Creating artboards in Adobe Illustrator is a great way of showcasing your work. We explain how in our Adobe Illustrator courses.
Artboards are like pages. To create multiple pages for a Storyboard or Moodboard, you can specify the number of artboards when you first set up the document. This feature was introduced into Illustrator CS4.
Alternatively, if you have created a design and decide later to add pages for variations on the theme, simply click on the Artboard tool in the Illustrator Toolbox to enter the artboard mode.
On the top Control panel are options for the new artboard, as well as various page sizes. It’s thus possible to have different page setups in the one document, for example an A4 version of the document, an A3 version of the document, and a DL flyer version; all within the one Illustrator document. Pre-CS4 you’d have to do this by setting up three different documents. You can also copy artboards by pressing Alt (Mac: Option) and moving the page to one side. Hit the Escape button on your keyboard or hit the Back button on the top left of the artboard panel to exit the artboard mode.
Note that creating a new artboard does not replicate the content – it’s simply a new blank page. We would then copy the artwork itself onto the new page(s), and make colour variations, or rescale in the case of a different page size.
We can then output the document as a multi-page PDF.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or self-taught, our courses will help you gain self-confidence in your Illustrator workflow, as well as adding to your professional skill-set. See many examples of our Illustrator clients’ work on our Facebook page.
Other related Illustrator Blog Posts:
Illustrator workspace
Illustrator basics
Illustrator clipping masks
Illustrator live trace
Illustrator brushes
Illustrator artboards
Apr5