Each lesson in my class Adobe illustrator class 'Make Circular Logos and Icons', teaches you a small number of techniques and will give you the opportunity to learn new skills in the project that you will design and plenty of practice to speed up your design process.

Abstract graphic symbols are often used as part of icon & logo design in order to convey an idea or concept in a creative and eye catching way. The shapes of these graphic symbols can vary a lot, but circular symbols are some of the most commonly used shapes and have become one of the more popular trends in logo design.

In today’s class you will learn how to make a series of graphic symbols using a method of rotating a shape around a central point. You will learn the techniques to create a series of geometric shapes and to place them in a grid to create a finished design. The lessons use a similar process throughout to create the designs and help to speed up your design process. Using keyboard shortcuts will become second nature as you work through the lessons.

Notes for the course:

Here's a list of keyboard shortcuts used in the course:

Selection tool = V

Rectangle tool = M

Rotate tool = R

Transform again = CMD + D (use this to repeat the rotation of a shape)

Live Paint Bucket tool = K

Show/Hide Rulers = CMD + R

Constrain a shape's proportions = Shift + Drag with the mouse

Draw from the centre of a shape = Alt/Option + Drag with the mouse

Increase/Decrease star points in Star Tool or for circles and line dividers in Polar Grid Tool: use up and down arrows on keyboard whilst holding down with the mouse.

NB: Mac users sometimes refer to the 'alt' key as the 'option' key

Saving graphics for Web in Illustrator for different versions of Adobe Illustrator

In this course, the two final lessons show you how to create and export your icons for use on the web.

The first of these lessons, shows you the 'save for web' dialogue box used in earlier version of Adobe Illustrator. The second of these lessons demonstrates the 'export for screens'dialogue box available in more recent versions of Adobe Illustrator Creative Cloud.

The skills learned for rotating the shape remain the same in both versions. If you are doing the 'export for screens' lesson in an earlier version of illustrator, create the icons shown on one art board and then 'save for web' as you did in the previous lesson.

Christopher Gist

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