Adobe Illustrator Masterclass (BUR-ILL500)

This course is built for Illustrator users who've outgrown typical "Advanced Illustrator" coursework — self-taught users with years of real production experience, or graduates of Intro and Advanced classes who still sense there's more under the hood. Led by a world-renowned Illustrator expert and published author with decades of hands-on production experience, the masterclass goes past commonly-taught advanced features into the tool's real depth: precision path construction, production-grade color and typography systems, automation, and the workflows that separate fast, confident production from constant workarounds.

Because "advanced" means something different for every Illustrator user, the course opens with a skills-and-goals assessment, and the instructor customizes the remaining time around what each student or group actually needs — whether that's finally mastering the Pen tool and gradient mesh, building a real brush and symbol library, automating a repetitive production task, or fixing a file workflow that's never quite worked right. No two deliveries of this course look exactly the same.

This course assumes solid working knowledge of Illustrator fundamentals — basic path drawing, layers, and file management — and is not an introduction to the software. It's best suited to working professionals: illustrators, production artists, designers, and anyone responsible for getting Illustrator files out the door correctly, efficiently, and at scale.

The outline below reflects a full 2-day delivery. As a 1-day intensive, the instructor uses the opening assessment to select a tighter set of modules matched to the group's priorities; as a 2-day course, all modules are covered with extended lab time built in.

1. Skills and Goals Assessment
   1. Pre-course skill assessment and goal-setting
   2. Identifying personal or team workflow pain points to address during the session
   3. Customizing the agenda based on assessment results
2. Beyond Advanced: Power Systems and Automation
   1. Appearance panel mastery: multiple fills, strokes, and stacked effects
   2. Building and managing custom brushes, graphic styles, and symbol libraries
   3. Pattern creation and seamless repeating tiles
   4. Automating repetitive tasks with Actions and an introduction to scripting
3. Mastering Complex Paths and Shapes
   1. Pen tool precision and advanced Bezier curve control
   2. Pathfinder, Shape Builder, and compound shapes for complex construction
   3. Gradient mesh and freeform gradients for photorealistic and dimensional artwork
   4. Blends, envelope distortion, and advanced perspective drawing
4. Advanced Color and Typography Control
   1. Global colors, spot colors, and color groups for production-ready files
   2. Recoloring artwork efficiently across large or complex illustrations
   3. OpenType features, type on a path, and fine typographic control
   4. Variable-width strokes and advanced stroke profiles
5. Output, File Management, and Prepress Mastery
   1. Linked vs. embedded images, packaging, and large-file performance
   2. Export mastery: optimized SVG, PDF/X, and EPS for different output needs
   3. Color separations, overprint, and trapping for professional print handoff
   4. Diagnosing and fixing the file problems most courses don't cover (corruption, font issues, missing links)
6. Personalized Lab and Wrap-Up
   1. Applying techniques to your own files and real production challenges
   2. Open Q&A: bring your hardest Illustrator problem
   3. A personalized roadmap: what to practice next and where to go deeper

Each student receives a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all class examples.