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Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork
Listen up, designers, and wipe those grins off your faces It's time to get serious about your design work. For too long you've allowed yourself to go soft, relying on your software to do all of your creative work for you. This book will NOT show you how to use every tool and feature in Adobe Illustrator. This book WILL, however, teach you the importance of drawing out your ideas, analyzing the shapes, and then methodically building them precisely in vector form using the techniques explained in this book.
In "Vector Basic Training," acclaimed illustrative designer Von Glitschka takes you through his systematic process for creating the kind of precise vector graphics that separate the pros from the mere toolers. Along the way, he'll whip your drawing skills into shape and show you how to create elegant curves and precise anchor points for your designs. Between the book and the video tutorials on the included DVD, you'll be ready for active creative duty in zero hundred hours or less.
In "Vector Basic Training," you'll learn:
The tools and shortcuts that make up a design pro's creative armamentHow to use "The Clockwork Method" to create accurate curves every time When and where to set just the right number of anchor points for any design How to build shapes quickly using basic Illustrator tools and plug-insTechniques for art directing yourself so that your work gets the response you desireWhy symmetry is your friend and how to use it effectively in your designs"To get the most out of this book it is recommended that you have Adobe Illustrator CS4 or higher."
On the DVD-ROM Von Glitschka reports for duty in over four hours' worth of video tutorials that walk you through all of the techniques explained in the book. Also included: downloadable art files you can use to follow along on your own and deconstruct samples shown in the book.
In "Vector Basic Training," acclaimed illustrative designer Von Glitschka takes you through his systematic process for creating the kind of precise vector graphics that separate the pros from the mere toolers. Along the way, he'll whip your drawing skills into shape and show you how to create elegant curves and precise anchor points for your designs. Between the book and the video tutorials on the included DVD, you'll be ready for active creative duty in zero hundred hours or less.
In "Vector Basic Training," you'll learn:
The tools and shortcuts that make up a design pro's creative armamentHow to use "The Clockwork Method" to create accurate curves every time When and where to set just the right number of anchor points for any design How to build shapes quickly using basic Illustrator tools and plug-insTechniques for art directing yourself so that your work gets the response you desireWhy symmetry is your friend and how to use it effectively in your designs"To get the most out of this book it is recommended that you have Adobe Illustrator CS4 or higher."
On the DVD-ROM Von Glitschka reports for duty in over four hours' worth of video tutorials that walk you through all of the techniques explained in the book. Also included: downloadable art files you can use to follow along on your own and deconstruct samples shown in the book.
234 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2010
56 people are currently reading
384 people want to read
About the author
Von Glitschka
14 books8 followersCreative Director / Illustrator
Von Glitschka is a designer, illustrator, and avid pursuer of all things creative.
Von is creative director of Glitschka Studios, a multidisciplinary design firm in the Pacific Northwest. The studio shines as a creative hired gun for ad agencies, design firms, and in-house corporate art departments all around the world.
He's a popular speaker on the topics of design, creativity, branding, and marketing and has written six books.
Von Glitschka is a designer, illustrator, and avid pursuer of all things creative.
Von is creative director of Glitschka Studios, a multidisciplinary design firm in the Pacific Northwest. The studio shines as a creative hired gun for ad agencies, design firms, and in-house corporate art departments all around the world.
He's a popular speaker on the topics of design, creativity, branding, and marketing and has written six books.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 16, 2012
(More pictures on my blog)
It's worth repeating the book description first. The book does not cover all the tools and features of Adobe Illustrator, the vector drawing software.
This a basic introductory guide to creating vector work, as suggested by the cover. More specifically, it focuses on using the Pen tool (understanding how Bezier curves work) and the philosophy of creating vector work. The author's philosophy is that you should be able to draw well enough and conceptualize ideas on paper before turning them to vector using software. It always helps to draft things out on paper first.
The examples shown in the book are from Adobe Illustrator software but the knowledge should be applicable to other vector software since it's mostly about using the Pen tool.
The 2 hours plus video tutorials on the DVD teach by showing so they are pretty helpful. Sometimes concepts are quicker to grasp just by watching. Exercise files are in Adobe Illustrator CS2 and CS4 file formats.
I will not recommend this as the first book to get if you are just starting to learn vector drawing. Begin with a software dedicated book first, such as the Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a Book series, which will give a good overview and working knowledge of the drawing tools and features available. Only when you feel that you need additional Pen tool training would I then suggest you get Vector Basic Training.
March 2, 2011
Fantastic book for anyone who uses vector graphics in their design work. There is really nothing else like it. If you (or anyone on your team) needs to learn best-practices for professional vector illustration, this is a great book. Some of the layer-convention & file management stuff at the end might be helpfull for creative teams working together.
I've been using illustrator for 10 years and still found this book usefull and informative. He goes into some powerfull plug-in toolsets for Illustrator that I'd never heard about that I'm sure will be usefull in logo design work.
There are also some of von Glitschka's vector illustrations on the included DVD. Many of them come with hi-res textures from his other book on textures, called Crumble Crackle Burn.
I've been using illustrator for 10 years and still found this book usefull and informative. He goes into some powerfull plug-in toolsets for Illustrator that I'd never heard about that I'm sure will be usefull in logo design work.
There are also some of von Glitschka's vector illustrations on the included DVD. Many of them come with hi-res textures from his other book on textures, called Crumble Crackle Burn.
December 27, 2015
Another Brilliant book that I couldn't stop reading the moment I fell into the first page.
I learned lots of things from this book, not only to be a good or a successful Designer, but of how to successful in your entire life. How much every Art Master Piece needs to be treated carefully, how much is it a must for us to take care of the details, every single one of them. Lots of life lessons besides the Graphic Designs lessons.
Some of strong inspiring quotes from the book;
" This level of detail is what separates the pros
from the amateurs. A pro will take the time to refine
the shape, whereas an amateur will usually say, “This
is good enough.” "
..
"In other words, don’t settle for good enough:
If you think you can improve something, that’s a good enough excuse to
do it"
..
"Art directing yourself means you need to be your worst
critic. Don’t settle for good enough. Keep your creative
standard high and relentlessly pursue design excellence as
often as possible so it becomes your new creative normal.
Resist taking the easy road toward stagnation. Instead, stir
up your creative juices and eventually you’ll be doing the
full-tilt creative boogie!"
I learned lots of things from this book, not only to be a good or a successful Designer, but of how to successful in your entire life. How much every Art Master Piece needs to be treated carefully, how much is it a must for us to take care of the details, every single one of them. Lots of life lessons besides the Graphic Designs lessons.
Some of strong inspiring quotes from the book;
" This level of detail is what separates the pros
from the amateurs. A pro will take the time to refine
the shape, whereas an amateur will usually say, “This
is good enough.” "
..
"In other words, don’t settle for good enough:
If you think you can improve something, that’s a good enough excuse to
do it"
..
"Art directing yourself means you need to be your worst
critic. Don’t settle for good enough. Keep your creative
standard high and relentlessly pursue design excellence as
often as possible so it becomes your new creative normal.
Resist taking the easy road toward stagnation. Instead, stir
up your creative juices and eventually you’ll be doing the
full-tilt creative boogie!"
January 3, 2014
One of the most insightful books I've read about vector illustration. Mr. Glitschka shares his personal process and thoughts about drawing but also provides valuable technical information and resource links. What I liked best is that he emphasizes the value of hand drawings and I was also relieved to see that like me he goes back and forth from hand-drawn to vector until he achieves what he wants. Sometimes we feel isolated working as independent artists so it's nice when artist's share their process on a personal level like that.
April 13, 2011
Loved it! I will recommend it to all my students
April 18, 2018
This exceptional book turned out to be for me especially THE thing that broke my long years of art block. "It doesn't matter whether you have mood for drawing or not. Hardly ever you have such a luxury to wait for something to inspire you." Glitschka, thank you for this line as well as helping me through your book with teaching me how to trace my drawings. As a student, nobody taught me more than the AI program itself and I was starting to feel a bit desperate because I missed the proper know-how about the workflow. This taught me everything I needed.
September 18, 2020
One of the best vector books that I have ever read. Detailed with loads examples with pictures and tips. Teaches the core about how to create vector drawings, without focusing specifically on how to use software, which helps my students tremendously when learning about vector art.
April 2, 2020
Great resource and very informative.
July 30, 2020
Could be a five-star 1000-word blog post. Redeemed by the very helpful "Clock Method", but otherwise tedious.
September 6, 2023
Kind of boring. There are better and more simple resources available that I would choose over this book
September 8, 2019
A wonderous flood of useful information
This book is so great! For beginners to advanced, it will be great to keep in your library. I will always refer back to it. ❤️
This book is so great! For beginners to advanced, it will be great to keep in your library. I will always refer back to it. ❤️
June 28, 2022
6/27/22 Update: I've just finished watching all the videos that come with this book. Wow! This is an incredible resource as you get to watch how he works in addition to having access to the files. So, the book all by itself would probably be just 3 stars, but the whole thing is a 5 and is designed to work as a set.
-----------------------------
Original review (before I watched all the videos and dipped into the source files):
Seems like a solid book all around. Concepts presented well and the approach looks like a productive and practical one. I think I was expecting to be a bit more inspired from this book, but I certainly took a way a lot of useful tips and learned some new stuff. I might bump it up a star after I finish watching all of the video that came as part of a package with the book. It's only in the last couple years that I've started to dip my toes into the illustration waters. Check back with me in a few years to see if I've learned to swim or not...
Von Glitschka has a very fun and playful illustration style (see below). You can see more of his work on Instagram and Behance (amongst others), and he teaches online at https://www.lynda.com/Von-Glitschka/189112-1.html.
In addition to video, he also includes the Adobe Illustrator source files for a lot of the examples in the book, so you can see exactly how they were constructed. It is a wealth of resources.
-----------------------------
Original review (before I watched all the videos and dipped into the source files):
Seems like a solid book all around. Concepts presented well and the approach looks like a productive and practical one. I think I was expecting to be a bit more inspired from this book, but I certainly took a way a lot of useful tips and learned some new stuff. I might bump it up a star after I finish watching all of the video that came as part of a package with the book. It's only in the last couple years that I've started to dip my toes into the illustration waters. Check back with me in a few years to see if I've learned to swim or not...
Von Glitschka has a very fun and playful illustration style (see below). You can see more of his work on Instagram and Behance (amongst others), and he teaches online at https://www.lynda.com/Von-Glitschka/189112-1.html.
In addition to video, he also includes the Adobe Illustrator source files for a lot of the examples in the book, so you can see exactly how they were constructed. It is a wealth of resources.
September 29, 2012
I am so glad I bought this book - I can tell it will be one that I go back to over and over again and I try to improve my skills. There is so much helpful information here and it's presented in a way that is easy to understand and apply. It's perfect for people like me who know what all the buttons do but aren't always sure what to do with all the buttons.
December 14, 2016
A really great tutorial on creating your own awesome vector artwork. Glitschka is the rare artist who is able to break down his process so completely that a total novice like myself can pick it up. The combination of text and videos (available online) greatly increases the effectiveness of this training.
May 21, 2017
One guys method with Vector art.
I liked the book. Though I find some of his methods intriguing (like moving back and forth between digital and physical drawings), I'd like to start and stay in the digital world.
I liked the book. Though I find some of his methods intriguing (like moving back and forth between digital and physical drawings), I'd like to start and stay in the digital world.
July 20, 2017
Impressive
I knew absolutely nothing about vector drawing. This book is both informative and entertaining. I loved reading it, and I look forward to using the files.
I knew absolutely nothing about vector drawing. This book is both informative and entertaining. I loved reading it, and I look forward to using the files.
September 30, 2012
Great book for learning the pen tool and how to go from sketch to digital illustration.
January 11, 2012
a must have for the course.
February 16, 2012
Mr. Von Glitschka is amazing.
End. Of. Story.
End. Of. Story.
June 18, 2012
Very useful and inspiring guide in vector graphic.
June 18, 2012
Very informative...I really learned a lot!
August 11, 2012
This book is God if you are trying to improve your use and understanding of bezier curves.
Read
April 7, 2013great^^
July 17, 2016
Good book on helping understand the process(and best practices) in building vector graphics.
June 27, 2016
Not only a fantastic book on creating vector art, it is great for art direction, file organization, illustration inspiration and the creative process. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews