[Book Review] Learn Illustrator CC Properly in 16 Lessons

How It Started

I finally got my Illustrator book back. I was unbelievably happy—Q^Q.

I had been thinking that, if I still could not get this book back, I would have to write the Premiere review first, XDDD. But skipping the very first program I learned just would not feel right!

Why Did I Want to Learn Illustrator?

As I mentioned in the previous book review, I originally started learning how to create and use different kinds of materials because I wanted to help a friend—who was not yet my business partner—with marketing. Here is that article:

[Book Review] Mastering InDesign Layout (Now Published as InDesign Visual Layout Secrets)

When it comes to creating visual materials, Illustrator is an extremely capable design tool.

Of course, before I learned Illustrator, I still made graphics with Microsoft Paint or Word shapes.

But I could not stay with the most basic built-in tools forever. I needed to keep moving forward, so Illustrator became my first choice for learning how to create marketing materials.

Paint and Word shapes also struggle with nonrectangular and irregular objects, which inevitably limits what you can make. One way or another, learning a more capable graphics tool had become necessary.

At least for me, it is hard to imagine quickly drawing those two adorable cats above in Paint or with Word shapes, XD.

As a side note, every sticker in the first set I published was also made in Illustrator, XD.

Ganju’s Everyday Life Stickers

If you are interested, you are very welcome to support them, XDD.

Why Did I Choose This Book?

I really enjoy learning software through projects instead of reading a textbook that introduces one feature after another.

So, among the many Illustrator books available, I looked for one that taught through finished pieces. I wanted a learning book that could help me make things—even though I do not always turn every exercise into a portfolio piece.

Learning through projects makes it much easier to understand where each feature can actually be used.

My other reasons were much shallower: I would flip through a book, decide that the cover looked nice and the layout felt readable, and then take it home.

I am not exactly a picky eater when it comes to choosing books for learning.

Even if I eventually discover that a book is not very good, I will still finish it so the money does not go to waste. Fortunately, I have had pretty good luck with my choices so far.

I did hesitate a little before buying this one because I was using Illustrator CS6 rather than CC. I worried that the differences between Illustrator versions might be too large for the book, but in the end they were manageable.

Some tools may appear in different places across Illustrator versions, but most of the features used in the book were available in CS6. Once I found them, the windows that opened were also quite similar.

So the version difference did not create a major obstacle while I read the book. If you are concerned, you can always browse a copy at a bookstore before deciding whether to buy it.

About the Book

The “Learn XXX Properly in 16 Lessons” line includes software other than Illustrator, such as Dreamweaver and Photoshop. In short, it is a series.

Whichever program it covers, the book has sixteen lessons.

That is why I call it the “Learn XXX Properly in 16 Lessons” series rather than simply the “Learn XXX Properly” series.

Here is a brief introduction to the book’s main features:

Project-Based Lessons Instead of a Feature-by-Feature Sequence

As I mentioned in my article about an InDesign learning book, I think the best way to learn graphics software is through one project and example after another. It is relatively effective, and when needed, it can also help you build portfolio material along the way.

InDesign is better suited to text-heavy publications, while Illustrator is better for materials that require more artwork and graphic design.

Since the book is called “16 Lessons,” it naturally has sixteen chapters. Almost every lesson corresponds to a fairly substantial project.

The projects range across calendars, postcards, novel covers, magazine covers, web graphics, and more—almost the full range of pieces you might encounter in everyday graphic design.

I still want to emphasize one point: even if you can complete portfolio pieces while following a book like this, the results do not yet carry your own style. If you need a portfolio, use the book as a foundation and create your own work from it.

For example, if the book teaches how to make a postcard, you can design your own artwork and then use the postcard chapter to turn it into a finished piece with your own style.

Materials Are Provided for Each Chapter

The most frustrating part of learning graphics software is having no material to work with. Searching online, removing backgrounds, or rebuilding the same shapes with Bézier curves before you can even begin the lesson would be exhausting.

This book provides a very complete set of materials for every chapter, including the text files, image files, and other resources you may need.

The different AI files show what the project should look like after each step described in the book.

Readers can therefore follow the examples themselves and compare their completed practice with the AI files supplied by the book.

All of the materials are stored on a disc, and I have to complain about that. What era are we living in? Please stop putting learning-book materials on optical discs.

Fortunately, I still had a disc drive at home... otherwise I honestly would not have known how to access them.

Separate Material Versions for CS6 and CC

This is a familiar pain point for CS6 users. As Adobe’s software continued to evolve, CC files gradually became harder for CS6 to open properly.

The book recognizes that some Illustrator learners still use CS6, so it provides a corresponding set of material files for them.

That was the main reason I still bought this CC-focused book while using CS6.

It Includes Many Fundamental Concepts

Many people who want to learn Adobe software probably begin with Illustrator.

They may have heard ideas that are often treated as common knowledge without fully understanding them—or knowing what practical difference they make when producing design materials.

Examples include the difference between vector and raster graphics, RGB versus CMYK, and how to set up bleed.

Along with introducing the basic interface, the first lesson explains the difference between raster and vector graphics. The final lesson discusses print preparation, including how bleed should be configured.

For different types of materials, the book also provides common basic formats and explains how to design them. Readers learn not only how to operate Illustrator, but also how to use the templates in the book as foundations for future pieces of their own.

I personally found this part especially helpful.

How I Learned Illustrator from the Beginning

This book was not actually my first encounter with Illustrator learning materials.

Like InDesign, my earliest exposure to Illustrator came through an in-person digital-marketing course. Because that class did not go very deep, I later bought this book to continue learning.

I used the same method I had used for InDesign: I created a Word document and recorded what I learned as I worked through the book.

Adobe applications share a defining trait: they are extremely powerful, but the exact feature you need can be hard to find. Sometimes you do not even know which search terms describe the effect you want.

So while reading, I followed every step very carefully—where each window was located, what keywords I might need, and exactly how each instruction worked.

Inside the individual feature windows, I also changed different parameters to see how they affected the result, then recorded what happened.

I did not actually complete every example in the book as a portfolio piece, because most of the projects were not really in a style I liked, XDDDD. They would not have felt like a true representation of me.

Finishing the book only meant I had graduated from the beginner village. I became more comfortable with Illustrator later because I used it constantly after starting a business.

Whenever I needed to make a graphic, I almost completely abandoned Word shapes and Paint and did everything in Illustrator instead. I forced myself to adapt to the more capable tool so I could improve.

When choosing between InDesign and Illustrator in practice, I tend to use InDesign for text-heavy publications and Illustrator for work that requires more drawing and design.

Illustrator can also handle multi-page publications, but the growing number of artboards places more strain on the system and makes the workflow less efficient. That is another factor I consider.

Running a business does not always provide something new to practice on, so I later found another online course: Motioner’s “I Use Illustrator Like This.” Here is the link:

I Use Illustrator Like This | Popular AI Tips Series

The instructor, Shih Po-Han, designed the Traditional Chinese typeface NingShuTi. I first learned about him because I supported the typeface on the Taiwanese crowdfunding platform Zeczec, then found and followed his Instagram account.

He regularly posted short videos on Instagram explaining specific Illustrator techniques and distinctive ways to create visual effects.

One day the algorithm unexpectedly showed me his course. It had already grown to 168 lessons—ahhh!—and he was still updating the series on Instagram.

And here is the important part: the course was completely free. Seriously generous and wonderful.

After that, I watched about five “I Use Illustrator Like This” lessons each day. By improving a little every day, I genuinely felt my illustration and design skills move forward again.

I may now draw Bézier curves faster than I could make graphics in Paint... and at the time of writing, I had not used Paint or Word shapes for more than a year.

Because I had recently been editing teaching materials, most of my graphics focused on natural-science content and were not especially flashy.

One thing to note: although the “I Use Illustrator Like This” series includes detailed videos and procedures, I think it is better suited to users who already have some Illustrator fundamentals.

Some of the features taught in the course are also available only in Illustrator CC, not CS6.

Conclusion

Moving from Paint and Word shapes to Illustrator as my primary tool came with a very real adjustment period.

There was the fear of opening an Adobe application and seeing an empty workspace, plus all the basic knowledge I did not yet have: the difference between vectors and rasters, RGB and CMYK, and much more. It took me a long time to learn.

Fortunately, choosing this book helped me fill those gaps and gave my Illustrator learning a much better beginning.

Only through repeated practice afterward did I become confident that I could truly handle Illustrator.

After I found Shih Po-Han’s design course, my Illustrator skills moved forward again. Now it almost feels as if there is no image Illustrator cannot make!

In the end, learning never stops. The list of books to read and skills to learn will always keep growing.

I hope you enjoyed this book review and my Illustrator learning story. I will see you in the next book review~~~ (waves).