Level 2
Illustrator Advanced
Complex paths, appearance and effects, type on a path, brushes, and preparing artwork for print.
$990ex GSTLearn more
Level 1
Adobe
2 days
Adobe Illustrator Essentials Course
Adobe Illustrator Essentials at a glance.
- Duration
- 2 days, 9:00am – 4:00pm
- Price
- $890 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
- None
- 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.
- Vectors versus pixels, and why it matters
- Shapes, the pen tool and paths
- Colour, swatches and gradients
- Artboards and exporting
Course overview.
Paths, shapes, the pen tool, colour and exporting vector artwork properly.
The 2 days works through 16 modules and 119 individual topics, from Getting to know Illustrator to Saving and export formats. 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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1Getting to know Illustrator17 topics
- The Adobe Creative Cloud mobile apps
- Tips for a faster workspace
- A look at the Start workspace
- Around the Illustrator interface
- Setting Illustrator preferences
- The Control panel
- The Tools panel
- Hiding and showing Illustrator panels
- Switching Illustrator workspaces
- Getting to Illustrator Help
- The file types Illustrator uses
- Artboard versus pasteboard
- Using the context menu
- Zooming and panning a document
- Moving between document tabs
- Switching between Preview and Outline views
- Undoing, redoing and reverting changes
-
2Making selections2 topics
- Selecting with the Selection tool
- Editing points with the Direct Selection tool
-
3Combining and warping3 topics
- The Pathfinder panel
- Merging shapes with the Shape Builder tool
- Applying warp effects
-
4Object transformations6 topics
- Scaling objects
- Shearing objects
- Reflecting objects
- Editing Live Shapes
- The Transform panel
- Rotating objects with the Rotate tool
-
5Type and text9 topics
- Adding text in Illustrator
- Adjusting text with the selection tools
- Converting Point Type to Area Type
- Importing text into Illustrator
- Formatting text properties
- Inserting glyphs
- Turning text into vector graphics
- Setting type on a path
- The Touch Type tool
-
6Building infographics2 topics
- What makes up an infographic
- Building an infographic
-
7Bringing in images8 topics
- How image resolution works
- Placing images
- Linking and embedding images
- The Links panel
- Updating modified links
- Relinking missing links
- Embedding and unembedding placed images
- Packaging files
-
8Masks and transparency6 topics
- What clipping masks do
- Making a clipping mask
- Editing a clipping mask
- Releasing objects from a clipping mask
- Setting transparency
- Applying blending modes
-
9Illustrator foundations9 topics
- The main graphic formats
- How vector graphics work
- Starting a new Illustrator document
- Using Illustrator templates
- Artboards in Illustrator
- Adding artboards with the Artboard tool
- Deleting artboards
- Rulers and guides
- Smart Guides
-
10Shapes and paths18 topics
- How vector paths are built
- Drawing shapes with the shape tools
- Rounding corners with Live Corners
- Straight lines with the Pen tool
- Curves with the Pen tool
- Changing the direction of a curve
- Reshaping a curve
- Adding and deleting anchor points
- Switching between smooth and corner points
- Cutting and joining paths
- Changing the weight of a path
- Rounding path endpoints
- Outlining paths
- The Curvature tool
- Drawing paths with the Pencil tool
- Smoothing paths with the Smooth tool
- Erasing paths with the Eraser tool
- Putting arrowheads on paths
-
11Ordering and aligning objects8 topics
- Grouping objects
- Isolating a group
- Moving objects
- Duplicating objects
- Aligning objects precisely
- Stacking order
- Locking and hiding objects
- Selecting objects by characteristic
-
12Colour7 topics
- How colour modes differ
- Applying colour to objects
- Unsaved colours in the Colour panel
- Saved colours in the Swatches panel
- Creating colour swatches
- Making global and tint swatches
- Managing colour swatches
-
13Gradient and pattern fills4 topics
- What gradients do
- Building gradients in the Gradient panel
- Building gradients with the Gradient tool
- Creating patterns
-
14Layers8 topics
- An overview of the Layers panel
- Adding a new layer
- Layer options
- Moving objects to another layer
- Creating template layers
- Selecting every object on a layer
- Duplicating layers
- Merging and flattening layers
-
15Tracing images6 topics
- Tracing artwork with Image Trace
- Changing how a tracing object displays
- Image Trace presets
- Trace options in detail
- Expanding a tracing object
- Releasing a tracing object
-
16Saving and export formats6 topics
- Illustrator file types compared
- Illustrator format (AI) options
- EPS format options
- PDF format options
- Saving graphics for web and screen
- Export for screens
Who it is for.
Anybody who uses Illustrator and has never been shown it properly. No prerequisite and no assumed background beyond ordinary computer confidence.
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 Essentials 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 Essentials | Thu - Fri 3 Sep - 4 Sep 26 | Remote East | Online | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Thu - Fri 3 Sep - 4 Sep 26 | Brisbane | In person | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Mon - Tue 28 Sep - 29 Sep 26 | Remote East | Online | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Mon - Tue 28 Sep - 29 Sep 26 | Sydney | In person | $890 | Sold out |
| Illustrator Essentials | Tue - Wed 24 Nov - 25 Nov 26 | Remote East | Online | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Tue - Wed 24 Nov - 25 Nov 26 | Brisbane | In person | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Fri - Sat 18 Dec - 19 Dec 26 | Remote East | Online | $890 | Book |
| Illustrator Essentials | Fri - Sat 18 Dec - 19 Dec 26 | Brisbane | In person | $890 | Book |
By city
Adobe Illustrator Essentials 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 Essentials
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.
- Exporting images in multiple files at once- clipping masks- patterns- gradient- short cuts provided
Louise
9 July 2026
Drawing the map and the font effects
Kihai
17 July 2026
Effects, Colour & typography topics
Cooper
17 July 2026
I found the pen tool training and recommendations of games to practice with very useful, especially since this is what I found the hardest tool.
Bernadette
17 July 2026
Practical examples and engaging coursework.
Simone
17 July 2026
Very practical
Janelle
14 August 2026
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 Essentials 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 Essentials cost?
$890 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?
No prerequisite. The day assumes ordinary computer confidence and nothing more.
Can I do Adobe Illustrator Essentials 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 Essentials 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.