Illustrator for beginners: vector graphics from scratch

Step 1

Understand vectors and install Illustrator

A raster image (a photo, a screenshot) is made of pixels and breaks up when enlarged. A vector image is made of points and curves that the app recalculates for any size, which is why a vector logo is just as sharp on a business card as on a banner. Adobe offers a 7-day free trial, and once billing starts you still have 14 days to cancel for a full refund. For the desktop app, Adobe lists 8 GB of RAM as the minimum (16 GB recommended).

💡 If you're just trying it out, list the exercises from this guide first and only then start the trial, so you don't spend the days browsing menus.

Step 2

Artboards and simple shapes

An artboard is a "sheet" inside the file; one document can have several of different sizes. The Artboard tool (Shift + O) creates new ones, and double-clicking it opens Artboard Options, where you can set an exact size. Create a few square artboards for icons and practice with basic shapes:

• •rectangle, ellipse, polygon and star: the basis of most icons;
• •fill and stroke: change the line weight and see how the shape's character changes;
• •aligning objects to each other and to the artboard;
• •grouping: several shapes that move as one.

Step 3

Shape Builder: complex forms from simple ones

Shape Builder (Shift + M) builds complex objects by merging simple shapes. Select a few overlapping shapes, switch to Shape Builder and drag across the areas that should become one shape. That's how a circle and a few rectangles turn into a cloud, a house or a speech bubble. Exercise: build five simple icons (home, mail, magnifier, heart, bell) using only basic shapes and Shape Builder, without the Pen.

💡 Keep the same line weight and corner radius across the whole set: that's what makes icons look like a family.

Step 4

The Pen tool: straight lines and curves

The Pen tool (P) gives you full control over a shape. A click sets an anchor point, the next click draws a straight line, and Shift-click constrains the angle to multiples of 45°. To draw a curve, drag while placing a point: direction handles appear. To close a path, click the first point; to leave it open, click away while holding Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (macOS).

• •start with straight lines: a triangle, an arrow, a zigzag;
• •then arcs and waves with as few points as possible;
• •then trace a simple shape from a photo with the Pen, such as a leaf or a cup.

💡 Fewer points make a smoother curve. If a path looks lumpy, it usually just has too many points.

Step 5

Image Trace, export and your first icon set

Image Trace turns a raster image into vectors: place the picture with File > Place, open Window > Image Trace and choose a preset. It's a handy way to digitise your own sketch and then refine it by hand. Export finished work with File > Export > Export for Screens, which can output several artboards at once as PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, WebP and other formats. Final exercise: a set of 6–8 icons in one style, each on its own artboard.

💡 Share the set in the community and ask for feedback on something specific: does the style hold together, are the icons readable at small sizes?