Introduction to Adobe Illustrator

Course Outline

What is Adobe Illustrator?

When should I use Illustrator

Vs. Photoshop
Vs. In-Design

Creating a new Document

Artboards as Pages
Your Design size compared to standard document sizes.
Bleed values have to do with images that extend beyond the side of the art board.

Keep in mind that most (home / office) printers require a "grip" area around the edge of the page. To be able to do edge to edge printing, you may need to send your work to a press.

For those of you getting started, you may wish to explore the templates that are included with Illustrator.

The Document Window

Imagable area - The area that is currently printable on your artboard.
Edge of Page - The full size of your page (or Artboard)
Non-Imagable Area - The area of the page that cannot be printed to.
Scratch Area - The area around the Artboard, where you may place clippings you are working with.

A Basic Introduction to the Tool Panel

Selection
Direct Selection
Lasso
Text
Line Segment
Shape
Eraser
Eyedropper
Color Selector

Stroke
Fill
No Color (Red Diagonal Line)
Swapping Stroke and Fill

Introducing the other Panels

Expand / Collapse / Move panels as you like.

Workspaces

Moving Your Work Around the Screen

Hand tool

Pressing Space while any tool (except Text) is active temporarily gives you a Hand tool.

Scrolling up and down with the Scroll Wheel
Scrolling left and right with CTRL-Scroll Wheel
Magnifying Glass Tool

ALT-Click (Zoom Out)

Zooming in and out with ALT-Scroll Wheel

Using the Help System

Locating an overview of the Tools Panel

Workspace / Tools / Tools Panel Overview

Keyboard Shortcuts are directly off the top of the help tree (bottom of the list)
Using Search (Zooming Out)

Working with the Properties Bar (Top of Screen)

Make sure you have both a Stroke Color (Blue), and a Fill color (Red).
Add a Rectangle to the Artboard.
Zoom in a little to easier see the shape (Not too far though).
Make sure the Selection Tool is active.
Select shape with Mouse
Note the Properties bar has information relating to the shape.

This Panel gives you quick access to tools it thinks are related to the shape you are working on.
If you were working with Text, this Panel would adjust itself to contain items relating to text formatting.

Most of the items on this bar can be access via other panels, they are simply repeated here to make it easier for you to find what you need.

On the left side of the Panel, you will find the color options repeated from the Toolbox Panel
Along this Panel, you will find Links that drop down othe relevant Panels.

On this Peroperties Panel, you will find links to Stroke, Opacity, and Transform

After each link, you will find selected properties from that Panel

If you click the link, the selected Panel will drop down for you to make changes.

To see that Panel permanently, You can go to the Window Menu, and select the Panel to be displayed.

The Stroke Panel is accesible from Window/Stroke. It is also one of the Panels kept at the right side of the screen.

Positioned after the Stroke link, you will find the following properties;

Stroke Thickness (in Points)
Variable Width Profile
Brush Definition (How the Stroke Line is Drawn).

The Isolation button will be explained later.
The Style options apply pre-designed effects to the object you are working with.
Opacity changes the ability to see through this object, to others that may be behind it. This will make more sense when we place objects over other objects later.

The rest of these tools we will look at later. However, this gives you an idea of what some of these tools can do, and you will notice this Panel changes slightly, as we select other objects.

Drawing Basic Shapes

Rectangle / Square
Rectangle with rounded corners
Oval / Circle
Polygon / Star

Change number of points for Polygon / Star (click a spot on art-board, without dragging out the object).

Flare Tool

Play with the all of the above tools. Try changing each of the following;

Fill Colors
Stroke Colors
Stroke Thickness
Variable Width Profiles
Opacity
Note the additional panels down the right side.
Note the difference between No Color (transparent) vs. a white color on a white background.

Using the Selection Tools

"You have to select it, to affect it" (Use a star for demonstration)

If you keep trying to change a color, and nothing happens, make sure what you are affecting is selected.

Anchor Points

Every Object has an Anchor point by which you can select, or move the object.

Bounding Box

Every object has a box around it that has Handles positioned around it.

These Handles allow you to stretch, resize, and rotate your object.

The standard Selection tool

This tool selects the entire object, and allows you to move, resize, and rotate the object.

In the case of a rectangle or an oval, you can use the Shift key to restrain these to square or circle.
Normally, the object stretches from the upper left corner. You can use CTRL to cause the object to resize from the center.

Direct Selection tool

For objects that have more than one anchor point, the Direct Selection tool allows you to move individual anchors around.

Combining Objects

Arrange Objects (Bring Forward / Send Backward)

Not to be confused with 'Layers'

Drawing a Cube

Draw a Square (remember the Shift Key to keep it a square)
Set the Fill Color to Transparent
Change back to the Selection Tool
Copy the Square (Edit / Copy)
Paste the Square onto the Artboard (Edit / Paste)

Paste in Front / Back puts the copy directly in front (back) of the original object.

Position the second square, so that the Corner of the first is in about the center of the second.

Note: For fine tuning the position, you can use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move an object.

Select the Line Tool, and draw Four lines, to connect the related corners of the squares.
Switch back to the Selection Tool.
Select one of the Squares, and Right Click - Arrange - Bring To Front.

Combining many parts into one object. (Group / Ungroup)

With the Selection Tool, draw a Bounding Box around your Cube. Make sure no other objects are touched by the bounding box.
From the Object Menu, Select Group.

Note that you can no longer move the individual parts of the Cube.
If you wish to work on separate parts, you can UnGroup the Cube by making sure it is selected, and returning to the Object Menu / Ungroup.

Working with Text

To see a list of the Fonts available on your computer, go to the Type Menu, and view the Font Menu.
We can affect text Character by Character, and we can affect how groups of characters interact (Paragraphs).
We can affect the horizontal alignment (Left, center, right), as well as the vertical.
We can adjust the spacing between the letters, either as a group, or on a character by character basis.
We can also shift character and words up and down within a line of text.

Working with Fonts

The Type Menu

The Font List

Knowing whether it is legal to use a font in your project.

The Font (software) and the image of a Font, are not the same thing.

To be safe, test opening your final product on a computer which has no special fonts loaded to see the result.

Glyphs

Allows access to the full character set, including characters that are hard to get from the keyboard.

Smart Punctuation

Cleans up spacing, and replaces keyboard punctuation with font-specific punctuation. This can also clean up fractions.

Character Panel Options

Leading
Kerning
Tracking
Scaling
Baseline
Rotation

Manually adjust character placement

Select Text Element you wish to affect.
From the Type menu, select Create Outlines.

This converts the text into Anchors and Lines.
The characters are still grouped. You can double-click to select a specific character, or you can ungroup (Object Menu) the letters.

Creating the Atomic Travel Logo

We are going to make a logo that is to be used in print, as well as on the Web. Print images are generally a higher quality image, since printers run at much higher dpi that computer screens. Therefore, we will start with a print version of the logo.

Create a New Document

Name: Atomic Logo
New Document Profile: Print
Size: Letter
Click OK

Enable Rulers

View Menu > Rulers > Show Rulers

You can change the measurements by right-clicking on a ruler.
Since this is a Print Image, we will work in inches.

Create Background Box

Set the Fill Color to be a yellowish color
Set the Stroke Color to Black
Draw a box that is 4 inches by 1 inch.

Creating the Electron Path

Change the Shape Drawing tool to Ellipse
Draw a tall, skinny oval inside your yellow rectangle
With the oval still selected;

Change the fill color to none
change the stroke color to 'Blue'

Copy the Oval (Edit > Copy)
Paste a copy in FRONT of the original (Edit > Paste in Front)
Rotate the copy 90 degrees (Object > Transform > Rotate)

Note the preview checkbox
Do not worry if it is too close to the border of the yellow box right now.

Paste in another copy (Edit > Paste in Front)

Note: Since the last item we copied was the original oval, that is what gets pasted in.

Rotate 45 degrees (Object > Transform > Rotate)
If you want to add one more orbit, repeat the steps, but rotate 135 degrees.

Creating the Nucleus

Select the Ellipse drawing tool
Hold the Shift key, to restrain the object to a circle shape.
Draw a circle in the middle of the orbits
Change the fill color to red
Change the stroke color to none.

Repositioning the Atom inside the yellow box.

At this point, I could just move the box, but I want to show you some more powerful tools.

Locking the Box, to allow selection of everything else

Select the Yellow Box
Lock the Object (Object > Lock > Selection)

Now, we can draw a selection box around the atom, and it will not include the locked objects.

Grouping the Atom as a single object.

Draw a selection box around the atom
From the Object menu, select Group

Now you can move the Atom around as a single piece, and position it as you like.

Adding the Text

From the Type menu, set the following;

Font: Giddyup Std
Size: 48 point

Select the Text tool
Click in the Yellow box, and type 'Atomic Travel'
Select the text, and change the fill color to a lighter blue.
Use the Selection Tool, and position the text.

Adding the green Bar

Use the Line tool to draw a line below the text.

Remember, you can use the Shift key to keep the line straight.

Set the stroke color to Green
Adjust the Stroke thickness (5pt)
Using the Selection Tool, Position the bar so that it is just below the text.

Freehand Adjustment of Text

Select the Text
Object Menu > Arrange > Bring to Front
From the Type menu, select 'Create Outlines'
Double-click the 'A' in Atomic.

On the keyboard, press the down arrow key a couple of times, to move the letter A down.

Click the 'T' in Travel, and move it down as well.
Click each letter, and use the left-arrow key to move the letters over (tighten up the spacing).

The mode you are in is called 'Isolation Mode'. To get out of this mode, there is a button at the top of the screen to exit isolation mode. You can also simply hit the ESC key on the keyboard.

Week Four Outline

Setting up the Project

For today's project, we will create a New project for Print.

We will build it on a Letter size Artboard.
We will set the measure to Inches.

Understanding Vector Graphics

The key to vector graphics is to record a set of instructions on how to draw the image, as opposed to just storing a 'photo' of the image. This allows the image to be redrawn by the computer at any size, with no loss of quality. It does this by literally redrawing the image, rather than magnifying the picture.

The computer does this by creating a 'connect the dots' set of instructions. Each dot includes the angle at which the line comes into that location, and the angle at which it leaves.

In Illustrator, we will have the following items to work with;

Anchor - This is one of the 'dots' in the image
Handle - We use this to control the slope and angle of the line as it passes through the Anchor.

Being able to work with Anchors and Handles provides a great deal of power, but it can be frustrating to get used to. It may take a lot of practice to get a 'handle' on this concept, but it is well worth the time and effort.

I will demonstrate with the pencil tool, and then show you how to use the pencil, brush, and pen tools.

Playing with different drawing tools

Before we get into drawing our Island, I want to introduce a few new drawing tools. These are designed for more 'freehand' drawing, than the shapes tools we used last week.

The Pencil Tool

The pencil tool allows you to draw a 'clean' line, using your mouse (or tablet).

Illustrator will calculate all of the needed anchors and angles required to create the shape using vector graphic instructions.
Select the Pencil tool, and drag it around the Artboard, making some curves in the process.

Pick the Direct Selection Tool from the Toolbox Panel.
Click an empty area of the Artboard to de-select the curve you just drew.
Move the mouse along your curve. As you move, you will see the following items identified;

Path - part of the line that makes up the curve.
Anchors - the turning points in the curve

If you have trouble seeing these, you may want to zoom in on the drawing.

Click on one of the Anchors in your curve.

Notice that two little blue lines extend out from the Anchor, with a blue dot at the end.

The blue dot is the Handle we will use to modify the way the line passes through the Anchor.

The angle at which the handle comes out of the Anchor, controls the angle at which the line passes through the Anchor.
The Handle defines the 'peak' of the angle after passing through the Anchor.

We will play with Anchors more shortly. For now lets skip on to the next tool, the Brush.

The Paintbrush Tool

The Paintbrush Tool works much the same as the pencil tool, except you can select a 'brush style', which changes the style of the line.

Select the Paintbrush Tool
From the right side of the screen, open the Brushes panel.

Note the different brush styles available on this panel.
Note that the Brush style is also available on the Control Panel, at the top of the screen.

Select a brush style, and then draw a curvy line, like you did with the pencil.

You may try a few different brush styles to see the different effects.

Select the Direct Selection Tool

You can modify the anchors of a brush stroke the same way you did the pencil lines.

Clearing the Workspace

Before proceeding to the next tool, let's clear our workspace to make space.

On the keyboard, hold down the Ctrl key, and press 'A'. This selects everything in your project.
Press the 'Delete' key on the keyboard.

The Pen Tool

The Pen tool creates a line similar to the pencil tool, but uses a different method for creating the Anchor points. This is a little tricky, so remember that you can use Crtl-Z to Undo, if you make a mistake.

Instead of drawing the curve on the screen, the pen tool allows you to specify the location of each Anchor.

Select the Pen tool.
Click to position the first Anchor, but do not let go of the mouse button.

If you drag the mouse away from the Anchor, it will create the Handle for this Anchor. If you forget to do this, you will need to use the Convert Anchor Point tool, hidden under the Pen tool in the Toolbox.

Once the Handle is pointing in the general direction you want to go for the next Anchor, let go.

Keep in mind, you want to point in the direction, not drag to the spot of the next Anchor. The Handle should be where the curve of the line is likely to peak. You can adjust this later, once we complete the shape.

Position your mouse for the next Anchor.

Note that as you move the mouse, Illustrator tells you the distance from you last Anchor.

Click to place the Anchor, but drag out to get the Handle.

Remember to point the Handle in the direction you want to continue the shape.

Continue to Click to place additional handles, but wrap back around so that you can connect with your first Anchor.
As your final Anchor, select your first Anchor.

This closes the shape.

Select the Direct Selection Tool from the Toolbox.

You can now make adjustments to the Anchors and the Handles.

Clearing the Workspace (Again)

Before proceeding to the next tool, let's clear our workspace to make space.

On the keyboard, hold down the Ctrl key, and press 'A'. This selects everything in your project.
Press the 'Delete' key on the keyboard.

Drawing the Island

We will now begin drawing our Island map. We will use the Pen tool, but we will also discover Layers, Gradients, Symbols, and Borders.

Layers

Layers allow you to place a number of Objects on a Transparent 'sheet' that can be hidden, locked, or re-stacked, compared to other Layers.

It is good to include related objects on a single layer, allowing you to work with each set of related items independent of other objects in your project.

You can name you Layers to help organize the items in your project.

Locate the Layers Panel on the right side of the screen.

Note that there is a layer already in existence. This is where all of your work is done by default.

Double-Click on Layer 1, and change the name to Background.

Coloring the Background (With a Gradient)

Create a Rectangle that covers the entire Artboard.
Select the Gradient Tool, and Click the center of the Rectangle to select it.

A White to Black Gradient is created to fill the rectangle.
A Bar is shown across the center with the controls to adjust the Gradient settings.

When the Mouse is over this bar, you will see a little box below each end of the bar which shows the color at that end of the Gradient.

Double-Click the white box at the left end of the bar.

The color selection panel will be shown.
The color pallet is set to grey-scale by default. You can change this via the drop menu in the upper right of the panel.

Select the Swatches, on the left side of the Panel
Select a lighter blue color from the available swatches.
Double-Click the black box at the other end of the bar
Select a darker shade of blue for this side.

Note: there is a Gradient Panel available from the Right-side of the screen which will give you additional options, like the angle across the object you would like the gradient to be drawn at.

New Layer, For the Island

Open the Layers panel
Along the bottom of the panel, locate the New Layer button.
Double-Click the layer name, and enter 'Island'.
Click the Eye to the left if the Background layer. This makes the layer Hidden.
Click on the Island Layer, to select it as the layer you want to work in.

Drawing the Island

Select an appropriate fill color (like a light brown).
Select the Pen tool.
Create a shape for your Island.
Once the shape is closed, Select the Direct Selection Tool to make any adjustments.
Once finished with Adjustments, Select the standard Selection tool, and make sure your Island is currently selected.

Adding a Drop Shadow

From the Effect menu, select Stylize > Drop Shadow.
You can click on the color (Black Square) to change the color of the Shadow.
You can turn on the Preview, but be patient. It may take a moment for the preview to show up.

Re-activating the background layer

From the Layers Panel, click the first box before the Background layer to make it visible again.

Adding an Icons Layer

Add a new layer, and rename it 'Icons"

Adding Symbols

The Symbols Panel may not be active currently. To turn it on, go to the Window menu, and make sure Symbols is checked.
On the Symbols Panel, open the Drop Menu in the upper-right corner.

From this menu, select "Open Symbol Library".

Pick any of the libraries.
Merge the new panel with the standard panel (if not already done).

Note the arrows at the bottom of the panel, that let you page through the existing libraries.

Drag Symbols to your island to indicate different features you would have on your vacation island.

You can resize the symbols once they have been placed.

Adding a Border

To add a border to the page, we actually add it to the rectangle we drew as the background.

With the standard Selection tool, click in an empty area of the blue background, to select the rectangle.
Open the Brushes panel from the Right of the screen.

If the Borders panel is not part of the brushes panel, then do the following;
Click the Drop Menu in the upper-Right, and select 'Open Brush Library > Borders > (any)'.

Click on different Borders to see how they look.

Note the arrows at the bottom of the panel to allow you to move from library to library.

Adding the Logo

Add a new Layer

Note: New layers are added just above the currently selected layer. If you do not select the top-most layer, then your new layer will likely end up just above the Background. This is fine in this case.
Note: You can drag Layers to reposition the order in the list.

Name the new layer 'Logo'.
From the File menu, select 'Place'.

Select your Logo image from last week and click the Place button.
Set the 'Crop to' option to 'Art', and click OK.

Position the image as you like.

Introduction to Adobe Illustrator

Course Outline

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Creating a new Document

The Document Window

A Basic Introduction to the Tool Panel

Introducing the other Panels

Workspaces

Moving Your Work Around the Screen

Using the Help System

Working with the Properties Bar (Top of Screen)

Drawing Basic Shapes

Using the Selection Tools

Combining Objects

Working with Text

Working with Fonts

The Type Menu

Character Panel Options

Manually adjust character placement

Creating the Atomic Travel Logo

Setting up the Project

Understanding Vector Graphics

Playing with different drawing tools

The Pencil Tool

The Paintbrush Tool

Clearing the Workspace

The Pen Tool

Clearing the Workspace (Again)

Drawing the Island

Layers

Coloring the Background (With a Gradient)

New Layer, For the Island

Drawing the Island

Adding a Drop Shadow

Re-activating the background layer

Adding an Icons Layer

Adding Symbols

Adding a Border

Adding the Logo

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