About

Makers Gonna Learn is the # 1 place to be if you want to master your

die cutting machine. Whether you’re brand new to it or a seasoned
crafter, we have something unique for all levels of crafting.

Our entire team is passionate about supporting and connecting with

our community with our craft tutorials, education, and exclusive art
work. When you join Makers Gonna Learn, you’ll find that we are the
rock to fall back on throughout your crafting journey.

Education, inspiration, and motivation are the three pillars that we have
built this community on from the beginning and continue to live out daily.

We find that crafters are the most confident and productive when they
have art that inspires them, education to help them confidently try new
projects and techniques, and motivation from our team to take action.

We’re on a mission to see you grow in every aspect of your life through
crafting. We are passionate about helping you through the entire
process from taking your machine out of the box to constantly being
challenged to push your craft limits.
We want to see you craft a life you love in every way possible from a
custom doormat to believing in yourself enough to try new things. Our
community continually shares how crafting helps them live happier &
fuller lives and we want that for each of you.

Design Make Sell was created to help crafters like yourself reach your
goals of designing and selling your own designs and projects. Whether
you want to sell online or just to your neighbor, this program will assist
you in starting your business, choosing what to sell, setting your prices,
and so much more.

Our goal is to give you the tools for success and the motivation to put
your plan into action. We hope you are inspired as you complete the
lessons in this program, and it helps put you one step closer to
achieving your dreams.

Keep Crafty!

Tanner Bell and The Makers Gonna Learn Team

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 COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright by Makers Gonna Learn

Published by On Trend Media LLC, Ash Street,
Morristown, TN
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system, without written
permission from the publisher, except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
reviews.
Trademarks are property of their respective
holders. When used, trademarks are for the benefit
of the trademark owner only.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME 6
LET'S GET STARTED 7
GET STARTED DESIGNING FILES:
Why You Should Design Your Own Files 9
Different Types of Files 10
What Design Software Should I Use? 11

HOW TO USE YOUR IPAD TO CREATE FILES:

An Overview and Tour of Procreate 12
How To Use The Brush Tool To Create Artwork 16
How To Add Multiple Layers To Your Artwork 18
How To Change or Add Color To Your Artwork 20
How To Share and Export Your Designs 22

USING YOUR COMPUTER TO CREATE FILES

An Overview of Illustrator 23
How to Convert a Drawing into an SVG:
Illustrator 24
Inkscape 26
How to Convert a PNG into an SVG 27
How To Share and Export Your Designs 28
How to Use the Shape Builder Tool 28
How To Design a File Using The Pen Tool 30

USING FONTS IN YOUR DESIGNS:

How to Add Text to Your Designs 32
How to Access and Use Special Font Characters 33
How To Type On a Path To Create Curve Text 34
How To Apply Effects To Your Text: 3D, Stylize, & Warp 35

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ADVANCED FILE DESIGNING TECHNIQUES:

How To Add Score Lines To Your Files 36
How To Create An Offset To Add To Your Designs 37
How to Create Repeating Patterns To Use In Your Designs 37
How To Create a Color Palette For Your Designs 39
How To Create a Custom Color Gradient For Your Designs 39
How To Create and Add a Tie-Dye Effect To Your Designs 41
How To Create and Add a Glitter Effects To Your Designs 42
How To Create and Add a Distressed Effect To Your Designs 43

NOTES 44
PRINT RELEASE FORM 46
HOW TO PRINT 47
SPECIAL DEAL INSIDE! 48

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Welcome

to the designing portion of Design Make Sell! We are excited

to see you here. This is the first step in an amazing journey
for you and your future.

In this portion of the course, we’ll be teaching you everything

we know about making your own custom and unique files!
We will dive deep into multiple softwares and go over a
variety of techniques. Let’s get started!

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 LET’S GET STARTED

In order to get the most out of this program, there are a few things
you’re going to need to commit to.

A positive attitude. Now is the time to believe in yourself. We are

going to give you the information and tools you need but you’re also
going to need the drive to succeed.
Time. This means putting aside some dedicated time to work on
Design Make Sell. After all, you’ve invested money into it. Now it’s time
to get your money’s worth out of it and invest some time toward
your dreams.

BRAINSTORM:

Think of things that might get in the way of finding time to work on DMS (E.g.
interruptions from family, household chores, dinner prep, feeling
unmotivated). Anticipate these ahead of time so you can be ready for them!

SOLUTIONS:

How will you deal with each of those possible obstacles? (E.g. Budget a take-
out night once a week. Get up half an hour earlier each day. Arrange for
your spouse or older child to look after the younger kids so you get some
uninterrupted time. Let people know how important this is to you and ask
them to support you in it.)

My Obstacles: My Solutions:

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 My Obstacles: My Solutions:

So, make a commitment right now.

How much time will you devote to DMS and when will you work on it?

My Commitment

I will work on Design Make Sell for _______________ hours per week..

The days available to me for working on DMS are:

MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY SUNDAY

TUESDAY THURSDAY SATURDAY

To ensure that these days and times are available to me, I

plan to:

STOP
Add These Days and
Times to Your
Calendar Right Now.

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 GET STARTED DESIGNING FILES

Why Design Your Own Cut Files

Being able to create your own SVGs and PNGs can really set you apart
from the crowd when it comes to providing custom graphics to your
customers. You can take their vision for a project, logo, or other design
and bring it to life.

Custom designs normally are more sought after and also come at a
premium price. We will cover more about pricing and selling in the Sell
courses of this program but when deciding on how much customization
should cost, we always suggest that you start with a base rate and then
add additional charges based on the number of edits, changes, the
complexity of design, etc. Make sure you agree on that price with your
customer upfront.

Don't undervalue yourself. Be sure to calculate how much time it

takes you to create a design and pay yourself a fair hourly rate.

Custom designs can make you stand out from the rest of the
cut file creators. You can create files that are in the style you love
which makes working on the files more enjoyable as well.

PRO TIP

Be sure to put the official price in writing with your

customer (email is fine) so that you have some
written proof to rely on.

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Different Types of Files

The two types of files that you’ll be using the most when you create
designs for your customers are SVGs and PNGs. It’s really important to
know the difference between the two.

An SVG is a Scalable Vector Graphic - it can be separated into

editable layers to include multiple colors, designs, etc. Because
SVGs are created with mathematical structures instead of
pixels, they are scalable to both large and small sizes while
maintaining a clear and crisp image. The scalability allows you
more flexibility to make changes as needed.

My notes about SVGs:

A PNG is a Portable Network Graphic- It is made from a

set amount of pixels, and will distort and become grainy
when enlarged too much. This type of image is best for
Print Then Cut projects

My notes about PNGs:

Open an SVG file and PNG file in Design Space and notice
the differences in the two files so you have a complete
understanding of the differences

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 What Design Software Should I Use?
There are several different software you can
use to design your cut files, but we recommend
Adobe Illustrator. It’s $ per month with an
annual subscription for this amazing program.
This may seem a bit expensive, but if you’re
going to be designing files as part of your
business, you should use the best software
available.

The cost of the software is a business expense, and, in

most places, you will be able to take a deduction for it
on your taxes.

Inkscape is a free vector creating software program

that is similar to Illustrator. The user interface is a little
easier to use and it was our software of choice when
we first began designing. However, Inkscape is a lot
slower than Illustrator, and has more limited
capabilities.

If you’re feeling a bit hesitant about just how much

you’ll be using the software, you might want to start
out with Inkscape and then work up to Illustrator. We
will be using Illustrator for this course.

Choose which program you

STOP would like to use and download

it now.
Adobe Illustrator
offers a FREE seven- Maybe you'll want to try out both
day trial of their and follow along with all of the
software. lessons. That is perfectly fine too.

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HOW TO USE YOUR IPAD TO CREATE FILES

What is Procreate? It is an iOS app that

only works with Apple devices. You will
need an iPad and an Apple Pencil to use
this app. You can use your finger or
another stylus, but it works best with the
Apple Pencil, and this tool will give you
the best control to make your designs.

Procreate has many tools to choose

from which you can use to mimic real life
art tools like paint brushes, markers,
pencils, and more. This will allow you to
create designs similar to sketches,
paintings, hand lettering, anime art, and
more.

An Overview and Tour of Procreate

On the toolbar at the top right-hand side of

your screen, you’ll find these tools: Brush,
Smudge, Eraser, Layers, Color.

Begin by opening up a new canvas and choose the size you’d like it to
be. From there, on the top right toolbar, pick the Brush tool. When you
open it, you will find many options for different types of brushes (paint,
sketch, ink, charcoal, etc.) and different types of brushstrokes for each.

You can use many of these tools the same way you would real ones.
With the pencils, for example, you can draw and write, but you can also
do shading. By applying more or less pressure to your Apple pencil,
you can also adjust the results you get with it.

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You can install your own brushes in the Procreate
library to expand your options beyond the pre-
installed ones. There are so many built in to Procreate
that you may not ever need to install additional
brushes, but the option is there if you want it.

The Eraser tool has exactly the same library as the

Brush tool. You can, obviously, use the eraser to erase
things from your canvas, but there are also some that
you can use to create special effects. These will do
things like partially erase and create texture on your
design.

The Smudge tool is found between the Brush and

Eraser tools. This tool helps you blend colors together
and give more texture to your design.

The Color tool looks like a circle. You can click on that
to open the color palette. You’ll see an inner section
surrounded by an outer ring. .

The outer ring is for hue and the inside is for color saturation (also
known as value). You can use saturation to stay within the same color
family and adjust the shade of the color.

If you draw a line and then keep your

pencil held down, the drawn line will
straighten out. This is known as Quick
Line. If you keep your pencil on the line
and put your finger down as well, it will
become perfectly straight.

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You can move the pencil around to move the line as you’d like. If you
want to use it in more specific increments, once again, put your finger
down. As you move the pencil around, the line will move in -degree
increments.

Along with Quick Line, there is also Quick

Shape. Draw a circle and keep your pencil on
it. It will make your line a little straighter, If you
want a perfect circle, put your finger down
too. You can do this with any shape in
Procreate.

Draw a circle on your canvas. Try out Quick Shape to make it

a perfect circle. Drag color from the color palette to fill in
your circle.

The final thing on the upper right toolbar is Layers.

We will go into more detail about this in future lessons,
but it’s important to know that this is where you can
add and delete layers.

If you click on a layer in the Layers Panel and move

your pencil to the left, it will give you options to
Duplicate, Delete, or Lock the layer.

In the toolbar on the left-hand side, you will find a slider bar to change
sizes as well as one to change the opacity of your design. Under these,
at the bottom of this toolbar, you’ll see the Undo and Redo buttons.

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The Select Tool (looks like an S): If you draw around an
element on your canvas and then click Transform (just to
the right of the Select tool), you can now move the
element around on your design. You can also size it up or
down, flip it, rotate it, or use the Snap tool to ensure that
you’re moving the element in a straight line.

The wrench is the Actions Tool: This is where you can

insert files or photos for reference, add text, crop
and resize, add the drawing guide (grid lines to your
canvas), share and export your files, time-lapse video
recording, and change the interface from right to left
handed.

?
Help button - This is self-explanatory, but note that
under the Help Tool, you’ll find the Procreate
handbook. If you click on that, it will take you to the
online guide.

Using Gestures with Procreate

Procreate is made to be used with your Apple pencil and by making

gestures with your fingers.

Scrub three fingers back and forth on your screen to delete.

everything on your canvas.

Tap two fingers on the screeen to clear the last item you added.

Tap three fingers on the screen to add your item back in.

Swipe three fingers down to open the copy/paste menu.

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 Scribble three different things onto your canvas. Use the
above gestures to delete the last one you drew. Add it
back in again. Now, delete everything on your canvas.

How to Use the Brush Tool

The choices in the Brush tool are the same as the ones in
the Smudge tool and the Erase tool. They are divided
into themed categories such as sketching, calligraphy,
painting, and so on.

If you click on the plus sign, you can import

and add your own brushes. You can find
brushes for purchase online.

As mentioned before, you may not ever need

to buy any brushes though because there
are so many options already built into
Procreate but there are more available
if you ever want or need more.

The Apple Pencil reacts to how much pressure you put on it. A heavier
touch will create a thicker line and a lighter touch will create a thinner
line. Procreate also reacts to the tilt of the pencil so you can tilt it just like
you would a regular pencil to do things like shading or create other
effects.

Play around with the brushes. Experiment and see

what you can do with them. Keep track of your
favorites.

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Eraser Tool Tips

As mentioned previously, with the Eraser Tool,

you have the same options as with the Brush
Tool. If you simply want to erase, we find that
Monoline under Calligraphy works well for that.

Other erasers will only partially erase and add

texture to your design instead of fully removing
what’s there. Instead of putting down color,
you’re taking some of it away and leaving
behind some interesting effects.

Using The Smudge Tool

The smudge tool allows you to smooth the colors

in your design and smudge them into one
another for blending. This can mimic the effects
you get with traditional painting or watercoloring
if you like those styles.

Draw on your canvas. You can draw a quick picture

or just a bunch of different random patches of color.
Now, experiment with the Eraser and Smudge tools
to get a feel for what they can do. If you find some
you like, add them to your list of favorite brushes.

17
How to Add Multiple Layers to Your Artwork

In the upper right corner of your canvas, you’ll see something that
looks like two pieces of paper on top of each other. This is your Layers
Panel.

Click on the plus sign to add more layers. To delete or duplicate a

layer, select it and then drag it to the left.

Although your canvas shows up as white, that’s not part of your design.
You’re working on a transparent canvas. You can toggle Background
Color on and off to see

what your background looks like

without the color. You can also click on it
and change your background color.

If you turn the background off, your

design layers are still there, but the
white background isn’t behind it
anymore. When you export your
design, it exports with a transparent
background.

If you lock a layer, you won’t be able to change it or draw

on it. This is a good safeguard if you’re worried about
accidentally deleting it or making changes to it.

When you want to work on a specific layer, simply click on

it. The blue color indicates the active layer. When you make
changes there, it only affects that layer. Nothing changes
on any layers that aren’t selected (active).

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When you click on a layer, an options panel will open.
You will be given these options – rename, select, copy, fill
layer, clear, alpha lock, mask, clipping mask, insert,
reference, merge down, combine down. If you click on
the N, you can change the opacity of the layer.

Add a photo to your canvas. Change the opacity to

make it more transparent. Add another layer so you
can draw on top of the photo to trace it.

To merge layers, you can use two fingers to squeeze the

layers together.

If you have a lot of layers, it can be overwhelming. You

might not want to merge them though because as
separate layers they are easier to edit and change.

Instead, swipe right to select each layer and group them together. You
can still easily work on any layer, but they will be contained within one
group in the layers panel and make it less overwhelming to look at.

Alpha Lock

Alpha Lock allows you to draw on top of what’s already on

a particular layer. It will only allow you to draw on what’s
already on that layer and not to add anything new in the
background. You can click on it to turn it on or use two
fingers and slide them from left to right on that layer.

Click on Alpha Lock to turn it on. Another way to turn it on is

to use two fingers and slide from left to right on that layer.

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Clipping Mask

Clipping Mask is similar to Alpha Lock. You can add

a layer and add color, texture, and other designs
to make a background on that layer. When you
click on Clipping Mask, whatever changes you
make to the new layer will be applied to whatever
is already on the layer right below it.

Remember there is no Save button in Procreate. It

automatically saves all of your changes as you work.

How to Change or Add Color to Your

Artwork

The color you see in the circle in the top right-hand

menu is the active color. Click on that to find the
color palette.

As previously mentioned, there is a color value or

saturation disc in the center with a color hue ring
around the outside. As you drag your Apple pencil
around, the color you see to the right is the color
you’re about to pick and the one to the left is the
one you just used.

Under disc is your recent color history. You can use

it to switch back and forth quickly. You can also
create your own color palettes.

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Under the palettes, there are tabs where you can choose other
options besides the Color Disc for color selection. Classic is the
traditional color picker you have likely seen in other software.

You can also work with color harmony (this is based on color theory
including complementary colors, analogous colors, etc.), color value
(hexadecimal codes), and saved palettes.

If you hold down the color picker (circle in

the upper right), it will switch back to the
last color you used. If you double tap a
color in the disc, it will take you to a pure
hue of that color.

If you make a shape on your canvas, you can then grab your color
from the upper right corner and drag that over to fill in the shape. You
can also drag a color over to fill the entire layer with a color.

PRO TIP

You can add a reference photo onto your

canvas. From it, you can press your finger down
on one of the colors to select and use that color
in your design.

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How to Share and Export Your Designs

To export your finished design, click on the

Wrench in the top left corner of your screen.

Now, hit Share. Choose the file type that you

want to export your design as. Saving as
Procreate means you are saving your work
it in its current format, and can open it up
again in another Procreate app. PSD – is for
PhotoShop. Other options include: PDF, JPEG,
PNG, and TIFF.

Before you export your design, decide how

you’re going to use it so that you know which
file type to choose. After choosing the file
type, you can save your design, share it, and
so on.

You can export from your canvas or click on

Gallery and export from there. From the
gallery, you can even select multiple designs
to export several designs at once.

PRO TIP

Make stacks to keep your gallery organized.

Simply grab a design and drag it to place it on
top of another one to create the stack. Rename
as desired.

Using what you have learned in this lesson, create a

simple PNG design.

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USING YOUR COMPUTER TO CREATE FILES

Overview of Illustrator

Now that you’ve learned how to create PNG files

in Procreate, we’re going to show you how to
make vector files in Illustrator. We’re starting with
a tour of Illustrator.

Don’t worry if you find this overwhelming and can’t remember it all. This
is just an overview. We’ll be going into more detail about the most
important tools and how to use them in future lessons.
To begin a new project, you will open a new artboard. You can choose
from the pre-set sizes up at the top of your screen or select Create New in
the left-hand sidebar and choose your own size.

You aren’t restricted to working just within the artboard. You can work in
the space around it too.

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 Tools in the left-hand sidebar:

If you hover over any of the tools, you will see the
shortcut (hot key) for that tool in parentheses.

Selection tool – V

Direct Selection tool – A – allows you to select a specific

point or segment of your design

Pen tool – P – is used to create line segments.

Curvature tool – Shift + `– is used to curve lines between

points

Undo - Command + z

Redo – Shift command + z

Delete – use the selection tool to select and then press

delete on your keyboard

How to Convert a Drawing into an SVG in Illustrator

Yes! You can convert a drawing into an SVG file. This is a great service
to be able to offer to your customers. For example, they can scan a
child’s drawing to send to you and you can turn it into a cut file.

Pro Tip
PRO TIP

It’s best to use plain white paper for the background of

the drawing. Take a photo of the drawing or scan it. To
take the photo, get right over the drawing so you
aren’t taking the photo at an angle. Be sure you’re in a
well-lit area and avoid any shadows on the drawing.

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To edit the photo, you want to try to make it look as black and white as
possible. Try increasing the contrast and black point. Adjust the
shadows and brilliance as well.

Send the photo to yourself and then drag and drop it into Illustrator. It
will automatically open a new artboard and place your image on it.

With your image selected, choose Trace (right panel). There are
several different options to choose from depending on the number of
colors in your photo.

Once it converts your image, drag your image over to the gray part
away from the artboard.

Remove the white background from the image by selecting it, choosing
Expand (right panel), and Ungroup. Move the white pieces you don’t
want away from the image and delete them.

Clean up the image by clicking on an element and

choosing the Smoothing tool. Click once and it will
smooth out the line. Click again to smooth more.

The Smoothing tool will only smooth one line (or

path) at a time. For some letters (ones with centers
like b and d) and other designs, there is an inside
line and an outside line. You need to smooth both
of these lines.

You can use the Shape Builder as needed tool to

remove any unwanted parts.

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To merge sections of the design, select the layers
you want to merge, locate the the Pathfinder tool
menu (right panel) and Unite. You can also select
both layers, select the Shape Builder tool, and
drag from one to the other to merge the layers.

If you’re happy with a line but there’s an odd part

sticking out, instead of using the Smoothing Tool on
the whole line, you can use the Curvature Tool to
edit those few points. Select the Curvature Too
and then Click on each point that you want to
eliminate. Once selected, press Delete.

If you take your design into Design Space as is,

everything in it will be a separate layer. To
combine elements into layers, you can select all of
the parts you want in that layer and then press
Command + 8 to create one compound path.

To Convert a Drawing into an SVG in Inkscape

Import your image. On the top

toolbar, choose Path, Trace Image
to Bitmap. Select Single Scan for
black and white images and
Multiple Scans for colored
images. Press OK.

Move the newly traced image over and delete the old one.

To clean up the image, grab the nodes tool in

the left-hand toolbar. It will add a lot of nodes
to your design. Go to Path (upper toolbar) and
choose Simplify to make them more manageable.

26
 PRO TIP

Simplifying the nodes can make your shape

a little bit wonky. You will need to add a few
nodes here and there to even it out.

The other option is to select an element of your design and edit the
nodes by deleting the ones that aren’t needed one by one to smooth
out the lines.

Create a simple drawing or hand lettered art. Take

a photo of it and convert it into an SVG using Illustrator
or Inkscape.

How to Convert a PNG into an SVG

Drag the PNG into Illustrator. Select the image. Press Image Trace (right
panel). Select the appropriate choice based on the number of colors
you have in your image and then press OK.

Select the entire design. Press Expand (right panel) and Ungroup.
Remove the parts you don’t need.

To make certain pieces of the design one layer, simply hold down the
Shift key and then click on each part with your cursor.

Press Command to create compound paths.

Repeat as needed to create the layers you
want for your design.

27
How to Share and Export Your Designs

Before exporting, we strongly advise that you save your work. Go to

File, Save As, and then change the format to Adobe Illustrator. Name
your file.

To export your file, choose File, Export, Export As. Choose the format
you want to save it as (PNG, SVG, BMP, etc.) Choose SVG. Press Export and
OK.

Set up a folder for your designs so they’re all in one place

and easy to find.

How to Use the Shape Builder Tool

Begin by choosing a shape from the left-hand toolbar.

Click to place it on your artboard.. A screen will open

allowing you to adjust the size if you want to.

Hold in shift and size your image as needed. By holding shift, the side
ratio will be maintained.

In our example, we added an Ellipse to create the top part of an

acorn. To make a semi-circle, use a rectangle to cover half the circle.
Select both the circle and the rectangle and choose your Shape
Builder tool.
Hover over the part of the circle you want removed,
press Option (Alt on a PC) on your keyboard, and click.
Hover over the remaining part of the rectangle and click.

To add a scalloped edge, you can create a smaller

circle and then duplicate that as many times as needed.
Select all of the circles and Center (right panel). Next, use
Distribute Horizontally to space them evenly. (right panel)

28
With one of these circles selected, press Shift and click on the main
shape to select it as well. Grab the Shape Builder tool. Drag your cursor
from one shape to the other to merge them. Repeat until your shape
and each of the circles forming the scalloped edge have been
merged.

To add the stem on the acorn, use the Polygon tool.

Choose sides to make a triangle. If you hover around the corners of

it, a curved arrow will appear. Use this to rotate the triangle and place
it upside down at an angle.

Size it without holding in Shift so you can distort it a bit.

Select both the stem and the top of the acorn and then the Shape
Builder tool. Click and drag from the acorn top to the stem to merge
them.

Create your own simple design using the Shape

Builder Tool. Follow the steps in the image below to
recreate this flower.

29
How to Design a File Using the Pen Tool

Import a photo to use as inspiration. Drag the

image into Illustrator. This gives you a starting point.
Select the Pen Tool (left toolbar) or press P.

Start adding points around the item in the photo by

clicking. Illustrator will add lines to join the points. It’s
easiest to begin with lines creating degree
angles and then fine-tune later.

Select the Curvature tool. You can then click and drag
on one of the lines to drag it and curve it. Experiment
with clicking to add points until you get the results you
want.

When you’re happy with the placement of the curve,

release. You can also click and drag anchors that are
already set around your shape to adjust those as you
start refining your design.

PRO TIP

If the image is symmetrical, once you have one

side completed, you can look at it as a guide
for adding the anchor points to the other side.

Once you’re happy with the design, select the whole thing and press
Command to create a compound path..

Remember, because the design was created with the pen

tool by making strokes, you need to turn it into a compound
path. Otherwise, Design Space will only see the outline of
the shape and not any of the inner design.

30
You might want to increase the size of the stroke
first to make a thicker line in Design Space. We
suggest something around inches. Sometimes
when you increase the stroke size, you will see
that parts of your design are parts now poking
out.

To fix this, go to Stroke and turn on rounded caps

and corners. That usually does the trick.

Now you need to outline your stroke so Design Space will cut on either
side of it. Go to the Top Menu and choose Object, Path, Outline Stroke.

To fill your design, choose a basic shape like a rectangle and size it
large enough so that your design will fit on it. Press Command C,
Command V to copy your design. Place the copy on top of the
rectangle and select both of those layers. Choose the Pathfinder Tool
(right panel) and choose Click to Minus Front.

With that all still selected, choose the Shape Builder tool. Hold down
Option and click the part you want to remove.

If you’re not sure what is and isn’t a compound path, you can
always check in your Layers Panel.

You can change the color of the entire design all at once. If you want to
change different parts to different colors, you need to Ungroup first.

Remember that you may want to have sections of your design

connected as a compound path so that they import into Design Space
as one layer. To do this, you need to select each of those separate
pieces and create a compound path.

Save and export your design as an SVG.

Take a photo of something around your house. Use this

image to create a design using the Pen Tool. Be sure to use
a design that you can add text to as we’ll be doing that in
the next lesson.

31
 USING FONTS IN YOUR DESIGNS

How to Add Text to Your Designs

Adding text to your designs is a great way to customize them and add
personality to them. It’s also really easy to do in Illustrator.

To add text to a design, press T on your keyboard or

grab the Text Tool in the left-hand toolbar. Click then
drag and drop to add a text box.

In the Character Window (right panel),

select the font you want to use. Type in
your text. If you want to create several
lines of text, simply press Enter to start
a new line.

To format the text, first select it. Change

the size (right) by using the arrows to
increase or decrease as desired. You
can also change the character or line
spacing to get the look you want.

At this point, the letters in your text are being made with strokes. As
discussed in a previous lesson, if this were imported into Design Space
now, it would not be recognized as a letter with lines on the inside and
outside of each character. This would make them not cut out properly
in Design Space.

To fix that, with the text selected, press Create Outlines (right panel) and
this will create the compound paths that you need.
In addition, when using a script text, you need to weld
or merge the letters together so that they join in one
seamless line. Be sure to make any adjustments to the
placement of the letters in your text first by ungrouping
and manually moving them. Then with the text selected,
go to the Pathfinder Tool (right panel) and choose
Unite.

32
Select each of the words and press Command to make each word
a layer. Size the text to fit your design. Sometimes after sizing text, you’ll
find that some of the words look thicker than others. You can select the
word, choose Stroke, and add a measurement there to add a stroke
to your text and thicken it up.

After thickening it up, select your text and choose

Object, Path, Outline Stroke. Then, with it selected use
the Unite tool as well.

Finally, if you want all of the text to be one layer, once

again you can select it and press Command

Add text to your design from the last lesson.

How to Access and Use Special

Font Characters
Also known as glyphs, these include swooshes and swirls added to the
beginning and end of letters as well as extra characters like question
marks and flourishes to use with your text.

Lots of fonts have these already included in the OTF files. On a Mac, you
can find these in Font Book. In Font Book, click on Switch to Repertoire
Preview Mode to see what’s available.

To use them, type in your text and

change to your chosen font. Go to
Window (top menu). Scroll down to
Type and then choose Glyphs.This
opens your character map in Illustrator.

Select the letter you want to change. In the window, it will indicate the
option you’re already using for that letter. Double click your new choice
and it will replace the old one.

33
Manually kern your text as needed. Once happy with it, select all and
click Unite to weld. Press Command to make it all one layer.

Check Font Book for any special characters in your fonts.

Type Happy Birthday in Illustrator and change to one of the
fonts that has glyphs available. Add some glyphs to your text.

How to Type on a Path to Create Curved Text

Any line or stroke in Illustrator is a path. If you can create it in Illustrator,

you can type on it to add text. This means that you can create text in the
shape of whatever path you make. You can use shapes to create
those paths or use the Pen tool to make your own path.

There are a few exceptions to this. You cannot add text onto
a compound path or a path that’s masked.

In this lesson, we’ll show you how to use a circular path and create
curved text on it.

Begin by adding a circle to your artboard. Press C. This

is the shortcut that will give you the scissor tool. By
clicking on the points on the right and left sides of your
circle/oval, it will cut it horizontally in half. This gives you
two curves that you could use for creating curved text. If
you’re only using one of them, delete the other one.

Right click on the Text tool to find the Type on a Path tool. Click over the
curved path you made. A curved text box will open up. Choose your
font. Change the size as needed. Type in the desired text. To arrange
the text on the curved path, grab the Selection tool.

34
You’ll see points at the beginning and
end of your text. Click on the point at the
beginning of the text to move it over.
Then you can select your text and
choose Center.

With it selected, go to Type on a Path

and then Type on a Path Options. You
can then change the alignment of the
text on the path (center, baseline, etc.).
Press OK.

With the text still selected, go to the Selection tool. Move it to where you’d
like it in your design. When you’re satisfied with it, choose Create Outline
(right panel).

How to Apply Effects to Your Text

There are many special effects that you can add to your text, graphics,
and shape designs in Illustrator. From the top toolbar, select Effect.
From there, you can choose a wide range of options.

Here are some of our favorites:

Arc
Arch places your text in an arc and then options open so
you can customize the arc even more and distort it.

Distort and Transform

Free Distort allows you to fully control the distortions by moving the anchors.

Stylize
Use Feather to make it look fuzzy and
faded. Try Glow to add a glowing effect
around the text.

Photoshop Effects
This includes brush strokes and effects to
make it look sketched, like charcoal,
crayon, photocopy effect, and more.

35
 Add lines of text. Ungroup. Select each line of text.
Group each line separately. Size and place the text as
you’d like. Command to make all one layer.

With the whole text selected, choose an effect. Try

several different effects to see what they do. If you find
some you especially like, you can add them to your list in
the back of this book.

ADVANCED FILE DESIGNING TECHNIQUES

How to Add Score Lines

By adding score lines to cut files in Illustrator, you can then import into Design
Space with the score lines already designated as score lines and already
attached to the correct layer. These are often used for greeting cards and
D projects.

To make a base card for a greeting card, add a

rectangle. Then use the Line Segment tool (under
Shapes). Enter the length of the line segment and the
angle you’d like it placed at (for example, degrees
for a straight vertical line).

Select both layers. Use horizontal align center and vertical align center.
Make a liner for the card by duplicating this rectangle and sizing it down a bit.
Select card base and the line for it and group them by pressing Command G.
Repeat with the liner.

Select both the card base and the liner. Go to the Layers panel. Press the
down arrow on your groupings. Press the down arrow on each of the layers.

Double click the score line on one of the layers. Rename your file as follows.
For example, for the liner and score line, we named it Liner + Score. Press OK.
Double click the actual cut portion of that file – in our example, the liner card
itself. Rename it Liner + Score. Press OK.

Repeat for the card base. This is assigning actions to each of these layers.
Select all of the layers and export. When you import into Design Space, it will
import with the score lines attached.

36
 Create a card base and liner with score lines for a
greeting card.

How to Add an Offset

An offset is similar to adding a drop shadow to your design. You can

create an offset around a whole Print then Cut image and it will cut
around the offset instead of around the image itself.

To use Offset, select your design. Go to Object (top menu bar). Choose
Path, Offset Path.

You can then choose the size of the offset that

you’d like around your design and you can
choose rounded corners if you’d like.
Change the color of the offset as desired.

Save as a PNG to use as a Print then Cut.

Add some text or a design to your artboard in

Illustrator. Apply an Offset to it and save as a PNG.

How to Create Repeating Patterns

To begin, grab several different related cut files to use for your
pattern. Copy and paste the elements in various places around the
design to create a pattern.

Place some of the smaller filler graphics so that they overlap at the top
and the right side of the design. This will create the seamless
continuation of the pattern.

Next, you need to select the overlapping pieces at the

top. Group them by pressing Command G. Then, press
Command C to copy those elements, and then press
Command F to paste them in front of the original ones.

37
Next, you’re going to move the copied elements to the bottom of your
artboard. It’s important to know the size of your artboard for this step.
For example, if your artboard is inches tall, then add to the Y
coordinate of the elements you have selected. That will move it to
precisely where you need it.

Now, select the elements on the right side of your pattern. Once again,
group them, copy them, and paste them in front of the original ones. This
time, on the X axis, instead of adding the height of the artboard, you
need to subtract the width of it.

To test how your design will repeat , copy and

paste the background layer. Send to front. Select
everything on your artboard. Press Command 7 to
create a mask. Copy and paste and move the
copies to line up at the sides and top or bottom of
the pattern to make sure they repeat properly.

If you’re happy with the way your pattern lines up, release the mask.

Make a rectangle that is big enough to cover the design and the
overlapping elements completely. Right click on that rectangle and
choose Arrange, Send to Back.

In this next step, you'll create a frame so you can easily cut off the
overhanging elements of your pattern. Select the layer you used to
create your earlier mask and the new larger rectangle you just
added (do not select your grouped pattern). Choose the Pathfinder
Tool and select Click to Minus Front.

Select your entire artboard and expand the

Pathfinder Tool. Choose Trim. When you click on
that, the unwanted overhanging elements will be
trimmed away. Ungroup and delete the frame
layer.

Make a simple repeating pattern and test it.

38
How to Create a Custom Color Palette

We like to take screenshots of images with color schemes we like that

we find around the internet. If you’re looking for some, Instagram and
Pinterest are good places to start.

To use this image to create a custom color palette, pull the screenshot
into Illustrator. Count how many colors you have in the image. Create a
square for each one.

Select one of the squares and grab the

eyedropper tool (left-hand toolbar). Hover over
one of the colors and click. Repeat for all colors.
Keyboard shortcut for the eyedropper tool: I.

Select the whole color palette and save and export as an SVG. Then,
when creating a design in Illustrator, you can drag in the color palette
you want to use and grab the colors from it for your design.

You can even pull the color palette into Design Space and use it there
as well with Color Sync.

Create your own custom color palette. You’ll need this

for the next lesson.

How to Create a Custom Color Gradient

A color gradient blends one color into another. We love to create

these and then use them as a fill for shapes and text in our designs.

To create a custom gradient, begin by adding a basic shape to your

artboard. Choose Gradient from the left-hand toolbar or go to Window
and choose Gradient. The keyboard shortcut is Command F

You can adjust the gradient slider to change how the colors blend. You
can also choose from different types of gradients.

39
On the gradient screen, select the
first gradient spot on the slider.
Choose the eyedropper tool. Select
one of the colors from your color
palette.

Hover under the slider and click on

the plus sign to add another
gradient. Grab the eyedropper
tool again and choose another
color. Repeat until you have used all
the colors in your chosen palette.

You can move the points for each color in your gradient if you want to
space them out more evenly. Simply click on them and move them
over.

If you want to delete any of the colors, click on that point and then on
the trashcan. Once you’re happy with your design, grab the Selection
tool and click out of the gradient window.

Select your shape with the gradient in it and click on Fill (in the panel on
the right). Click on the button that says “new swatch” at the bottom of the
window that opens to add your gradient as a swatch for later use.

Name it and click OK to save it.

Following the steps in this lesson, create your own color gradient.
Add aACTION
text box.ITEMSChange to a font of your choice. With your font
selected, choose Create Outline (near the bottom of the panel on
the right). Click Fill and select the gradient swatch you made.

40
How to Create a Tie Dye Effect

There are multiple steps to creating a tie dye effect for use as a PNG,
so be sure to go back and watch the video as many times as needed
to get them all.

To get started, add a circle to your artboard. Increase the width of the
stroke to thicken the line around the circle. Change that to the gradient
you created previously.

From the top menu, choose Effects, Distort and Transform, Transform.

Adjust the settings as you’d like. The ones we use are: Scale – Height 90% ,
Width90% . Angle – 15 degrees. Copies – 50. Press OK.

With the design selected, now choose Effects, Distort and Transform,
Roughen.

Settings we use for this: Relative. Size: 2%. Detail – around 10-11 inches.
Press OK.

Next, once again from the top menu, choose Effects, Distort (under
Photoshop Effects), Ocean Ripple.

Our settings for this: Ripple Size – 6 . Ripple Magnitude – 6 . Click OK.

Now from Basic Shapes grab the. Star tool and add a star to your
design.

Our settings here: Radius 1-5 . Radius. 2 – 0.0001. Click OK.

Increase the stroke size and change the color of it to white. Cap the
ends of the star by pressing Stroke and change to rounded caps.
Under Stroke, select Profile, and choose the freeform-looking stroke.

With the star selected, choose Effects, Distort and Transform, Roughen.
Change the settings as you’d like. Press OK.

Next, choose Effects, Stylize, Feather. Change the numbers to get the
feathered look you like.

41
 Make the white a little less vibrant by choosing Opacity (from the right
panel) and decreasing it.

Duplicate the white part by pressing Command C and then Command V

on your keyboard. Rotate it a bit. Decrease the opacity of the copy.

Create a swatch out of this tie dye effect. Group your design. Select
Windows and then Swatches. Drag and drop your tie dye swatch into
the swatch panel.

Make your own tie dye swatch. Take your time and go through the
tutorial step by step. Watch the video over again and pause it as
ACTION ITEMS
needed.

How to Add a Glitter Effect

You can use this with text, a shape, or design

that you draw with the Pen Tool. It must be
saved as a PNG and cannot be used for SVGs.

Select the part of your design that you want to

add a glitter effect to. Choose Effect (top menu),
Artistic, Film Grain. Change the settings as desired.

If you want to go back to it and make changes to the settings later or to

delete the effect entirely, look for Film Grain in the right panel. Click that
to make changes or use the trashcan to delete it.

Type your name into Illustrator. Add a glitter effect to it.

ACTION ITEMS

42
How to Create a Distressed Effect

First, you need to find an overlay with a grunge effect that you like.
Search the internet for "Free Grunge Overlay" or "Free Vintage
Overlay". Save the overlays you like.

Like the glitter effect, this should only be used with PNG files.

Drag and drop the chosen overlay into Illustrator. Place the grunge
effect over your design. Create a mask by dragging and selecting
everything. Then, go to: Window.

Select transparency. Make Mask. (or you can press Command but
opening the window gives you options that you can adjust). Save and
export your design.

Using a design you’ve already created for a previous

ACTION
ACTION ITEMS
lesson, try ITEMS
adding a distressed look to it.

43
My Notes:

44
45
PRINT RELEASE FORM

To whom it may concern,

Makers Gonna Learn LLC acting as Design Make Sell

authorizes the bearer of this letter to make unlimited
copies of this digital file entitled, Design, which they
have purchased from the aforementioned company.

Makers Gonna Learn LLC retains full copyright to this

digital file and the purchaser is limited to personal
use only including printing (as previously mentioned),
emailing, and copying this file. It may not be shared
with others, nor may it be reproduced in full or in
part for commercial purposes.

Tanner Bell and The Makers Gonna Learn Team

46
 HOW TO PRINT
You don’t have to print this book as you can simply use it on your
computer, but if you’d like to, here are some tips and tricks for it.

The first thing we would suggest is that you decide whether you want to
print off the entire book or only certain pages and sections. There are
some parts where we suggest you take notes or do some
brainstorming and you might want to print those. You could also use a
notebook in conjunction with this book to save on printing.

If you are planning to print off the entire book, we would recommend
that you take or send it to a local printing company and have them do
it for you. You can certainly print it off at home, but it may use up quite a
bit of paper and ink. In addition, if you have it printed, you can also
have them bind it for you as well.

Another option is to hole punch and place your pages in a binder. This
can be helpful if you want to be able to add your own pages of notes
into the book or for any future updates.

To print it yourself, we like to download the book and then open it with
a PDF reader like Adobe Reader. This will give you more control over
your printing options. Then, begin by clicking on the Printer icon.

The printer dialog will open. You can change/select your printer (if you
have more than one option to choose from) and choose whether to
print the whole thing or just certain pages. You can also click on
Properties next to the printer’s name to customize some of your printer
settings such as paper size.

By moving the slider under the image, you can see each of the pages
and how they will look when printed. We like to check this and make
sure that they’re all set up to print as we want them. If not, you can
adjust it under Page Sizing & Handling to make them fit better.

We always suggest that you print out a page as a test copy. Make sure
you like the results before going ahead with the entire book. Under
Properties, you can change the Print Quality as needed. Draft is the
lowest quality and High is obviously the highest.
47
 WANT SOME READY-MADE FONTS AND CUT FILES YOU CAN USE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

Designing custom cut files and fonts is a lot of fun and a great way to help your business
stand out. We know that not everyone has the time or inclination to make their own files
for every single craft project though.

Using pre-made fonts and files can save you time and effort on some of your craft
projects, propelling your business forward faster
.
IMAGINE HAVING A LIBRARY OF THOUSANDS OF CUT FILES AND HUNDREDS OF FONTS
RIGHT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS READY TO USE WITH YOUR GROWING BUSINESS!

As a thank you for joining Design Make Sell,

P R O MO C O DE: we want to give you $30 off of our regular

FLASH30 price! Just enter the code FLASH 30 at

checkout.

With a Makers Gonna Learn yearly membership, you will not only have access to
thousands of files, but you will also receive our commercial license, giving you legal
permission to use our SVGs, PNGs, and fonts on your craft products.

Not only will you get instant access to our entire library of files, but we release two new
cut file collections and 20 + new fonts every single month. That means our library just
keeps growing and growing!

We also have free member only video tutorials, printable reference guides and charts, a
private Facebook group of crafty friends where members support and encourage
each other in their crafting projects, and so much more!

WE CAN HELP YOU TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

48