Layered Mandala - Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
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- Опубликовано: 31 дек 2024
- In this viewer requested tutorial I create multi layered mandala artwork with Adobe Illustrator. If you happened to have access to a laser cutter you would be able to use the artwork that you create to cut your own multi level mandala. Unfortunately I don't have a laser cutter so I also demonstrate an effect in Illustrator that simulates the artwork having depth. Both are cool options... but obviously it's way cooler if you could cut this vector artwork out and create a physical piece of art out of it!
In the tutorial I cover file setup, custom guides, custom swatches, the eye dropper tool, some basic pen tool functions, the path finder palette, the rotate and reflect tools, and of course.... my favourite key command Transform Again
Ironically - the 'I don't have a laser cutter' did a MUCH better job explaining how to do mandalas than many, many other videos specifically focusing on the creation of a mandala and using lightburn. This video solved almost ALL of my issues with illustrator I've been struggling with!
Glad I could help solve the issues you were having with Illustrator.... Still don't have a laser cutter, but it's on my wish list.
@@davewatkinscreative just letting ya know, on Geekbuying there is a sale on the Sculpfun s9 laser cutter :) Ive had it on my wishlist when it was €400 and now it was €160 Idk if it ships to Canada though
@RavenAlu Thanks for the tip! My plan is to eventually buy a large CO2 laser. Your suggestion did get me looking down the rabbit hole at smaller diode units though. It's amazing how many options are out there.
@@davewatkinscreative - I have 2 lasers and one more coming, but I don't have the skills you have for designs LOL. I keep coming back to your videos for all the help I need for illustrator, nothing else out there explains the techniques as good as you do. If you need laser cut anything on wood please let me know, I will do it for you like you are doing these videos for us for free while you wait for your own laser :)
@asadullah1619 really appreciate the generous offer! I'm so glad to hear that these videos I'm making are helping folks on their creative journeys.
This tutorial is EXACTLY what I have been looking for! I have all kinds of designs made in polygonia design suite (highly recommend checking out!!) and haven't known how to translate them to illustrator in this way, thank you so so so much, this is going to change everything! I'm excited to try and projection map some designs once they've been cut! THANK YOU SO MUCH DUDE
You're very welcome! I haven't heard of Polygonia before. Will have to check it out.
I'm from the Dominican Republic, and thanks to this guy, I was able to make my first mandala painting.
I give it a 10 out of 10
Really appreciate the compliment. Thanks for watching!
You're an absolute legend. I've been using ai for a few years now but even I walked away with a ton of new tricks and ideas. Had to leave a thanks!
Wow, thanks! Really appreciate that.
That looks amazing. And maximum kudos for the excellent tutorial! Thank you 🙏🏻
Really appreciate that. Glad to hear you liked the artwork and the tutorial :)
You gave clear cut instructions on how to design one of these for laser cutting! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! My goal is always to be clear and easy to follow along with so hearing this feedback is wonderful.
I'm revisiting the tutorial a year or so after watching for the first time. It's still incredible. Please keep going Dave. You're remarkable.
Glad to hear that it still holds up after all this time. I’ve been trying to get back into making videos for the channel lately. Have a couple ideas in the works.
Ohhh.. that's fantastic news. Can't wait! @@davewatkinscreative
dabbled with illustrator over the years (15) but always been a photoshop artist really, you know, to the point of frustration through lack of illustrator knowledge! this was really helpful to try to move forward, many thanks :)
This means a lot to me! I personally turn to RUclips whenever I need help learning something. From home repair to cooking I'm always looking to pick up new skills. It's really cool to be a part of someone else's learning journey. Wishing you the best of luck in learning Illustrator!!
This might be the best tutorial I have watched for illustrator. Absolutely awesome.
Wow, thanks Lance! Really appreciate the kind words.
Thanks! I use drop shadows a lot and had never heard the tip to use a gaussian blur. I love the finished product!
It's amazing how many different ways there are to achieve the same results in Illustrator. Glad that I was able to share a new technique with you.
ruclips.net/user/shorts7ON-bFOI8JI
Holy cow! What an excellent video! Detailed explanation with point-by-point execution. Easy to follow and duplicate. You are an outstanding instructor. Well Done!
Wow! Thank you so much for the kind words. Really appreciate it!
This is right on time. I saw someone laser this style out of cardboard and knew I needed to learn the design side. Thanks man, first project on the list when my new laser head arrives.
Glad I could help! Would love to see what you're able to create.
This is amazing. I was going down a path of using overlapping shapes, but the path thickness trick is way better. It solves for the challenge of getting small overlaps between the layers for gluing without needing a full hidden sheet underneath.
Glad it helped! I think it's an often overlooked that you can change the units of measurement within Illustrator. In this case it's handy in controlling the exact dimensions of strokes.
New to Adobe and Laser art. This video helps immensely. Thank you Dave!!
You’re very welcome! Glad to hear that you found this helpful!
Huge thumbs up my dude! I impulse bought a laser cutter engraver 3 days ago wanting to make art like this with little idea how to do it. I have a ton of experience in making computer graphics of all sorts but again I had never done anything like this. You are awesome for sharing this! Subscribes commented and liked 100%.
That's awesome! Best of luck working with your new laser cutter. I still haven’t taken the plunge and bought one myself. I’ll just continue to dream of all the things I could be making.
Hi Dave, Excellent tutorial. Are you able to show how to do the afeter affect - start of your video please?
I've had a few requests for an animated mandala tutorial. It's at the top of my list of things to make! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks Dave! Awesome tutorial to Illustrator. I was struggling with the paths you made it easy to understand. I have used Illustrator for years in the printing business but just to basically to make dielines for die cutters. I have since retired and I am trying to start a laser cutter side hustle.
That’s awesome! Glad to hear that you were able to use this video to add to your expertise. I’m sure you’ll be able to create some awesome work!
Awesome tutorial! Thank You Dave, New subscriber here because of this. Have a joyous 2022
Happy New year! Thanks for the sub!
I have a CO2 laser arriving very soon and i love the prospect of being able to make these in illustrator. Thanks for an awesome tutorial.
You're very welcome! Best of luck with your new laser cutter. Would love to get my hands on one. So many ideas so little time!
This was incredibly helpful. I am not great with illustrator, and have fought for hours trying to make things I wanted to, but your tutorial really really helped me out. You presentation was clear and concise information rich. The keyboard shortcuts coming up on screen and explained was also very helpful. You do excellent work. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the wonderful comment Tommy. Really glad to hear that you found this tutorial useful.
ruclips.net/user/shorts7ON-bFOI8JI
Thank you for this video. I learned a lot about AI, and specifically about creating Mandala's for laser cutting. I have a diode and CO2 laser and I find mandala's fascinating. I hated that the only way I could make one was to buy a file off of Etsy. Your video has given me the courage to make my own.
That’s amazing! Hope you have lots of fun creating your own designs from scratch. A laser cutter is high on my wish list!
Wow, I did not know what to expect when watching this video as I am new to this but what a great video, ty for sharing. You were very helpful.
You are so welcome! Glad to hear that you found the video useful. Best of luck on your Illustrator journey.
This was a very good and detailed video. I generally skip the video after 4-5 mins but you managed to keep my attention for the entire video length.
That’s great to hear! It’s always tough trying to balance being detailed without getting boring.
A meditative process that flexes creativity. Nice! 😌
Thank you 🙌 I always enjoy putting these projects together. So relaxing.
Seriously AMAZING! I've been looking for a tutorial like this for a long time and have never found anything. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Thats awesome! I had a lot of fun putting this one together. It's great to hear that you found it useful.
ruclips.net/video/9Xunp_h6XWM/видео.html
Awesome tutorial, beautifully explained, I was looking for a layered artwork tutorial in illustrator and found it. 🇨🇦
That's awesome, thank you!
I really appreciate this video, I had spent probably 10 hours struggling with a mandala but always having problems with it, got started in the right direction with this video hopefully the finished product will turn out great. Thank you.
That's awesome to hear! Good luck putting together your mandala designs.
Nice round complete product.
Appreciate that! Hope you found it useful.
Amazing Dave. Was looking for this effect everywhere but never found it. When you put the shadow in it gave so much dimension and intricacy. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks Chris! I'm looking forward to experimenting with this effect even more myself. Glad you found the tutorial useful.
Stumbled onto your channel because I recently got Illustrator. Just wanted to say that you do a great job of explaining things and keeping things simple. There aren't very many people that are actually good at explaining things in a way that everyone (beginners to experts) can understand.
Also, I like that you outline what all you cover in your video via the description.
Well done! Definitely subscribing :D
I really appreciate the comment Aaron! My goal has always been to make content that is easy to follow along with so I'm glad to hear that you think I hit that mark.
@@davewatkinscreative Most definitely man! Keep up the great work!
Dave Epic works . Thanks
Im sleeves up and working on all sorts of abstract geometric art .
Love your work for springboard creative flow .
Thank you again.
That's awesome! Glad that I could provide a bit of inspiration.
WOW! I am a teacher in Australia... we just got a laser cutter. Therefore i am in the looking at everything stage and this was an amazing tutorial. I will have to look at some more your yours. Definitely subscribed! Cheers, thank you so much!
That's awesome! Hope you and your students have lots of fun using the laser cutter. Thanks for subscribing!
DUDE!! yes this is amazing. I need Illustrator now. Inkscape isn't as intuitive for me. And I do have a laser cutter. Thanks so much for this.
I would love to get my hands on a laser cutter! Hope you're able to try out Illustrator. I can't imagine using anything else.
Amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain your detailed process.
You are so welcome! Glad you liked it.
Thank you for this! Definitely picked up a lot of tips and tricks.
Fantastic! That’s my goal with the channel so glad to hear it’s working.
Fantastic. Now to go look for a free or nearly free alternative to Adobe illustrator to try this.
Let me know what you find! I've been using Ai for so long I don't know if I could make a switch at this point.
Lovely! Thank you, it has been a very helpful tutorial for me
You’re very welcome 😊 thanks for checking it out.
@@davewatkinscreative ❤️
Dave!! Very cool tutorials! very easy to understand!!! Great design style!!!
Thanks so much! Appreciate the kind words.
DUDE... this tutorial is PERFECT!
High praise man! Really appreciate it!
Well, that was (kind of) what I was looking for. Unfortunately I don't have access to Adobe Illustrator. Following and recreating this tutorial is pretty difficult in Incskape. Some features don't even exist or are just a pain in the butt to find in Illustrator.
On the other hand I found my way around and came to understand the principles of what you were doing. I managed to get at least similar results. With a little bit more experience this will help a bunch.
Creating a mandala and laser cutting it is what I want to do. There were several questions I had, that you could help me with.
Thanks, mate. This is so much better than symmetry-mirror rotation I was playing around with in inkscape.
Awesome! Glad to hear that the principles in here were useful to you.
Thanks so much for this great tutorial! I especially like that you used basic tools and techniques that my ancient CS6 has. As a cardmaker and paper crafter I am now confident that I can create my own designs.
That's awesome! I hung onto CS6 for a long time myself. While I appreciate a lot of the new features that they roll out the biggest reason I upgraded to CC was for the corner widgets that let you round individual corner points.
Really amazing! Thanks for sharing
My pleasure! Hope that you’ll be able to put the techniques to good use.
Hi Dave amazing guide!
That a way to use ready Mandela?
Like just use something ready and cus in the laser
Absolute hero! Been looking for a tutorial for this, guess you’ve gained a new subscriber!
Thanks for the sub Joe!
ruclips.net/video/9Xunp_h6XWM/видео.html
This was the best tutorial of all time for fast tracking into illustrator use. I am finishing it up now and have learned so much on the way, and for a 25 minute video what a lot of info.. please do more
What a compliment! Glad that you found it so helpful.
I love your direct information on this. I specifically looked up a tutorial on this because I do have a laser. Thank you for posting this. I’ll be working on perfecting my layers. I’ll have to send you a finished product when I’m done. 👍🏻
Thanks for the feedback. Really glad you will be able to put these techniques to use with your laser cutter.
ruclips.net/user/shorts7ON-bFOI8JI
VERY HELPFUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
You're very welcome!
Really helpful tutorial and great artwork! Thanks 😊
Really appreciate that! It's great to hear that you found it helpful.
Great tutorial
Cheers! Appreciate that.
You are an awesome explainer! More of this! Well done!
Thank you so much! Always nice to hear feedback like this.
Thank you so much Dave, you are awesome and your design is simply amazing, I am so thankful that you've created this tutorial and it turned out even better than I imagined. Thank you, thank you, thank you, your faithful viewer Daniel :)
You're very welcome! Thanks so much for the great video idea. I had a lot of fun putting this one together.
You're The Best Dave!! Thank You
Really appreciate all of your support! Really means a lot to me.
Super thanks!
Excellent content, and super well explained!
TOP!
You're very welcome! Thank you so much for the kind words. Really means a lot to me.
Super impressive! Thank you for the clarity! Especially a very well prepared and edited visual.
Thank you very much for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed the tutorial.
You don’t see me but I can assure you that I got up and started applauding, thank you for this.. great video. I should really learn some design skills, looks very interesting challenging and productive for whatever I would like to create. Thanks again.
That's far too kind! I can honestly say I've never had a standing ovation before. Good luck on your creative journey.
Great tutorial.
Glad you liked it Robert. Cheers!
My day 1 of AI and I'm loving all your videos. Thanks!
Glad to hear that you're finding my videos helpful!
@@davewatkinscreative Since I am new to AI (literally now day 2), I'm sorry if this is a dumb question but I design fabric-- is it possible to add fill colors and textures inside the spaces of a mandala in AI or is that done more in PS?
Hey Mandy - Not a dumb question at all. Adding texture in illustrator can be done a number of ways and as you mentioned can also be done in Photoshop if thats where you feel more comfortable. If you'd like to stick to Illustrator I would recommend looking into Opacity Masks. This feature can be found in the transparency panel and it will allow you to use a complex vector shape to create a mask for a linked texture image. I do not have a tutorial on this technique but I'm sure someone will have made one. Hope that helps point you in the right direction.
@@davewatkinscreative thank you 😊
@@davewatkinscreative could I email you a question?
This is a fantastic tutorial. I've been thinking about making my own mandala cut files, and the way you describe each step in detail is just what I needed. It's nice that you didn't ruin it with an annoying music bed. Your voice and teaching style make feel confident I can duplicate these steps in my own designs.
Glad to hear that you liked the format of the tutorial. Best of luck putting together your own version!
Great explanation. Very well done!
Thank you kindly!
Super Helpful Tutorial appreicaite you for making this! do you have a website where you promote any work you have made in the past?
That’s awesome, so glad to hear you found this helpful. In the past I’ve posted my design work on Behance www.behance.net/DaveWatkins and Instagram instagram.com/designwisdom/?hl=en
Awesome 👌 thanks for sharing this amazing content 👏
You’re very welcome! Thanks for visiting my channel.
@@davewatkinscreative u r welcome, thanks to for sharing such great content 👏
This tutorial was spot on. Explanation and clarification of each step including the keyboard shortcuts was excellent. You didn't leave anything out and you didn't drag on about anything unnecessary. Super excited to attempt my first design and cut it out on my Glowforge. I have seen people selling files like these on Etsy, and I want to begin using my GF to make and sell pieces. Using someone else's files to make an art piece to sell just didn't sit right with me, so I really appreciate this tutorial and the time you put into making this.
Thanks so much for the wonderful comment Cameron it made my day! It's great to know that people are finding the tutorial useful. Would love to see what you are able to create.
This was super useful. Thank you!
You're very welcome! Thanks for checking it out.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
You bet! Thanks for checking it out.
Many many thanks for this idea I want this to apply on my work
You are most welcome 😊 Hope you find a good way to apply this technique to your own work.
Great walkthrough - thank you! I'm transitioning to digital from a lifetime of pen and ink and photography, and I'm starting to see the benefits. I'll be watching your other vids too!
Thats awesome Nathan! Having the traditional skillset will give you an awesome foundation to start from.
Extremely helpful thanks for making this video!
Glad that you found it helpful! Thanks for checking it out.
Dave, this tutorial was fantastic! So easy to follow and you did a great job explaining everything. Thanks!
You're very welcome! Thanks for checking it out.
That is great!!! Awesome tutorial.
Thank you! Cheers!
Love this, many thanks!
Appreciate that Paul!!
Amazing. Thank you!
Thanks Lina. Glad you liked it!
Thank you! This was beyond helpful!
Glad you found this helpful!
incredible work. thanks for the video.
Thanks John. Glad you liked it!
Amazing tutorial! Just what I needed. Thank you!
Great to hear! Thanks for the comment.
I saw at the beginning of one of your other videos where you had animated this mandala in After Effects. Have you done a tutorial on that yet? And if not, will you consider it? Thanks ... I love your videos!
That is easily the most requested topic I’ve had while working on this channel. I haven’t made a new video in some time but an animated mandala video is at the top of my list. Hoping to get some time soon. Thanks for the comment :)
I regret that I have only one "like" to give for this... bravo!
This comment made my day! Thanks so much. Hopefully you'll find some of my other videos just as helpful :)
Brilliant from the start, and especially in the end. Wow. Great work. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment.
Great tutorial Man!
Appreciate it!
Thank you for your effort
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the tutorial.
Awesome video! Thanks a lot 👏
You’re very welcome! Appreciate the comment.
if you want a laser cutter then buy one they are not that expensive if you just use it for hobby or even small business diode laser with 20watt output will be enough doing this cutting fast enough everything else under 20watt i would not buy because of needing to much time to cut out.Your project looks very nice.You say that is a simple design.I think it looks awesome.Yes mandalas can be much more detailed and complex and more layers than this one but great done.
Thank you! I learned so much from this video. New subscriber.
Thanks for the sub Pamela!
Great Work Dave
Thanks. Appreciate that!
Amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
You are so welcome!
Nice tutorial! If you still don't have a laser cutter, check out the Creality Laser Falcon Engraver. It's a 10 watt diode laser that's rather affordable.
Thanks for the tip! I haven’t done a lot of research so this will be a good place to start. The only other system I really looked at was the glowforge which has a pretty big price tag for me.
Love this tutorial. I was following along, making a design, but when I United after outlining the stroke, the result was a square filled with the stroke color. Where was my misstep?
First of all I hope you were able to undo that action with the pathfinder and save the work that you did! Without seeing your file it sounds to me like you had an extra object selected - in this case a square - that effectively erased all of your work when united with all of your other objects. This is where the select >same menu comes in handy. In a complex document you can select a single object filled with a colour of your choice and then navigate to select>same>fill colour and all of the matching filled objects would be selected. In this way you can avoid selecting any unfilled or different colour objects before applying the unite command with the pathfinder. Let me know if that solves your problem!
@@davewatkinscreative Thanks for the response. My second attempt worked wonderfully. I couldn't find the extra object in my first try. This was so much fun, and I will use this a lot I think with my Cricut cutting machine (I don't have a laser cutter either!).
Awesome! Glad to hear that you got it working. Thanks for letting me know
Thanks for the great video. I'm new at illustrator, and learning a lot from your instructions. I missed the part where you used Command-5. What does that do exactly. I've searched Illustrator and the Internet and can't find a reference to Command-5 anywhere.
Hey Ed thanks for the comment. Sorry if that wasn’t clear in the video. CMD 5 is the keyboard command to make a custom guide out of a path that you have selected. The basic guidelines in illustrator are either vertical or horizontal and there are situations where having different angles or shapes as guides can be useful. Let me know if that helps!
@@davewatkinscreative Why can't I find a reference to it in Illustrator?
@@blacksmithed7353 It's not a feature that gets a lot of attention. You should be able to find it in the menus if the key command isn't working for you. It's located under the menu - view > guides > make guides
@@davewatkinscreative Sure enough. There it is! Thanks for pointing me to it. I should have been able to find it. Like my wife says, "Ed, you don't look good."
I want to build a mandala that uses a clock movement to spin like your animations. Been trying to figure it out for a week... thx
Sounds like an awesome project! Would love to see how it turns out.
Great tutorial. Thanks a lot.
Glad you liked it!
Amazing!! Thanks!!
Thanks so much!!
Did you ever pick up a laser since you made this video? If you did, I bet you make some amazing wall art! This was really well done and easy to understand. Thanks!
Awesome to hear you enjoyed the video….. it’s 2024 and still haven’t picked up a laser cutter. The bright side is… once I do get my hands on one, I’ll have all kinds of ideas of what to make!
@@davewatkinscreative You are right about that! I have a laser. I love what it can do in the shop but outside of buying files online, I’m at a loss spending more time with (ctrl+z) then actually making something…The finished product might be a nice walnut or mahogany design I cut and assembled but the real art starts with designers! Shoot, I’d send you mine if I could learn to do what you did that fast and accurate.
Wow. Great work. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
In the video, when converting the points with the pen tool, you say to Option Click. What key on the keyboard is Option? Thank you
If you’re on a PC the option key that I mentioned is the alt key.
How would you do this for more layers without the ability to use the inner and outter stroke, say for like a 10 or 12 layer mandala?
If I needed to create a similar cascading layer effect without using different width strokes I would use the offset path feature to create a larger or smaller version of a shape.
LOL wow. Subscribed. I need this skill.
Thanks for subscribing! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Fantastic, thank you 😁
No problem 👍 Glad you liked it
Pls can you design a 12" by 6"by 8" speaker box with spiral ascending top .....I mean tutorial on it please
Nice thanks for your video
Thanks for watching
Exactly what I've been searching for!!!!! thank you so much!
Glad to help! Thank you for the comment :)
Such a nice lesson! Learned a lot :) Thank you so much!
Really appreciate that! Glad to hear you found it useful.