Adobe Illustrator Tutorial: How to Draw a Vector Pirate Skull 

She holds CTRL when deleting the background from the merged base color btw. Sorry if it's obvious but i've been stuck on that step for ages trying to figure it out. Hope it saves ya'll some time. Thanks for the video!

this video is 8 years old and still the best one on this platform for this technique. Thank You!

This was one of the very best, simple, goes to the point AI drawing tutorials I ever saw. I am saving this one to my personal playlist.

Good music choices. A pirate i was meant to be! Also, the finished piece is stunning!

"Yarr!", "...swashbuckling walkthrough" :) Cutest, best tutorial yet. Beautiful, clear, polite voice, simple instructions and really fun music combined, this is my personal favourite tutorial on this subject and i really enjoy it every time! Even more then sum of its parts, great work Ivana!

Just wanted to add something to this video. She makes a very valid point to sketch out your designs ahead. As I still do this at times. I have now gotten into a habit of sketching my designs in digital format. This will speed up your process ten fold. Skipping ahead from have to scan you sketches etc. Please note that this will take time to achieve a precise outcome. And having a drawing tablet is a must to to this in a timely matter. The program I use to do this is (Sketchbook Pro). As it has the capabilities to do many things. I strictly use it for digital sketching. I believe there is a free version as well. G'Luck!

This was hands down one of the most helpful videos I've seen in a long time! I thoroughly enjoyed learning the technique and cannot wait to try it out myself!

Hahaha I don't care people in the comments say you don't explain enough. I think you are terrific! This tutorial changed my life, I always wondered how those artworks in stickers and shirts be done, I mean its really gotta be hard, but then I found this. LOL! I gotta get a pen tablet as soon as freakin' possible. That thing changes everything, huh THANK YOU VERY MUCH Miss Sopov!

You completely lost me at 6:50. How were you able to color the line art and take away the blue that was out of the line art? And you had said so many steps that weren't really elaborated.

I'm in the process of learning illustrator right now and it is frustrating but fun as hell... This was awesome to watch. Good job!

one of my all time favorite tutorials!! This one helped me sooo much with several issues I could never figure out! Thank you so much even 3 years later it is still an awesome tut!

OMG. I never knew you could do freehand drawing in vector form. I stayed away from vector arts because I felt that using the pen tool to draw is too troublesome. I'll definitely try doing it this way. Thanks for sharing!

You are my savior, thank you :)

I get lost on the merging part every single time and its the most important part because that is what starts the coloring process. I do not understand how you connect the shape with the line art and then separate onto separate layers. Your work is incredible though, that is why I wish I knew how to do the merging part because I want to steal your techniques :)

I am so happy I found this. Did not even hesitate to subscribe. Thank you for the thorough walkthrough of a professional workflow that is very easy to follow.

Try reinstalling your drivers and make sure your tablet is working properly. The pressure option will be available only with a functioning pressure-sensitive tablet.

To my lost comrades-who were searching for a way to freely paint and erase brush strokes: Shift + E for an eraser that is not restricted to strokes, paths or fill shapes. Works just like a normal eraser brush! (Remember to select the thing you're trying to clean up, otherwise it will affect the rest of the drawing) Shift + B for the blob brush tool, B for regular paintbrush! Perhaps this too, can avoid your issue with erasing things in the first place?

What is she doing after she puts down the rectangle and then deletes it - leaving only the fill thats behind the image?

We'll be sure to take that into account in our next video. The brush setup is pretty simple, a calligraphic brush like the one described in the first part. We usually work with a 3pt brush on a standard A4 canvas, though. The strokes should appear as thick as the ones in the video. Cheers and thank you for your feedback!

simply amazing. broke it down perfect for us. just got my computer sith illustrator back and im gearing up to use it. every time i had a question i my head it was followed by the answer in your video as i watched it. thank you

How to draw; be good at drawing. Thanks!

When you're doing the highlights and shadows, how does your brush know to go behind the strokes that are already present?

This tutorial always helps me to remember how this program works. Thanks for saving my ass since 2014.

This tutorial just opened a whole lot of possibilities to me I didn't even know existed. Merci!

6.58 how did you delete only the external selection of the square?

6:48 how do you cut the backround over this head ?

I know, im a design student in university, and when i was younger i was really bad drawing but i loved it, and now im really better, its experience, and this artist has a lot of it, cuz woow, i wish i could work like that in illustrator maybe someday (sorry my bad english im portuguese)

i think this is a very helpful TUTORIAL. Not on how to use the program but the process in how your work flow should go. Honestly I always thought highlights should be the top layer but I see that I was wrong. I had no problems understanding and i barely know Illustrator. If you can't follow along, that is what the pause button is for. Great job Ioana! Thumbs up

I'm having a hard time getting the brushes to do what I want. Like controlling brush size and stuff

a pirate i was meant to be! Trim the sailes and roam the sea! ahhh sigh, its stuck in my head..

IF I WAS ABBLE OF DRAWING THAT GREAT, I WOULD BE THE HAPPIEST GUY IN THE WORLD! GREAT JOB, I´M IMPRESSED.

This lady is amazing. I am so happy I found this RU-vid channel!

Quick version: Skip to 11:45 and print screen. Adjust the image sixe so it has cropped out the image up to the skull. Pat yourself on the back and be proud of your work.

How do i make a calligraphic brush tapered at either end like in this tutorial. Want that tapered look for pointy ends?

This is so cool, how you can be so precise with the brush, I mean, following the lines of the sketch, the curves are so difficult to follow it's a little bit frustrating

really helpful tutorial, helped me on my road to illustrator mastery. With the Monkey Island 3 music thrown in, it's a 10/10 tutorial for me!

hey why i cant use full brush settings when i open calligraphic i can only use fixed and random??

It's all in the layer order - the line-art is on the top layer, the rest go beneath it so that you don't have to worry about going over the contours. Cheers and thanks for watching!

Excellent. Layering shadows and highlights this way is so helpful. Thanks

Excellent video. I don't use Illustrator and I still got a lot out of this for what to look for in my software. Thanks!

i can't create that brush , ~help

how do you put the retangle under the shape (6:45)???

Your all works are Awesome... Great Artist.. 👌👌

This was a REALLY helpful tutorial! I am a complete noob and I actually was able to make something cool. Thank you!! Please upload more tutorials! Love your work!

oh no!...so no tablet! no brush pressure?! really

nice work..will you tell what is your brush setting?

Nice and creative video, tired of beginner videos so this was refreshing.

Wow, great job and nice explanation for what was going on.

Could someone help direct me in how she separated the line art from the base color and put them on separate layers at about 7:03... I cannot for the life of me figure this out...

"Rape and rob, rob and rape here we go again yay!" what the hell is that music

I really loved watching this. Granted, I didn't work alongside your tutorial, but I plan to use your tips when I work in the future. Great work

thank y ou SOOOOO much on giving an explanation on how to make a inking brush. Hardest part to learn to do.

Okay, I got completely lost after 6:58 , thanks a lot.

What did you use to draw?

Wow! I've never tried this method, yet it's a lot faster then using the pen tool. I can't wait to try your method using the brush tool! Nice upload!

Great art! You make look easier the most tough thing, to clean and simplify shapes. Awesome work!

Completely lost me at 7:06. Completely. You did so many steps that I think were off-time with your voice and at the same time I think used keyboard shortcuts but I'm not entirely sure, but I think I would just like another explanation to how you separate the base color with the strokes onto other layers and whatnot.

Instructions unclear, drew a dog :\

No need to feel like shit, this artist has a lot of experience under her belt, everyone starts out bad at everything.

Wow!!! Now that's creating art nice job I am very motivated to up my illustrator skills after seeing this.

Thank goodness for mute.

I love the style and the technique but the pirate music totally sucks. I had to turn it off ,its so bad. Much better to watch you draw and add some comments, or if you have to put music in make it really quite in the background.

This was totally awesome. I need to get my hands on illustrator. The background music also makes it better

Telling me shading is more about the contrast of White and black instead of filling up black took my Line Art at a next level .... Thank you

Never been more grateful, THANK U

first few seconds i was like, oh boy it's gonna be boring, then the pirate music came along, lol i had fun with this, thanks!

Hopefully we'll have one up in November. :) Thank you for watching!

Beautiful artwork and a great tutorial. I like the music too !

WOW! Bravo! That's so much easier than the pen tool.

nice, a very simple trick to have an amazing line expression

Best tutorial on RU-vid for this

This is a very great video. Short but contains a lot of essential information about creating with Adobe Illustrator. Thanks a lot👍

This song!! It's from a super old PC game called Curse of Monkey Island. I haven't thought about that game in ages, nice nostalgia..thanks! :)

Thank you for sharing this tutorial. It helped me a lot. Now I can save time and energy. Love it!

wow you don't know how much this video helped me. thank you!!!

Thank you so mu! I was struggling drawing vector art and this tutorial has helped a lot now I can draw and fill with colors, shading effortlessly! :)

thumbs up if you're falling inlove with her voice and the way she teach in this tut!

from sketch to so very awesome digital art .... nice one ill try to do just like that just sketch it first and so on

Wow, I'm Super Happy I found this video. It's going to take my Graphics to a whole new level. Thank You!

Thanks so much for the tutorial and love those pirate songs.

Very good tips ... I'll be waiting for more tutorials.

loved the sound track too

Awesome work with nice song..

Awesome vid! I would love to see more vids catering to this more advanced level of users. I got a lot out of this and you did a great job editing through the more tedious stuff without turning it into one of those death metal speed drawing vids which are pretty useless.

my draw dropped watching this, IM blown away at how amazing it is! I just ordered a Wacom One, and I really cant wait to practise this! You're so talented, and make it look so easy aha! I cant wait to try, but I think ill struggle with the colours/shading parts. I cant tell where they should go, but your work is honestly incredible! I will be using your brush settings :)) when my tablet comes

Fantastic tutorial.I've learned so much from this.Love the song too!! Thanks a million.

I worked as a graphic designer for years and was never this good... you got skills.. I'm taking notes though :) Thank yoou

Love the music

You really are talented!! I hope to bring my skills to that standard in the near future. Just need the time to practice. And your video has kicked me in the head and told me to fit it in whenever possible.

this is absolutely fascinating. i love to see the whole process. Thanks!

We have an idea - we're asking you what you would like to see in our next video tutorial. Leave a comment here and we'll see what we can do. Thanks for watching!

Very nice.I wish i can draw such a wonderful things... thanks for sharing

Awesome style!! Love it. And a very good presentation of the power of Adobe Illustrator for stuff like this also. Thanks!

Brilliant, you are so talented. Thanks

i really enjoy watching this. nice job.

This is amazing! I had fun watching it - great soundtrack as well! Thank you for sharing this.

This was a great tutorial! I could watch Ioana videos all day, please do more! :)

Thank you, I've been looking for a way to give better shape and outlines to my drawings, this has helped immensly

Why can't I choose pressure brush?

Love your style!