When I first opened Adobe Illustrator, I honestly had no idea what I was doing.
The interface looked complicated, the tools felt unfamiliar, and everything seemed a little overwhelming at first. But once I started learning the fundamentals, things slowly began to make sense.
Graphic design — like many creative skills — becomes much easier when you understand a few core principles.
Here are five basics I learned while starting my journey with Adobe Illustrator.
1. Everything in Illustrator Is Vector
One of the first things I learned is that Illustrator doesn’t work with pixels like Photoshop does.
Instead, it uses vector graphics.
Vector graphics are made of mathematical paths, which means your designs can be scaled to any size without losing quality. Whether you make a design small enough for a business card or large enough for a billboard, it will remain sharp.
This is why Illustrator is commonly used for logos, icons, branding elements, and illustrations.
Understanding the difference between vector graphics and raster images is one of the first things that helped me understand how Illustrator works.
2. Two Tools Control Almost Everything
When I first opened Illustrator, it felt like there were too many tools to learn.
But I quickly realized something interesting: most actions are controlled by just two tools.
The Selection Tool (V) lets you move objects around the canvas.
The Direct Selection Tool (A) allows you to edit shapes by adjusting their anchor points.
Once I understood how these two tools worked, navigating Illustrator suddenly became much easier.
3. Everything Starts With Simple Shapes
Another thing that surprised me is how many complex designs actually start with something very simple.
- Circles
- Rectangles
- Polygons
Many illustrations are built by combining and modifying these basic shapes.
At first, complex artwork can look intimidating. But when you break it down, you often realize that it’s just a combination of simple forms put together step by step.
That realization completely changed how I started approaching design.
4. The Pen Tool Is Powerful (and a Little Intimidating)
If there is one tool every Illustrator beginner hears about, it’s the Pen Tool.
The Pen Tool allows you to create precise curves and custom shapes by placing anchor points and adjusting their handles.
When I tried it for the first time, I honestly had no idea what I was doing.
But the more I practiced, the more I started to understand how powerful this tool actually is.
It’s essential for creating custom illustrations, smooth curves, and detailed vector paths.
Like many things in design, it simply takes patience and practice.
5. Layers Keep Everything Organized
As designs become more complex, organization becomes incredibly important.
That’s where layers come in.
Layers allow you to separate different elements of your design so you can work on them individually without affecting other parts of the artwork.
Using layers makes it easier to manage complex projects and keeps your design files organized.
It’s one of those habits that’s worth learning early.
Final Thoughts
Learning Adobe Illustrator can feel overwhelming at the beginning.
But once you start understanding the fundamentals, the software becomes much easier to navigate.
For me, these five basics helped transform Illustrator from something confusing into a tool I actually enjoy exploring.
And the truth is — I’m still learning.
Graphic design is one of those fields where there’s always something new to discover.
And that’s exactly what makes the journey so exciting.
XOXO,
Lori