Calling all die cut designers (and aspiring die cut designers)! If you’re interested in learning more about designing your very own die cut files, today’s tutorial is just the thing you need. Last year, I shared a video series going over some of the basics of cut file design, and now I’m diving in a little deeper—teaching you how to create and prep more complex files. So strap in, and get ready to learn all about how to design layered cut files in Adobe Illustrator!
The main tools you will be using:
The Pen Tool
Shortcut: P
Paste in Front
Edit>Paste in Front
Shortcut: ⌘F
Reflect
Right Click>Transform>Reflect
Join
Object>Path>Join
Shortcut: ⌘J
Intersect
Window>Pathfinder>Intersect
Minus Front/Subtract
Window>Pathfinder>Minus Front/Subtract
Unite
Window>Pathfinder>Unite
Outline Stroke
Object>Path>Outline Stroke
Similar acorn designs to the the one I created in the video can be found here. I use a Cricut Explore to do my die cut designs, and I absolutely love it!
Whoo! Did you survive that? I know that was a pretty lengthy one, but jam-packed with lots of little tidbits of design info. This is by no means the only way to do things, it’s just my process. There are obviously many other tools you can use to achieve similar results, but I just thought it might be useful for you to see a few different ways I typically create layered designs.
Enjoy my latest tutorial! Hopefully you were able to learn more about how to design layered cut files, and now you’re ready to make some spectacular custom creations.
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Mandee is a graphic designer, tennis player, and roller coaster enthusiast. She is a wife to an aspiring stand-up comedian and mommy to two super cute little boys. She fell in love with graphic design when she started working with a guy she met her freshman year of college on his comedy website. Design wasn’t the only thing she fell in love with, and they were married a year and a half later. She started Designs By Miss Mandee as a place to practice her designs skills and share her creative ideas. 4 Comments on How to Design Layered Cut Files
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Marcela
September 21, 2018 at 4:08 am (5 months ago)Thanks! Very useful 🙂
Mandee
September 21, 2018 at 8:17 am (5 months ago)You’re very welcome Marcela! ^_^
Dej Nag
February 3, 2019 at 9:42 pm (3 weeks ago)I love your videos on cut files. How did you the title in Illustrator?
Mandee
February 5, 2019 at 12:49 pm (2 weeks ago)Thank you! For the title, I just typed it out, placed it above the art board, and made a dotted border to go around it. 🙂