Status: Available

As the industry-leading vector-based drawing application, Illustrator CS5 is the most powerful tool on the market for creating graphics. But it can be confusing at the beginning-especially if you've never created vector art before.

In this 4-hour tutorial, artist and author Kelly Murdock breaks introduces you to the beautiful simplicity of Illustrator CS5. After mastering the basics of the Illustrator interface, you'll learn to draw objects, edit vector and raster lines, paint and apply custom effects, and work with Illustrator objects in paths, layers, templates, and animations. From there, you're into the fun stuff, transforming objects, editing and smoothing paths, applying gradients and fills, using patterns and transparency, and working with type.

New features in Illustator CS5 are covered in depth, including using the Artboard panel, applying the new Width tool on strokes, and creating complex shapes with the Shape Builder tool. You'll also learn important tips for anti-aliasing vector graphics, creating good-looking text on a path or around a shape, and working efficiently as you hide, lock, combine, and animate layers.

Murdock brings equal measures of artistry and accuracy to his training and his vector art. Let him show you how to get the most out of this powerful illustration application.