicate to achieve better results
• Layers palette: Hide & Lock Objects
• Intro to Isolation Mode for effective editing
• Working with Colours in Illustrator

Difference between Swatches and Colour palette

• Applying colour to Stroke and/or Fill
• Adjusting Stroke with the Stroke palette
• Live Colour for perfect Complementary / Analogous colours
• Live Paint as an easy way to colour artwork
• Introducing Gradients & Patterns

Text copy in Illustrator

• Point, Area and Type on a path
• Import Body Type & fix Spelling Errors
• Find and Replace Text or Insert Typographic Characters
• Create Text Outlines to design your own fancy headlines

Outputting your Artwork

• Defining cropping area
• Saving your artwork in vector formats
• Save for Web & Devices

Creating Complex Illustrations

• Make use of Outline Strokes technique
• Explore Shape Modes and Pathfinder palette - create Compound Paths for trendy grunge effects
• Use Expand Appearance to modify individual elements
• Create your own Custom Brushes: Calligraphy Scatter or Art, to place objects along a path
• Keep your paths Simple & Cleaned Up
• Graphs - use your own artwork instead of a simple bar

Modifying Artworks

• Envelope Distort & other forms of Warping objects
• Clipping Mask for advanced design
• Transparency for more polished look
• Create drop shadows, glows and more using the Stylise Live Effects
• Share the appearance attributes with Graphic Styles
• Explore Gradient Mesh & its ability to add realistic 3D shading and highlights to 2D graphics
• Learn the difference between Filters & Live Effects
• Blend shapes or groups for advanced compositions

Advanced Typographical Features

• Character Palette - adjust the kerning, baseline shift, horizontal & vertical scaling
• Paragraph Palette - Justification and Hyphenation options
• Use the 3D feature to extrude text and other Illustrator objects

Printing your Artwork

• Simulate multiple pages in Illustrator using the artboard and document setup
• Flattening Transparency for raster effects like drop shadows, glows and blurs
• Creating separations with Spot colour vs. Process colour

Enhancing your workflow

• Explore Links & Actions palettes
• Export to Flash (SWF)
• Use Symbols to create elements used repeatedly in animations and complex artworks
• Use the Release to Layers command to distribute all of the objects on a layer onto separate, individual layers for quick web animations
• Creating Smart objects, Dragging-and-dropping and exporting layers into Photoshop

What's Included

The following are provided for your best experience on this course:

• All computers for your use with choice of Windows or Mac systems
• Small class size (limited to a maximum of 4-8 attendees on all sessions)
• Quality reference manual for post course reference to take away with you
• 6 months post course support to assist you where needed
• Official Adobe Authorised Certificate for your successful completion of the course
• Lunch To give you the most flexible options for lunch we provide lunch vouchers which can be redeemed locally at a number of popular eateries including Pret A Manger, EAT, Starbucks, Tesco, Sainsburys, Boots and Greggs
• Refreshments to keep you on top form are available for you throughout the course with a full range of teas, coffees and biscuits
• Pads and pens

Daily course times run between 10am and 5pm with an hour break for lunch and both mid morning and mid-afternoon refreshment breaks. We recommend arrival at 9.45am for registration on the first day of the course.

Further details on benefits included with this Adobe Illustrator CC course:

Adobe Certified Illustrator Instructor

We are an Adobe Authorised Training Centre and our trainers are Adobe Certified Instructors with years of experience teaching Illustrator. Get the Vector graphic skills you need with our experienced Illustrator professionals.

Quality training manual

Included with our Illustrator courses is the Brilliant Illustrator book provided for free to use as a post course reference resource. This is a full 300+ page manual to supplement the content covered during the course.

6 months support

Included with your course booking for all delegates on this course is 6 months free support so if you run into problems or need assistance relating to anything covered during your course we would be happy to assist you during this time.

Adobe Authorised Certificate

After your Adobe class with XChange Training you will receive our official Adobe Authorised Training Certificate as a record of your successful completion of the Adobe Certified Illustrator course.

Lunch & refreshments

Delegates attending scheduled or bespoke courses at our training centres will receive lunch and plentiful refreshments including tea, coffee and hot chocolate for each day of the course.

Training Location

This course is provided at the XChange Training main London training centre based at:

5 St John’s Lane
Clerkenwell
London
EC1M 4BH

Click to View Full details of our London Training Venue and Course options

St John’s Lane is located in the heart of Clerkenwell close to the junction of Farringdon and Clerkenwell Road. Farringdon tube & train station is just a few minutes away and the training centre can also be accessed from Chancery Lane and Barbican tubes in about 10 minutes. There is also easy direct access by bus from Waterloo (243) and West End (55) with nearby stops.

Daily course times run between 10am and 5pm with an hour break for lunch and both mid morning and mid-afternoon refreshment breaks.

Scheduled Course Enquiry

If you are considering this Illustrator CC ACA Masterclass Course but would like further information simply send us your query quickly & easily with the form below. Whether you would like to check date availability, pricing, course suitability or just need further information about a course send us your query and we will get you a swift reply, usually within 2 business hours!

If you would prefer to check course details by phone please call us on 0345 363 1130.

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Testimonials

I found this course to be extremely helpful. I now feel like I have a lot more confidence using the software and have a much better knowledge.

Abi Griffin, 2 Day Illustrator Advanced

Excellent, as always! Great teaching methods, fun and interesting, easy to follow. Always a great experience!

Richard Littler, Brother, Illustrator - One Day Intermediate

Highly enjoyable session - having had no previous experience with Illustrator it proved very easy to pick things up under guidance. Thank you XChange!

William McPhail, Sothebys, Illustrator - 2 Day Introduction

Had an absolutely fantastic tutor and session - covered everything I asked and didn't know to ask!! So happy with the aftercare support as well and would love the opportunity for another relevant course in future.

Emily Theodore, Catersales, Illustrator - 1 Day Advanced

The trainer was very good indeed. We got a lot out of the experience and will book again for more training in the future.

Neil Cleverley, TTS Group, Illustrator - 2 Day Migration

Hugely helpful and really appreciated the amount of tailoring and personalisation of the content of the course to what I would be doing in my role. Will definitely recommend.

Emily Radforth, Octopus Healthcare, Adobe Illustrator - One Day Introduction

Knowledgable, small class made it easy to ask questions and get feedback within the time limit. Friendly people, plenty of tea, coffee etc, comfortable surroundings.

Claire Huntley, Ryman, Adobe Illustrator - 1 Day Introduction

A great session, covering some fantastic tools and knowledge about the product. The trainer was excellent, and was great at tailoring the course to my specific needs, and explained and demonstrated things in a well executed manner - thank you so much!

Lauren Orange, The Freeston Academy, Adobe Illustrator - 1 Day Introduction

The trainer was fantastic, we covered a lot of material but at a pace we could all keep up. He really tailored the course to our company's specific needs and was really helpful when we asked loads of questions!

Charlotte Mew, TPP, Bespoke InDesign and Illustrator Introduction

The Illustrator course was well-organised, well-paced, informative, and I learned many new features and ways to use the software for potential real-world applications.

Megan Wolf, Makro, Illustrator - 1 Day Introduction