Most people who struggle with vector graphics aren't missing creativity — they're missing a clear mental model of how paths actually work. Once you understand that every shape is just a set of points connected by mathematical curves, the whole thing clicks into place.
What this course covers
We start with the fundamentals that most tutorials skip: the difference between corner and smooth anchor points, why your handles aren't doing what you expect, and how the Pen tool actually calculates those curves. Not theory — hands-on exercises with shapes you'll recognize from real projects.
Bezier curves and path logic
Bezier curves intimidate people for no good reason. Once you've drawn about fifty of them by hand, you stop fighting the tool. We'll build muscle memory with controlled exercises: tracing letterforms, constructing icons from geometric primitives, and cleaning up auto-traced artwork.
Working with fills, strokes, and appearance
There's a big difference between a stroke that looks 2px and a stroke that is 2px. We'll cover how appearance attributes stack, why live effects can wreck your file size, and when to expand versus when to leave things editable.
File formats and export reality
SVG, EPS, PDF, AI — each has quirks that bite you at the wrong moment. We'll walk through what actually happens when you export: which effects survive, what gets rasterized, and how to structure your file so developers don't hate you.
The goal isn't to make you fast. Speed comes on its own. The goal is to make you precise, so you're not redoing the same path three times because an anchor was slightly off.
— Course instructor
Real project walkthroughs
Each module ends with a small project: a brand icon, a UI element set, a scalable illustration. You'll see the decisions being made in real time — including the wrong turns and corrections. No polished-from-the-start demos.
Software used: Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape (free alternative sections included). You'll need at least a basic comfort with a computer; zero prior vector experience is fine.
Course Structure
- How paths actually work — anchor points, handles, open vs. closed paths, direction of a path and why it matters
- The Pen tool without the frustration — exercises for corners, curves, and compound shapes; common mistakes and how to fix them
- Shape construction methods — Pathfinder operations, Boolean logic, building complex shapes from simple geometry
- Typography as vectors — converting text, editing glyphs, creating outlined type for print and screen
- Appearance panel and live effects — stacking attributes, when effects help and when they bloat your file
- Color systems in vector work — spot vs. process, RGB vs. CMYK, global swatches and why they save time
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Export for every use case
- SVG for web: clean code, minimal nodes
- PDF for print: bleeds, overprint, embedded fonts
- EPS and legacy format handling
- Final project — complete a small icon set from brief to export-ready files
Each session is roughly 60–75 minutes. No filler, no long intros. You'll have reference files and exercise sheets for every module.