Need tutorial on how to draw old-fashioned sign

Question

I really like the effect shown in this tutorial: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/make-an-old-style-sign-from-scratch-in-core ldraw/
But, I want to do this sort of thing in Illustrator. Most of the tutorial I can figure out how to do in Illustrator without a problem, but not step 10. Can anyone point me to similar tutorials using Illustrator instead of Corel? I'm wanting to create the appearance of an old-fashioned or medieval sign board, like the type of wooden sign you would see hanging outside of a craftsman's shop.

Answer 1

The step-by-step you are looking at is poorly written. All mainstream drawing programs have a set of basic features that can combine paths in different ways. Draw calls them Shaping, Illustrator calls them Pathfinders, FreeHand calls them Combine Operations. They all do pretty much the same things, but with some program-specific behavior differences.
The Corel tutorial mentions Trim. (But frankly, the results shown suggest it used Draw's Arrange>Combine command.) Regardless, the operation in step 10 involves making a copy of one path, and using it to "punch" the original like a cookie cutter. Again, this is a very basic vector drawing feature, but is called different things in different programs. Draw calls it Trim (according to the tutorial) or Back Minus Front; Illustrator, in its typically inelegant fashion calls it Subtract From Shape Area; FreeHand calls it Punch.
Note that some of Illustrator's Pathfinders (among them, the one being discussed) optionally result in the operation being applied as a "live effect." The operation is rendered on the screen, but the whole original paths are acutally still there. You "nail down" the "live effect" by "expanding" it.
Comparing Draw's Trim against Illustrator's Subtract From Shape Area:
JET