How Long Does it Take to Learn Illustrator?

Like many aspiring Graphic Designers, you might want to learn Illustrator but worry that it will take too much time. Adobe Illustrator is an accessible, user-friendly program that students can learn the basics of within a few hours, opening them up to experiment with the program. However, students wanting to use the program professionally will need much more training to master Illustrator. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn Illustrator and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics design tool used in several industries, including graphic design and web design. The program allows users to build graphics and illustrations out of vectors, meaning they are composed of lines, shapes, and points. These illustrations are easily resizable with minimal decay in graphics quality (unlike pixel-based graphics, which do not resize without becoming blurry or blocky). Images designed in Illustrator are perfect for packaging, advertising, or branding endeavors that allow the same image to be placed on both a business card and a billboard.

Illustrator is also a key part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, a collection of creative tools that give graphic designers a wide range of tools for creating stunning visual imagery. These programs are seamlessly integrated and built to allow optimized crossover. Illustrator is frequently used alongside Adobe Photoshop (a program with a similar but distinct function) and Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, video editing programs that utilize Illustrator to create animated effects.

Read more about what Illustrator is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Illustrator?

Illustrator is a vector graphics design tool that lets users create their own illustrations. Using points, lines, shapes, and text, the program lets users build vector graphics illustrations designed to be infinitely scalable, letting users resize them at will. Therefore, Illustrator is ideal for drawing images that will be mass-produced and placed in multiple contexts, such as art prints, company logos, branded merchandise, official letterhead seals, and many other uses. Illustrator lets users build an image once and repurpose it on everything from water bottles to billboards.

Using Illustrator, creatives can build recognizable logos and iconography to help define a client’s brand identity. The most common uses of Illustrator are within the graphic design and advertising industries, though other industries, such as the fashion industry, have their uses for Illustrator. In these professional settings, users can construct illustrations that quickly and effectively convey meaning and help consumers recognize the products being sold. Almost all product packaging is made using vector graphics, meaning that almost every company selling a product to consumers will use Illustrator.

For non-professionals or aspiring entrepreneurs, learning InDesign can help users build their online identities. Small business owners, crafters looking to break into Etsy, local musicians looking to sell decals, or even activists wanting to build memorable logos and signage for their organization all benefit from learning Illustrator. Quick, efficient graphic communication is vital across many fields, and Illustrator can make building these graphic designs faster and more efficient.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Illustrator

The time it takes to learn Illustrator will largely depend on how much mastery a student hopes to gain over the program. Learning the basics of Illustrator for personal use can be done in only a few days. Realistically, students can master the interface well enough to start experimenting in a few hours.

However, students hoping to learn the advanced features of Illustrator or to use the program professionally will need far more training. Most bootcamps and training courses take a few days to a week, but some professional training courses can run for several weeks to a few months, and even then, students will need on-the-job experience to fully master illustrator.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

Learning a new skill, especially one like Adobe Illustrator, can be an intimidating task. Students who are wavering on whether or not they wish to learn Illustrator may be wondering what the learning curve for the program looks like. Illustrator is a program that is very inviting to beginners, offering many resources to ease new users into the program. Still, it is also a very complex tool that will require significant experience and training to master. The difficulty of learning Illustrator will depend on whether you hope to learn the program to build simple, colorful designs or use it to draw complex, professional-looking logos for a business or organization.

There aren’t any formal prerequisites to learning Adobe Illustrator. Users can download the program and experiment with vector graphic design within minutes. Users should familiarize themselves with the platform basics on which they hope to use Illustrator, whether on a desktop PC or tablet. For students considering professional uses of Illustrator, anyone without a background in graphic design may wish to brush up on current trends in the graphic design industry. Knowledge of color theory, philosophies of composition, and typography can help users demonstrate their skills to prospective clients.

As a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Illustrator requires users to pay a subscription fee to access the program. Several unique packages are available for users wishing to license multiple programs at once, but they should be aware that there are either monthly or annual fees associated with Illustrator.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Illustrator.

Watch a Free Illustrator Course Online

For students looking to gain familiarity with Illustrator but aren’t yet sure that they want to enroll in a paid training course, there are a handful of free options available to help in learning the basics of the program. These tutorials won’t replace guided hands-on instruction, but they are opportunities to develop a familiarity with the program before enrolling in a training program.

Noble Desktop’s resources blog provides students with brief articles and introductory material to learn the basics of Illustrator. Two introductory courses, Intro to Adobe Illustrator and Creative Effects with Adobe Illustrator, provide students with basic lessons in the illustrations for which Illustrator is most suited. Noble’s Graphic Design YouTube Playlist also provides students free introductory lessons in specific graphic design tools and design philosophies.

Students can also find more detailed information about Adobe Illustrator at the Learn Adobe Illustrator on Noble’s Learn Hub.

Additionally, as part of their free trial, the first time a user opens Adobe Illustrator, they are provided with a brief tutorial of some of the program's basic features. This tutorial concludes with directions to Adobe’s free Illustrator tutorials.

Read about more free Illustrator videos and online tutorials.

Learn Illustrator with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers an array of Illustrator classes and bootcamps for students hoping to receive Illustrator training through a live online course. Noble’s Illustrator in a Day course offers introductory instruction in the basic functionalities of the program, such as the pen and pencil tool, the function of different layers and brushes, and the process of preparing a file for publication. This course is ideal for students who expect to work with Illustrator in the future but don’t imagine that they will do so every day or that they will need to engage with the complicated features of the program.

For students who do feel that they will need to work with the more advanced features of Illustrator, Noble’s Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp offers in-depth training in the tools that allow Illustrator to create complex and vibrant vector illustrations. Students will learn to work with masks, alter colors and gradients, and build custom patterns. They will also create practical sample designs such as T-shirts and signage to include in a design portfolio. These exercises mirror the projects that professional Graphic Designers undertake, and this course is an ideal place to learn how to use Illustrator professionally.

Aspiring career Graphic Designers can build their skills in many different design programs by enrolling in Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program. This program confers upon students a state-approved certificate in the mastery of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. Beyond learning the functionalities of these programs, students will receive lessons in theories of design and composition. They will work towards building various sample designs to be included as part of their sample portfolio as a prerequisite for completion. Students looking to expand their design skills further can enroll in Noble’s Digital Design Certificate program, which covers all of this information, plus lessons in user interface and web page design for digital publications.

These Design Certificate programs are career-focused courses that provide students with one-on-one career mentorship. As a student’s final project, they will build a sample design portfolio to showcase their skills to prospective employers. By the end of these programs, students will be prepared to enter the workforce in a new, high-paying career.

Key Insights

• How long it takes to learn Adobe Illustrator will depend on how much training a student wants to receive in the program. Introductory training can be completed in a few days, while more advanced training can take weeks or even months.
• There are only a few technical prerequisites to learning Adobe Illustrator, but aspiring graphic designers should familiarize themselves with theories of composition and industry trends if they plan to work with Illustrator.
• Free online resources are a good starting point for Illustrator training, but these tutorials are unlikely to replace guided professional training.
• There are many different kinds of online and in-person training options available. Students should ask themselves how much time they want to invest in learning Illustrator.
• Students looking to learn the basics of Illustrator may wish to consider one or two-day introductory courses. Students looking to make a career out of graphic design may consider an in-depth bootcamp or certificate program.