You can say a lot with a little.

But maybe I should say more in this particular case, so here's more:

NEW! Download the resource file!

Come learn how to draw very simple vectors! People, places and things can all be reduced to, like, 3 rectangles and a triangle.

You will need a pen and some paper (or equivalent) and vector drawing software. I will be using Adobe Illustrator (free trial available) but Inkscape, Affinity Designer and Figma are alternatives.

During the 2014 World Cup, I made a bunch of faceless illustrations of players from each country. The goal was to make them recognisable while stripping away as much information as possible. I learned a lot from that one project and I'd like to share those lessons with you.

We'll be looking at two main principles: abstraction (turning something specific into something slightly less specific) and reduction (identifying essential things and stripping away nonessential ones).

We'll also look at some useful tools: the pathfinder, shape builder, pen tool, width tool, anchor point tool and some tilde key madness.

These techniques and approaches apply to logos, icons, murals, posters, beer bottles... you can easily animate the results or turn them into AR experiences.

(PS: If you're into this sort of thing and want more, I have a (very very bad) Skillshare class on Minimalist Landmarks and am working on a second one on Minimalist Portraits. Maybe wait for the second one?)