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!
@@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 :)
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
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.
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 RU-vid 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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
You bet! My goal is is to share tips and tricks that can be integrated into peoples work flows down the line and not just on the project I’m demonstrating.
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.
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.
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. 👍🏻
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Glad you found the video helpful! Whenever I set out to make a video I have two goals in mind. I want the end result of what I share to be interesting but most of all I want it to be easy to follow along with. Thanks for letting me know I'm on the right track.
@@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.
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
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 :)
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.
