Graphic Design

Adobe Illustrator Training Course

About this course

Our Adobe Illustrator courses are designed for both beginners looking to build a strong foundation in vector design and illustration, and experienced users wanting to develop more advanced creative and production workflows.

Delivered in Belfast, Dublin, and across the UK, these instructor-led courses provide practical, hands-on training in creating professional vector artwork, illustrations, logos, icons, marketing assets, and digital graphics using Adobe Illustrator.

The Beginner course focuses on core tools and essential design workflows, helping learners understand the Illustrator interface, shapes, paths, typography, colour, layers, and how to create clean, scalable artwork for print and digital use.

The Advanced course is designed for users who already understand the fundamentals and want to refine their skills through advanced illustration techniques, precision drawing, complex vector workflows, branding assets, creative effects, workflow automation, and professional production processes.

Suitable for designers, marketers, illustrators, content creators, and communications professionals, the courses emphasise practical workflows, creative confidence, and industry-standard techniques used across branding, advertising, social media, packaging, and digital content creation.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to confidently create polished, professional vector artwork and design assets using efficient Adobe Illustrator workflows for both print and digital projects.

Beginner Course Outline

Day 1

  • Over view of Adobe Illustrator
Learn how to:
  • Understand the difference between vector vs raster

  • Identify best use cases for Illustrator

  • Understand scalability and resolution independence

Learn how to:
  • Navigate the Welcome Screen

  • Create new documents for print, web, and social

  • Understand artboards vs canvas

  • Customise workspaces and panels

Topics:

  • Properties Panel (CC 2026 updates)

  • Control Bar vs Contextual Task Bar

  • Toolbars: Basic vs Advanced

  • Smart Guides overview

Learn how to:
  • Create and resize artboards

  • Use multiple artboards for layouts

  • Reorder and rename artboards

  • Export individual artboards

Learn how to:
  • Create rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars

  • Use Live Shapes and corner controls

  • Modify shapes non-destructively

Learn how to:
  • Understand anchor points and paths

  • Create straight and curved paths

  • Control handles accurately

  • Edit existing paths

Exercises:

  • Tracing simple icons

  • Creating clean geometric shapes

Learn how to:
  • Draw smooth curves quickly

  • Edit paths without handles

  • Combine Pen + Curvature tools

Learn how to:
  • Use Selection vs Direct Selection tools

  • Select anchor points, paths, and objects

  • Group, isolate, and lock artwork

Learn how to:
  • Align objects precisely

  • Use key objects

  • Distribute spacing evenly

  • Use Smart Guides effectively

Learn how to:
  • Understand RGB vs CMYK

  • Apply fills and strokes

  • Create and manage swatches

  • Use Global Colours

Learn how to:
  • Create linear, radial, and freeform gradients

  • Apply gradients to strokes

  • Use the Gradient Tool interactively

DAY 2

Learn how to:
  • Use Point Type, Area Type, and Type on a Path

  • Adjust character and paragraph settings

  • Use OpenType features

Learn how to:
  • Outline text safely

  • Edit anchor points in letterforms

  • Prepare typography for logos

Learn how to:
  • Combine shapes visually

  • Subtract and merge areas

  • Create custom icons and logos

Learn how to:
  • Unite, Minus Front, Intersect, Exclude

  • Use destructive vs non-destructive workflows

Learn how to:
  • Organise complex artwork

  • Lock, hide, and reorder layers

  • Use sub-layers correctly

Learn how to:
  • Name layers properly

  • Prepare files for handoff

  • Avoid common beginner mistakes

Learn how to:
  • Stack multiple fills and strokes

  • Apply effects non-destructively

  • Re-edit effects at any stage

Learn how to:
  • Apply shadows and glows correctly

  • Avoid rasterising artwork accidentally

Learn how to:
  • Sketch → build → refine

  • Use grids and alignment

  • Balance typography and icon design

 
Practical Exercise:
  • Create a clean, scalable logo mark

Learn how to:
  • Save AI files properly

  • Export SVG, PDF, PNG, JPG

  • Understand print-ready PDFs

Learn how to:
  • Use Export for Screens

  • Optimise SVGs

  • Export multiple sizes efficiently

Learn how to:
  • Avoid common Illustrator mistakes

  • Improve speed and accuracy

  • Build confidence with daily practice

  • Know when to use Illustrator vs Photoshop vs InDesign

Advanced Course Outline

Learn how to:
  • Set up documents for scalability

  • Plan page architecture before design begins

  • Avoid structural mistakes that slow production later

Learn how to:
  • Build complex parent page hierarchies

  • Use multiple parent pages within large documents

  • Apply and override parent items safely

Learn how to:
  • Manage page numbers, running headers, and folios

  • Use text variables for dynamic content

  • Maintain consistency across large publications

Learn how to:
  • Build advanced paragraph and character style systems

  • Use nested styles and GREP styles

  • Control typography across hundreds of pages

Learn how to:
  • Manage complex text reflow

  • Control widows, orphans, and hyphenation

  • Use baseline grids effectively

Learn how to:
  • Create and apply object styles

  • Combine object styles with text styles

  • Update layouts globally with confidence

Learn how to:
  • Use smart suggestions to speed up formatting

  • Reduce repetitive manual tasks

  • Maintain creative control while using automation

Learn how to:
  • Manage linked assets efficiently

  • Control image resolution and colour profiles

  • Avoid common print and export issues

Learn how to:
  • Use Creative Cloud Libraries strategically

  • Maintain brand consistency across documents

  • Update shared assets across multiple files

Learn how to:
  • Build and style advanced tables

  • Use footnotes and endnotes correctly

  • Create live cross-references

Learn how to:
  • Manage Book (.indb) files

  • Synchronise styles across documents

  • Handle large-scale publishing projects

Learn how to:
  • Use Data Merge for bulk content

  • Build personalised layouts efficiently

  • Combine Data Merge with styles for clean output

Learn how to:
  • Speed up work using Quick Apply

  • Use scripts to automate tasks

  • Reduce manual production time

Learn how to:
  • Manage CMYK, RGB, and spot colours

  • Use global colour updates

  • Maintain brand colour accuracy

Learn how to:
  • Build custom preflight profiles

  • Catch errors before export

  • Prepare documents confidently for print

Learn how to:
  • Create print-ready PDFs

  • Export interactive and digital PDFs

  • Control compression, marks, and bleed settings

Learn how to:
  • Package files correctly for printers or teams

  • Deliver clean, organised projects

  • Avoid common production handoff mistakes

Included With Course

  • Free Course Retake on our public schedule
  • Full course recording

Success Stories

Claire Youd

Both course content and instructor knowledge is exceptional – fresh, engaging and relevant. The ongoing support that Big Rock Designs provides is a real plus. I plan to attend future courses and would recommend other do too!

Joanne Doherty

Although my Photoshop knowledge was very limited, I found the organised sessions very easy to follow and I was over the moon at the amount I had learned. I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice in the coming months ahead.

Lorna McGivern

As someone who has attended numerous digital workshops and training I can honestly say Big Rock Academy’s introduction to Photoshop was the best I’ve ever experienced. They excelled in teaching us the logic behind the main tools in a very easy to understand way.

Rachael Weir

I just completed the Advanced Photoshop course at Big Rock Academy and I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve learnt. I now feel equipped to put it into practice in my job. I had a great teacher and I was able to really get to grasps with the software very quickly.

Course Requirements
£295 +vat