How to make Black & White Images in Illustrator?

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Course contents
SECTION: 4
Keyboard Shortcuts 14:06

Questions

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Course info

104 lessons / 10 hours 33 quiz questions 31 projects Certificate of achievement

Overview

Hey there, I'm Dan Scott, an Adobe Certified Instructor with over 16 years of design experience under my belt, I'm part of the Adobe Expert program, and my online and in-person classes have been attended by more than a million people, just like you! Join me as we dive into the exciting world of Adobe Illustrator Advanced! In this course, you're not just leveling up in Illustrator, you're transforming into an Illustrator SuperHero!

In this course you will work on a bespoke brief designed to ignite your imagination, coupled with immersive course videos, you'll be crafting jaw-dropping graphics in no time. Throughout our journey together, you'll flex your creative muscles and construct projects that will elevate your portfolio to new heights. So, let's dive in and unleash your creativity!

You’ll learn:

  • - How to use artificial intelligence to boost your creativity in ideation. 
  • - The quick way to take hand-drawn sketches and vectorize and color them. 
  • - The building blocks needed to set you loose on a huge variety of beautiful effects and techniques.
  • - To make beautiful charts and graphs for your documents. 
  • - Color mastery to make quick color adjustments, Pantones, and blend it all together beautifully.
  • - How to master images inside of your illustrator workflow. 
  • - To harness all the secret gems that'll help you level up your typography skills. 
  • - All the tricks of the trade for drawing complex shapes easily. 
  • - To double your creativity with the Transform and Distort section. 
  • - To speed up your personal workflow to get the most out of your creative day.

Explore the full course outline for a comprehensive list of topics that will expand your Illustrator prowess beyond imagination.

If you're already comfortable navigating the basics but want to  unlock the true potential of Illustrator, then this Illustrator Advanced course is your ticket to becoming a master of Illustrator! So join me and the ranks of design superheroes and let's embark on this thrilling journey together.

Requirements:

- All you need is a copy of Adobe Illustrator, you can get a free trial from Adobe here to get started.
- A basic knowledge of Illustrator is required. I recommend watching my Illustrator Essentials course prior to embarking on this epic adventure.

Who this course is for:

- Creative adventurers who already have a basic understanding of Illustrator.
- Self-taught Illustrator enthusiasts yearning for structured guidance.
- Graduates of my Illustrator Essentials Course, hungry for more knowledge and skills.
- Visionaries who have developed their own unique Illustrator approach but crave exploration of the vast universe of tools, updates, and time-saving techniques.

What you'll learn:

- How to use Text to Vector Ai
- How to use Text to Pattern Ai
- How to use Generative Recolor
- When to use the Scissor Tool, Eraser Tool & Knife Tool
- Advanced Shape Builder Uses
- The differences between the Pathfinder Vs Shape Builder
- How to use the Join tool & Joining Path Ends
- Advanced Pen Tool Tricks
- Width Tool Advanced Techniques
- The Curvature Tool
- How to master corners with corner widget effects
- How to work with Compound Paths
- The difference between Expand & Expand Appearance
- How to create Graphic Styles
- How to make Symbols
- How to use the Smooth Tool
- Advanced use of Simplify Path
- What Live Shape Effects are for
- How to make Repeating Grids & Concentric Circles
- How to make Random Objects
- Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts in Illustrator
- How to add a Gradient on a Stroke
- How to add a Gradient in Text
- How to use the Freeform Gradient tool
- How to use Advanced Color Swatches
- How to use Global Color Swatches
- What is the difference between RGB vs CMYK color modes?
- How to proof colors
- How to use Pantone Spot Colors
- Recolor Artwork & Changing all colors at once
- How to use Blending Modes
- How to work with Images & Blending Modes
- How to make Black & White Images
- Learn Advanced Workflow Tricks
- All the Super Selection Mastery
- How to use the History Panel
- Advanced Fonts Tricks & Tips
- Use Retype to know what Font is being used
- How to put Text Inside a Letter or Shape
- How to use the Touch Type Tool
- How to add a Connected Stroke Around Multiple Shapes
- How to Offset a Stroke with Text
- How to make a Bar Chart in Illustrator
- How to make a Pie Chart in Illustrator
- Layer Power Moves
- Advanced Artboard & Pages Tricks
- How to Unlink vs Embedded Images
- How to Crop Images Rather than Mask
- How to Mask Inside Text & Multiple Shapes
- How to you use the Puppet Warp Tool
- How to use the Distort Envelope Shape & Type
- How to use the Envelope Mesh
- How to blend lines together
- How to make a Linocut Effect
- How to make 3D Gradient Lettering Blends
- How to spin text into a ring
- How to turn text into a 3D donut shape
- How to make a Duotone image effect
- How to make a Roughen Stamp Vector Effect
- How to make a Neon Sign Glow Effect
- How to use a Halftone Effect using Plugins
- Advanced Exporting Assets Tricks in Illustrator
- How to use the Dimension Tool

So what're you waiting for? Let's start the course now!
Daniel Scott

Daniel Scott

Founder of Bring Your Own Laptop & Chief Instructor

instructor

I discovered the world of design as an art student when I stumbled upon a lab full of green & blue iMac G3’s. My initial curiosity around using the computer to create ‘art’ developed into a full-blown passion, eventually leading me to become a digital designer and founder of Bring Your Own Laptop.

Sharing and teaching are a huge part of who I am. As a certified Adobe instructor, I've had the honor of winning multiple Adobe teaching awards at their annual MAX conference. I see Bring Your Own Laptop as the supportive community I wished for when I was first starting out and intimidated by design. Through teaching, I hope to bring others along for the ride and empower my students to bring their stories, labors of love, and art into the world.
True to my Kiwi roots, I've lived in many places, and currently, I reside in Ireland with my wife and kids.

Certificates

We’re awarding certificates for this course!

Check out the How to earn your certificate video for instructions on how to earn yours and click the available certificate levels below for more information.

How to earn your certificate

Work your way towards your certificate for this course by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz (Merit level courses only)
  • Complete the Distinction Certificate Project (Distinction level courses only) - look out for the video marked with
  • Upload your Distinction project to the My Projects area in your account
  • Request your certificate when you've completed the requirements for the certificate level you're working towards

Good luck!

Pass certificates

We’re awarding ‘Pass’ level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your ‘Pass’ certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Don’t forget to request your certificate when all your projects are complete

Good luck!

Merit certificates

We’re awarding ‘Merit’ level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your ‘Merit’ certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz
  • Don’t forget to request your certificate when you have passed the quiz and completed all your projects

Good luck!

Distinction certificates

We're awarding 'Distinction' level certificates for this course.

You can work your way towards your 'Distinction' certificate by following these simple steps.

  • Watch the course videos
  • Complete the Class Projects - look out for the videos marked with
  • Upload your class projects into the My Projects area in your account
  • Complete and pass the Knowledge Quiz
  • Complete the Distinction Certificate Project - look out for the video marked with
  • Upload your Distinction project to the My Projects area in your account
  • Don't forget to request your certificate when you have passed the quiz and completed all your projects

Good luck!

Downloads & Exercise files

Transcript

Hello. Hey, in this video we are going to take this colored image  and switch it out to be a black and white image. And then we'll add some kind of color blending modes  to build on the skills we've already learned. Hey, we'll take it a little bit further as well  and kind of do the black and white image,  but then add some other colors to it and try  and get in a cool effect going. Um, but yeah, this is basically how to black  and white images in Illustrator. There's a couple of things to be mindful of,  mainly whether it's linked or embedded.

Let's jump in and I'll show you how to do it. Okay? Uh, it's play along. Open up black  and white, oh one from your exercise files. Okay? Basically just an image behind some stuff.

So the first thing we wanna do is we want to  with it selected, okay? We wanna make it black and white and it's easy. You go to edit, go to edit colors,  and there's one in here called convert to gray Scale. Bam. And you might be going up there  and going, Hey, that's not available 'cause it's grayed out. What ends up happening is images that you want to convert  to black and white need to be what's called  embedded in Illustrator.

What I mean by embedded is if I bring in an image, um,  command shift p control shift P on a pc,  I bring in from the exercise files black and white. O2. See this one linked with it linked, okay? It's gonna link and reference this image. It's not gonna do the black and white thing with a broken,  it's called embedded, okay? And it's part of this file not linked to this  and it will do, uh, the black and white thing.

So just make sure it's not linked. If you've imported it already,  let me say let's import it, okay? And it's linked. And if you, let's have a look. Edit. Uh, let's go to edit colors.

Can you see, can't do a lot of stuff to it. We can embed it by selecting it down here at the moment. Can you see there's this like link image? Okay, I can click on that  or I can go to my window and go to links. Open that up and this guy here is linked. This guy's not.

So that's that one. And this is the  new one that I just imported. And what you can do is you can say with it selected,  you my friend, are embedded. Thank you very much. Now with it selected, I should be able  to go to edit, edit colors. Hey, and I can convert it to gray scale.

Okay, so let's do it to this guy. You edit gray scale. Now, uh, let me show you. So edit, edit colors, gray scale. So you kind of just left with  whatever illustrator decides and it's pretty good. And what I end up doing is often doing my black  and white and Photoshop.

And while it's not a Photoshop course, I want to kind  of give you the quick run through and try  and excite you for doing the illustrate. Sorry, Photoshop, either essentials  or advanced course if you haven't already. So in Photoshop here it does the same thing. I've got the same file open, I go to adjustments. Okay? There is one in here called uh, no single adjustments.

Okay? And there's one in here called black and white. Is that one there? I think give it a click. You'll see it does a very similar thing. But the nice thing about it is you can decide afterwards  what becomes black and white  and how much is dark and how much is light.

Just demo it Dan. Okay, so the reds here, watch this. I left and right. You see everything that has any sort  of red tone or tint to it in the video, you can control  and make it darker or lighter. Okay? So it gives you a lot more control.

Okay? Yellows, there's a lot in his skin, so you might decide  that you want it to be, uh, just a little bit darker. Greens, there is no greens in this entire image. Somehow there's a little bit in the edges, not really cyan,  just in his pocket and on his, uh, arm patches. Okay? So you can see, you can kind of like play around  with this to get it to be more of the black  and white image that you thought it might be.

The other cool thing about the one in Photoshop is there is  this thing called the uh, on art. Slider doesn't really have a name. It's this little finger with the arrows on it. You can click on it and say,  actually I'm gonna grab his cheeks  and click hold and drag a lift. And right, you can, instead of trying to work out  what the sliders are, you can go, all right,  this check here want to be darker  or want the, you know, the fence to be darker or lighter. Okay?

You can work on, you know, click  and drag on the artwork. You can also tint it, which is handy. Okay? Click on tint, pick a color, okay? And decide what you wanna do. Anyway, uh, if you are interested,  you can check out my Photoshop Advanced  or Photoshop essentials course.

And alright, so we've got at black and white. And what I find really cool is being able to kind  of have this like monochrome image  or just one with a simple tint  and then grabbing this top color here. And we've done this before, right? I like going to opacity and going through  and say, Ooh, darken  or, I love this kind of interaction here. Um, especially with this kind of like blood red  and you can work your way through more color blending modes. All right, which one?

I'm gonna go for color burn. Love it. Now when the image is black  and white in the background, okay,  I talked about not using black and white earlier on. Okay? Solid black and solid white  and at least one of the two needs to be a color. This can be black and white or at least gray scale.

And then we can work on these colors in the top. If this was solid black, eh,  it wouldn't work very well if it was solid white, not  so well either, but because this is a lot  of tonal range in here, we can do some cool stuff. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna make a  duplicate of this art board. So shift O is the weird shortcut  for the art board tool, okay? And we've got one art board. Let's  duplicate it like we do a box.

Hold down the option key on a Mac alt,  key on a PC and just drag it out. So we've got two of them. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna  keep dragging it by clicking anywhere inside. Okay? Making sure in the art board tool, that's it there. Okay?

Um, just so I got a bit of space between them,  it's tricky to do what I'm gonna do next when they're too  close, close down the links panel. Gonna grab my black selection tool. I'm gonna grab this and I'm just gonna do,  I'm gonna make some giant stripes, okay? Like I saw at the beginning there, just kind of rotate 'em  around, make 'em big a little bit wider, okay? And the layer order here is important. Okay?

I want them behind this text here. So what I'm gonna do is have it selected and use my command  but not shift and use square bracket. That doesn't work. It does  and it kind of just moves it down at one level at a time. So I'm holding the commande down on a Mac control key on a  PC and just hitting the first square racket. So go back one back one more.

You gotta kind of keep going until you're like, okay,  it's just in front of the image and like we did  before, let's go to opacity. Let's go to normal and find something that works for this. Cool. Huh? I love this. Oh that is cool.

What is that one? Uh, that one is color burn. Love it. Both of 'em are color burns and maybe this one here goes  back to being normal. Okay, there we go. And to finish it off,  I might go and grab my rectangle tool, which  of course is the M key K  and I'm gonna drag it out across the whole thing  and try and crop this all in.

My image is a little bit big as well, so I'm gonna grab  that on top, grab my V key for my section tool and try  and hold shift and go a teeny tiny image  down the bottom's gonna be hard to select. Uh, yep. How do I know? I kinda wiggle it around. I haven't got any of that. What I'm gonna do is use my black  arrow and just drag a little bit across these.

Can you see what I'm doing there? This is the trick that I use often is I can kind of select  that purple, that red and the image, but nothing else. I'm gonna shift, click and grab these two as well  so we're all connected. Generally I give 'em a wiggle first to kind of go,  all right, I'm doing it right, I'm gonna go command  or control seven to mask it and then send it to the back. Okay? I'll promise that's it for shortcuts for  for the layer order, you know them already.

Alright? Um, so yeah, black and white images. And the cool thing about black and white images is you can  do some interesting stuff when you combine it  with the things that we've learned earlier  and with blending modes. I dunno, I find it spices up. Uh, yeah, spices up images and content. Alright, that is going to be it.

I will see you in the next video.
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