MadStickerLab 0 Posted July 13, 2011 I am wondering if any of you have ever seen a book or website etc, specifically aimed at those of us who want to use Illustrator for creating graphics for a vinyl cutter (decal creation)? I am trying to learn Illustrator CS5, but as most of you know, this software is meant to do some pretty serious work, way beyond creating a simple vector design for a vinyl cutter. As a result, I find most of the books teaching in a different direction than I want to go. A book or website devoted to the creation of vector decal designs for vinyl cutters would be a huge help? Anyone ever seen such a thing? If not, maybe I'll just have to write one some day when I have learned enough about the subject Any help would be much appreciated! Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted July 13, 2011 I am wondering if any of you have ever seen a book or website etc, specifically aimed at those of us who want to use Illustrator for creating graphics for a vinyl cutter (decal creation)? I am trying to learn Illustrator CS5, but as most of you know, this software is meant to do some pretty serious work, way beyond creating a simple vector design for a vinyl cutter. As a result, I find most of the books teaching in a different direction than I want to go. A book or website devoted to the creation of vector decal designs for vinyl cutters would be a huge help? Anyone ever seen such a thing? If not, maybe I'll just have to write one some day when I have learned enough about the subject Any help would be much appreciated! Don when I purchased my new CS2, It came with a book about an inch thick. Could walk you thru anything. No books coming out with later versions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roxanneupnorth 106 Posted July 13, 2011 CS5 can be as simple or as complex as you want......There are some tutorials on Adobe's website.....Also, www.lynda.com has some paid ones but you can usually look at the 1st few in the series for free...Did you get a free month of Lynda when you registered your CS5?......They did that in CS3...Not sure if they still do for CS5......And my favourite is Youtube..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadStickerLab 0 Posted July 13, 2011 CS5 can be as simple or as complex as you want......There are some tutorials on Adobe's website.....Also, www.lynda.com has some paid ones but you can usually look at the 1st few in the series for free...Did you get a free month of Lynda when you registered your CS5?......They did that in CS3...Not sure if they still do for CS5......And my favourite is Youtube..... I actually received my copy from work so there is no manual accept for the one on-line. Also, I believe it is under a business lisence so we did not get the offer from Lynda.com though I will admit, I took a look at them last night and was impressedby all the information there. Looks like a great site to subscribe to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roxanneupnorth 106 Posted July 13, 2011 I do 1 month at a time 2 or 3 times a year and cram like mad..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boosted 2 Posted July 13, 2011 +1 on Lynda.com it's awesome and well worth the money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randalle 50 Posted July 13, 2011 I'm self taught on Ily. It is simple if you are patient. Spend a weekend on youtube watching tut's, there are a ton of them. After that - practice, practice, practice. I've been doing Ily for 8+ years and still learn something new almost every day. You can get the basics pretty easy, pretty quickly too. Then just be patient, and google is your friend. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abullock22 21 Posted September 25, 2011 there are loads of websites online that offer vector images that you can cut, google vector silhouettes for a start, otherwise you can get books such as the dover series which include a cd of all the clip art featured - best bet is to just google what your after and add vector after the word! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jent 0 Posted September 26, 2011 I agree with showandgo. It takes a little time and the best way to learn is by doing it. Kinda like driving a car. If you are stuck, you can find some good tips and tutorials online for using specific tools. Adobe even has it's own forum board with freebie plugins, tips, etc. I never use the instruction manuals that come with the software - it takes too long to do it that way in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrandonJ 5 Posted August 3, 2012 Well, I don't really have a pen tool tutorial yet, but you should definitely be using it to create your artwork. You also should be using the Shape tools and the Gradient. You have to get really familiar with this stuff if you are going to be creating artwork. If you just want vinyl decals, you have to learn the pen tool. Check out this video that demonstrates some pen tool use in high speed! http://www.learn2design.com/2012/05/how-to-turn-pictures-into-vector-decals.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
