Level 1
Illustrator Essentials
Paths, shapes, the pen tool, colour and exporting vector artwork properly.
$890ex GSTLearn more
Level 2
Adobe
2 days
Adobe Illustrator Advanced Course
Adobe Illustrator Advanced at a glance.
- Duration
- 2 days, 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Price
- $990 per person, ex GST — purchase orders welcome
- Delivery
- In person, or live online with a facilitator
- Where
- Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney — or online
- Prerequisite
- Illustrator Essentials
- Class size
- Small — everyone practises out loud more than once
- You take away
- A printed workbook, exercise files, and your own notes
- In-house
- Available for teams of four or more, at your office or ours
What you'll learn.
- Pathfinder, clipping masks and complex shapes
- The appearance panel, effects and graphic styles
- Type on a path, and outlining
- Preparing artwork for print and for the web
Course overview.
Complex paths, appearance and effects, type on a path, brushes, and preparing artwork for print.
The 2 days works through 18 modules and 71 individual topics, from Managing artboards to Colour with Adobe Color. Each module is taught then practised — you do the thing rather than watch it done — on our exercise files, and on your own where you are able to bring them.
Groups are kept small enough that everyone gets hands on the keyboard, and the facilitator is in the room the whole time rather than dropping in. You leave with the workbook, the exercise files and notes in your own words.
Full course outline.
Every module we cover, and the topics inside each one. This is the same outline as the downloadable PDF — expand a module to see what sits under it.
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1Managing artboards5 topics
- Artboard options in depth
- Fit an artboard to the objects on it
- Adjust artboards with the Artboard tool
- Control artboards from the Artboards panel
- Organise a multi-artboard document
-
2Advanced ways to select3 topics
- Select by attribute with the Magic Wand tool
- Draw selections with the Lasso tool
- Store selections for reuse
-
3Custom brushes5 topics
- Build and adjust pattern brushes
- Build and adjust art brushes
- Build and adjust scatter brushes
- Revise a brush already in use
- Base a brush on an image
-
4Styles and libraries2 topics
- Draw on graphic style libraries
- Store your own styles and reapply them
-
5Colour control4 topics
- Find harmonies in the Colour Guide panel
- Recolour existing artwork
- Set artwork up for duotone printing
- Apply blend modes
-
6Masks5 topics
- Apply a clipping mask at layer level
- The clipping mask button versus the menu command
- Apply an opacity mask
- Edit an opacity mask
- Mask artwork with Draw Inside
-
7Distortion techniques3 topics
- Distort artwork with warps
- Distort artwork with a mesh
- Distort with the top object
-
8Painting with Live Paint4 topics
- How Live Paint works
- Fill regions with the Live Paint Bucket tool
- Pick regions with the Live Paint Selection tool
- Convert Live Paint groups to outlines
-
9Type controls5 topics
- Fine-tune typographic settings
- Apply paragraph styles
- Apply character styles
- Update styles and load them in
- Reposition letters with the Touch Type tool
-
10Preferences and settings3 topics
- Share your settings between computers
- Choose typographic shortcut preferences
- Assign scratch disks
-
11Layer management4 topics
- Organise artwork with sublayers
- Find objects in the Layers panel
- Apply effects at layer level
- Nest one group inside another
-
12Appearance attributes4 topics
- Go further with appearance settings
- Add effects to live text without creating outlines
- Copy an appearance to other objects
- Apply live, editable effects
-
13Gradient mesh objects4 topics
- Build a mesh with the Mesh tool
- Create a mesh with the Gradient Mesh command
- Reshape an existing mesh
- Choose mesh options for printing
-
143D and perspective drawing7 topics
- Apply 3D filters
- Adjust a 3D object
- Convert 3D objects to outlines
- Set up the Perspective Grid
- Adjust the Perspective Grid
- Draw artwork in perspective
- Options and limitations to be aware of
-
15Illustrator alongside other software3 topics
- Bring Photoshop files in
- Send artwork out to Photoshop
- Keep a live link to a Photoshop file
-
16Pattern design3 topics
- Build complex patterns
- Store patterns and edit them later
- Scale, rotate and shift a pattern inside an object
-
17Stroke editing4 topics
- Vary a stroke with the Stroke Width tool
- Store stroke width presets
- Run a gradient along a stroke
- Smooth out rough paths
-
18Colour with Adobe Color3 topics
- Pull themes from the Adobe Color Themes panel
- Source palettes on the Adobe Color site
- Bring in colour sets from the Adobe Color mobile app
Who it is for.
People who are comfortable with the basics and have hit the ceiling of what they worked out for themselves.
How it runs.
Two consecutive days, each roughly 9am to 4pm, with a facilitator in the room the whole time. You get a workstation each with the software installed, in a CBD training room in any of the six capitals, or live online on your own computer.
Dates
Upcoming Dates
The next scheduled Adobe Illustrator Advanced dates, soonest first. If none of these work, tell us the city and we will let you know when the next block is released.
| Level | Date | Location | Delivery | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrator Advanced | Thu - Fri 1 Oct - 2 Oct 26 | Remote East | Online | $990 | Book |
| Illustrator Advanced | Thu - Fri 1 Oct - 2 Oct 26 | Sydney | In person | $990 | Sold out |
| Illustrator Advanced | Mon - Tue 23 Nov - 24 Nov 26 | Remote East | Online | $990 | Book |
| Illustrator Advanced | Mon - Tue 23 Nov - 24 Nov 26 | Melbourne | In person | $990 | Book |
By city
Adobe Illustrator Advanced in your city
Venue, transport and the dates running there.
The rest of the category
All Adobe Illustrator levels Other Adobe Illustrator Levels
Reviews
What people said about Adobe Illustrator Advanced
Wizard courses run on the shared Nexacu schedule, so these are reviews of this course from people who sat it. Collected by Nexacu after the course and published as written.
Trainer was very friendly and was very helpful. Plenty of time was given to ask for help. session was engaging and clear. overall great experience
Ben
13 September 2024
David, thanks very much for the lessons. You are easy to learn from. Positive environment, great to have Q & A session and coming around to our desk to assist. Understands myself and students professional background and outline tools that would assist our tasks at work.
Antony
13 September 2024
Great trainer, very helpful!
David
2 May 2025
I took a lot away from the session and look forward to putting it into practice. It was very engaging and everything was explained in detail. Will be recommending this course and trainer to fellow colleagues.
Craig
2 May 2025
Hi David, I loved your training sessions, they are so informative and you are a great teacher. My only request would be that there is just a little more time for the students to try and perform some of the skills in class just after you have demonstrated them.
jamil
16 May 2025
I've done a few courses with City Desktop Training now, and I think this one was my favourite! Illustrator has not been my favourite program, but I found this course so easy to follow, and I learnt so much. I feel like of the courses I've done so far, this content is something that will help me most in my day to day work. David was a lovely trainer as always, and extremely patient with us all, making it a comfortable environment to ask questions in. Thank you 🙂
Elise
16 May 2025
Source: nexacu.com.au, read 27 August 2026. How feedback is collected.
Questions
Questions People Ask About This Course
Anything not answered here, call 1300 886 190 and ask a person.
How long is the Adobe Illustrator Advanced course?
It runs for 2 days, 9:00am – 4:00pm, with a facilitator in the room the whole time. Nothing is pre-recorded and there is no platform to log into afterwards.
How much does Adobe Illustrator Advanced cost?
$990 per person, excluding GST. That covers the course, the workbook and exercise files and the room. If four or more people from one organisation need it, an in-house day usually works out cheaper — tell us the numbers and we will price both.
Do I need any experience before this course?
Yes — this level assumes Illustrator Essentials, or equivalent experience picked up on the job. If you are not sure, tell us what you already do and we will place you honestly, including telling you to book the level below.
Can I do Adobe Illustrator Advanced online instead of in a classroom?
Yes. Every date marked “Live online” runs over video with the same facilitator and the same practice, in breakout groups rather than a room. You use the software on your own machine, so you leave with it set up the way you actually work.
Which cities do you run Adobe Illustrator Advanced in?
Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, plus live online. Every venue is a CBD training room with a workstation for each person. If your city and date are not paired on the schedule above, ask — dates are released in blocks.
Which Illustrator level should I book?
Work from what people already do rather than how long they have used it. The full course outline above shows exactly what this course covers, and the Adobe Illustrator page lists every level in order. Still unsure? Call 1300 886 190 and describe a normal Tuesday.
Whole team on the same level? Run it in-house.
Your files, your templates, your workflow — the same course, taught against your own material.