With the rise of modern technology, hand-drawn sketches are now converted and enhanced using state-of-the-art facilities. Character Illustrations or Cartoons are now given more depth, texture and emotions through a wide-array of techniques used by modern designers. Designers nowadays are able to play with their hand-drawn sketches- pushing the boundaries of their imagination. Adobe Illustrator is one of the best applications when it comes in creating cartoons and illustrations because of the vector feature. It preserves the quality and details of the artwork even if it has been resized.

Listed below are 45+ Adobe Illustrator Tutorials for Creating Illustration Characters that will be useful for beginners, intermediate and advance users of Adobe illustrators in creating vector characters.

The following tutorial gives out tips in creating rhythm and flow in a character design. With the help of Adobe Illustrator, you can also achieve this by following the tips given.

This tutorial applies the techniques in creating a vector character mascot from a sketch in Adobe Illustrator CS4 as well as other illustrations, icons, and design elements and legacy versions of Illustrator.



This tutorial will show you how to make your creations leap off the page with startling dimension.

A tutorial in creating a funny game character using Adobe Illustrator is given above. Show Grid, Smart Guide and Snap to Grid will be used mainly in this tutorial.



Follow this Adobe Illustrator walkthrough on the creation of a cute little vector monster character.

The following tutorial uses the power of imagination in creating a character and adding a dynamic background effect. The Pen Tool will be used mainly and will give you ultimate control over your line of work.

This tutorial helps you to create a cartoon bug using Adobe Illustrator and photoshop.

The tutorial provides with ideas in creating a character that is intended to be a mascot that is aimed for all ages. Adding of details to the character using Adobe Illustrator are also discussed.

Symmetrical Illustration: Thug Bunny!

Using symmetry in creating a vector character is illustrated in the following tutorial with Adobe Illustrator.

The above tutorial will help you create a duck character using basic tools like pathfinder, knife and eye dropper tools through basic shapes.

Basic Shading and Lighting

This tutorial guides you in creating a lively character using elementary fundamentals in shading and lighting within a digital illustration.

With the use of Photoshop and Adobe illustrator, a hybrid of traditional soft shading and smooth vector artwork is created in this tutorial. This project will need to access a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet.

Another type of tutorial using Adobe Illustrator on creating a vector character is the pirate cartoon character that uses 150dpi resolution.

A tutorial on vector illustration is given on the above tutorial using a pencil and paper, scanner, photoshop, illustrator, silhouette-which is a plug-in for Illustrator, and a digitizer tablet which is only optional.

Drawing a character’s face in Illustrator

This tutorial will guide you in creating a cartoon or human-like caricature using Adobe illustrator.

Another tutorial in creating a bird character illustration for your twitter account. This tutorial can be made using Adobe Illustrator CS4 but most of the steps can be retro-fitted to the earlier version of Adobe illustrator.

A tutorial on creating a cartoon zombie in adobe illustrator is given above with additional tips to make it more gruesome.

This tutorial will show you how to create a cool group of vector ninja characters using basic shapes as well as a variety of simple tools.

Another vector character that you can make using Adobe Photoshop is a cow. The above tutorial will help you create one.

Another tutorial in creating vector characters for Illustrator beginners is discussed above. The tutorial is on making a flying bat ghost.

The part 2 of the Monster Character series is on creating a Dumb Blue Sucker Monster. This tutorial is also suitable for Illustrator beginners.

Another Monster Character series is the Angry Orange Monster which is also for beginners of Illustrator.

The last vector character of the Monster Character series is the Green Slimey Monster. Check out the steps to create the final installment of the mini series.

This tutorial will help you create a fantasy pinup illustration using Illustrator CS3. This will also use Live Paint on the CS2 or CS3 Illustrator.

An Owl character is created in the above tutorial and it will walk you through the sketching stage using your pencil to Adobe Illustrator, after which will lead you to photoshop to add more details and give the image a washed look.



This intermediate tutorial is great for logos, children illustrations, and other projects relating to climate change.

Character Illustration

The above tutorial takes you to another level of creating a vector character for different agencies for logos, icons, illustrations, concepts, patterns and character design. It documents the illustrative design process.

A cartoon character that illustrates emotions is illustrated above. The tutorial will cover the steps for creating multicolor cartoon character that will include shadings. Adobe CS3, Wacom tablet, inked drawing and scanner are used to create the vector character.

The above tutorial will guide you in creating a Hippo Character with the use of simple shapes and simple drawing techniques.

After reading this tutorial, you will learn some basic skills for converting your vector character from a pencil doodle to a complete and fully-colored image plus learning some crucial Illustrator skills.

This tutorial will guide you in creating a Cartoon snail using Adobe Illustrator.

Another tutorial that uses simple shapes and gradients in creating a vector character is shown above. The tutorial will guide you in making a bunny character and won’t require you to be an amazing artist.

The above tutorial will help you create a grumpy old man character in the Adobe Illustrator using the brush tool.

This will tutorial will guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a super cute fuzzy monster character using basic shapes, a variety of gradients and detailed fur effects.

A tutorial on creating vector illustrations and prepping the artwork for different sites are illustrated above which also includes several time-saving tools and tips.

Here is another tutorial in creating a chocolate bar character which will guide you through the building of the concept until the final touches

Another tutorial on adding fur to vector character is discussed in the tutorial above. This time the effect will be applied to an animal character to add texture to the image. Adobe CS3 Illustrator will be once again used in this type of art.

Tutorial: Twitterlove Bird, from sketch to vector in Photoshop and Illustrator

This tutorial will guide you in creating a twitterlove Bird using adobe illustrator and photoshop.

A tutorial on creating a vector cartoon is discussed above but with a different style. Strokes or brushes are not used on the shapes. Hence, shapes are placed on top of other shapes to vary the line weights.

Here is a tutorial that will help you create a panda bear face icon from ellipses where the techniques can also be applied to other icons, illustrations, logos, or other projects.

Another character that you can create using Adobe Illustrator will be Freddy the Fish. Check out this tutorial for a step-by-step process.

If you are into the Emo trend, this is the tutorial for you. This tutorial discusses the creation of funny looking cartoon style silhouettes. Illustrator CS3, pen, paper, scanner and Wacom tablet will be used in this tutorial.

This tutorial will guide you in creating cool drawings with circles using adobe illustrator, photoshop, and photofilter

This tutorial uses Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in creating a visually appealing mascot and logo. As an additional bonus, the article provides insight on the designing process and designer’s workflow.

A step-by-step process of creating a sketch-to-illustration image is mentioned in this article. Using adobe illustrator, a lovable monster was created.