Art: How To Use Adobe Illustrator

On this page you will discover how to use the app ‘Adobe Illustrator’, which even some grown-ups struggle to use. I know because I am already better than my dad!

If you haven’t already got a subscription to Adobe, this page is no use to you, so don’t bother getting upset. Anyhoo, I’m going to show you how to make what I call a ‘Blended Brick’, using only two tools.

1. Open Adobe Illustrator and click on ‘create new’. a box should appear asking you the page size, but just click on ‘A4’ to keep things simple.
    
2. An A4 sheet of paper should appear on your screen. On the left of your PC or laptop there should be a little symbol with two circles and a square. If you can’t find this, click on the three dots in the left hand corner and more options for tools should appear then.
    
3. This symbol is the blend tool, the primary ingredient for our art. Also you will need the shape tool, which will create a rectangle unless you click on the little arrow in the corner, where you can create things like stars, circles, etc.
    
4. Now we’ve gone through the basics, time to actually create. Make a big rectangle by dragging the mouse across the screen. On the right, it should say ‘fill’, and next there should be a white box. Click on this to change the colour, which will change the end result slightly. Underneath it should say ‘stroke’ and another white box. Click on this to change the colour of the outline or get rid of one. If you have a stroke, there will be lines across the box.
    
5. Next, create another smaller box inside the big one and change the colour if you like.
   Now use the blend tool I told you about earlier and drag the mouse across the area that you want to blend. This process might take a few seconds to complete, so don’t worry if it doesn’t happen straight away.
    
6. Voila! You’ve got your very own coloured brick to wow your parents.