Can anyone recommend a good place to take Illustrator classes in the Seattle area? I’ve done a little searching but haven’t really found anything yet.
Thanks!
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Can’t recommend anything F2F, but the Linda.com training series is outstanding for all of the major software.
(…and I spelled that wrong…)
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Agree 100% – One nice feature is each tutorial is broken up into small steps, so if you need a bit of JITT, you can usually dive in directly to the bit you need.
Here’s a link to a 10-day free trial: https://www.lynda.com
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And, as I have mentioned here before, check your local library to see if it offers Lynda.com access. Mine does, so I can access all Lynda.com content for free, from home, including the exercise files. That and the genealogy database access are the best deals at the library!
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Great tip! The King County public library does offer online access to lynda.com! I just signed up for my library card!
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Just checked my library system one county south of Glowforge HQ (Pierce County.) They’ve got Lynda and more. Thanks for bringing this up again! I didn’t see your original post. Now, how to fit the courses into my schedule?
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Great! And also, there is a Roku app for Lynda.com, so you can watch the training on tv while following along with the software on your laptop!
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Been on Lynda.com on my Roku, my Android phone, and my computer. I’m not educated in this stuff at all and had to translate to Inkscape, but here’s the result of following the creating a graphics avatar illustration from the Drawing Vector Graphics Laboratory in Design Techniques:
Close enough? Either way, highly recommended.
edit: slimmed it up after input from the boss/wife
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Fantastic job! I’m going to have to look up that lesson.
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Nice job!
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Thanks, @cynd11 and @johnwills! Sincerely appreciated. Also, I hope this is the kind of place that can provide constructive criticism as well. Let loose with plain ol’ criticism if you have to even. We can figure out how to make it constructive together.
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Alright, massive criticism, you asked for it…
Your moustache curves down and then curves to point at 90* on both the top and the bottom, while the bottom of the avatar’s moustache is flat then curves up to point at 45*.
That is all.
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Well, the avatar does seem to have far more hair. 
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Quit messin’ with him guys…it looks just like him. 
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Hmmm… how to accept that constructively? From this day forth, I promise to style my moustache like the avatar. (winkey-eyed emoji)
@jamesdhatch It’s there! It’s just the lighting! The quality of the picture file is pretty horrible, too. Should have used a different lens. I think when I edited it the editing program messed up the uh… color… tones… and stuff.
I actually did try to play with gradients to lighten things up closer to the part, but I’m still learning. My wife picks me out of a crowd by spotting the male-pattern beacon on the crown of my head.
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Hahaha, I usually sport a hat in public to mitigate the glare.
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No no no, I was only kidding, I like the curled moustache.
here, I drawered one on the wacom in AI for you as a 'pology.
here is the vector if you want it.
scatterbrains.pdf (1.7 MB)
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May I ask which Wacom you use, and your assessment of it?
Okay, here’s the real winkey emoji. 
I took no offense.
Love the drawing! Just the right amount of hair! 
I used to hate emoji for some reason, but now that I am participating in online conversation I see how they have a place.
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I have a Cintiq 27QHD (non-touch). It is incredible… and totally overkill.
I love it, but it is not for everyone.
a few thoughts:
- I have misplaced my pen several times, and have come very close to touching down on the screen while holding a sharpie on at least two occasions.
- The optional adjustable stand is very nice to have, but it is very large and heavy (and the box it ships in is huge). Depending on your situation, an aftermarket arm-based holder might be a better option: the wacom stand lets you tilt and droop, but not rotate.
- Some positions give me lots of reflections on screen from the overhead lights, which ended up dictating where on the desk I could put it.
- You can use arm gestures; the smaller devices limit you to wrist- and finger-gestures.
- It gets warm underhand, and on hot days I occasionally use a half-glove to avoid warming my hand to the point that it starts to stick and drag on the surface… which can happen.
- Just like with regular drawing, your hand gets between your eyes and the workspace.
- I have a really hard time remembering what custom buttons i have set up for which programs on the little 18-button remote. The pen is in my right hand and my left hand already knows the shortcuts that I use, so that really nifty little remote gets used for exactly one function: allow pen to map to both screens, or lock it to the wacom. Most of the time I reach for the regular mouse with my left hand instead of pushing that button.
- The resolution on the wacom screen is 2.5k, which can cause my eyes to twitch a little when i look back and forth from the “5k” iMac screen (especially at photos).
Before that I was using an Intuos3 for many years, and i loved it. I still use it for travel or at home.
- The intuos is light and thin, so it slips into a backpack sleeve right next to my laptop.
- It is powered by nice long usb cable, so you don’t need to find an extra outlet.
- It does not heat up, which is really nice if you have a laptop that gets hot: leave the laptop on a table and rest the intuos in your lap.
- It takes a little time to get used to looking at the screen while moving your hand somewhere else, but after a while it becomes second nature… and your hand never gets in the way of the screen.
- Tilting the intuos tablet to one side for an angled line (or cross-hatching) is not nearly as intuitive as repositioning yourself over the cintiq.
edit- wacom have done a great job with the “tooth” of the screen/tablet to make it feel more like a pen on paper, not the slippery “marker on glass” or the sticky “rubber on glass” feel i experienced when using the surface3 and -4 pens that I have messed with. (limited)
I have not used an iPadPro/Pencil combo.
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