Adobe Illustrator CC For Dummies

David Karlins is an experienced educator and author as well as the creator of the online course SVG Graphics for the Web with Illustrator. Skilled in a wide range of communication design technologies, he is also the author of Adobe Analytics For Dummies and HTML5 & CSS3 For Dummies as well as other books on design tools and techniques.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Creating, Navigating, and Saving Projects 5Chapter 1: Navigating Illustrator’s Interface 7Surveying the Illustrator Universe 8Launching Illustrator 8Using and Customizing Toolbars 10Accessing and Arranging Panels 11Using the Control Panel or the Properties Panel 12Choosing between the Control and Properties panels 13Options on the Control and Properties panels 13Chapter 2: Creating, Saving, Exporting, and Printing Files 15Creating Documents 16Making basic choices for a document 16Using presets 17Defining color mode, artboard size, and raster resolution 18Deploying Artboards 20Defining artboards 20Using artboards for a multidimensional project 23Exporting, Saving, and Printing 27Saving Illustrator files 27Exporting files 29Using artboards and assets for output 29Communicating with your printer 30Chapter 3: Placing and Tracing Artwork 31Placing Artwork 32Embedding and linking files 32Placing text in a shape or path 34Cropping rasters 35Using clipping masks 35Importing Sketches from Adobe Illustrator Draw 37Tracing Raster Images 38Chapter 4: Drawing Lines and Shapes 43Building Graphics with Basic Shapes 44Generating shapes 45Clicking to generate shapes 46Drawing shapes interactively 51Applying Shape Properties from the Control Panel 52Reshaping Shapes 54Building Complex Shapes 58Creating a compound path 58Using Pathfinder to combine shapes 59Drawing Shapes with Perspective 63Applying Isometric Effects to Shapes 66Chapter 5: Selecting and Arranging Objects 69Selecting in Illustrator 69Selecting with tools 70Using the Select menu 75Grouping and Isolating Objects 77Editing objects as groups 78Editing objects within groups 79Aligning and Spacing Objects 82Locating objects with rulers, guides, and grids 82Aligning with SmartGuides 85Using the Align panel 85Arranging Objects Front-to-Back 87Chapter 6: Organizing Documents with Layers 89Using a Template Layer 90Organizing and Arranging Objects in Layers 92Organizing Content within and between Layers 96Locating objects in the Layers panel 96Arranging objects within and between layers 97Styling with Layers 97Targeting layers 98Changing the appearance of objects in layers 99Applying Layers in Real-World Challenges 99Part 2: Drawing and Editing Paths 101Chapter 7: Wielding the Pen and Anchor Point Tools 103Editing Anchors 104Selecting and moving anchors 104Converting open paths to closed paths and vice versa 106Editing Curves with the Anchor Point Tool 107Drawing with the Pen Tool 109Creating curved, combination, and straight anchors with the Pen tool 109Adding and deleting anchors 111Wielding the Pen tool with shortcuts 112Honing Pen tool skills with a waveform 113Chapter 8: Creating Artwork with the Pencil, Curvature, and Blob Tools 117Drawing with the Pencil Tool 118Setting pencil curve smoothness 118Managing the many modes of the Pencil tool 120Setting Pencil tool options 121Ironing Out Wrinkles with the Smooth Tool 122Drawing and Editing Curves with the Curvature Tool 122Drawing curves 123Editing curves 123Drawing Filled Paths with the Blob Brush Tool 124Erasing with the Eraser Tool 127Creating Shapes with the Shaper and Shape Builder Tools 127Creating shapes with the Shaper tool 128Combining shapes with Shape Builder 128Animating with Puppet Warp 129Fine-Tuning beyond Drawing Tools 131Chapter 9: Painting with Brushes 133Unleashing Your Creativity with Brushes 133Painting with the Paintbrush 135Applying Brushes to Paths 136Working with the Brushes panel 136Navigating the Brush libraries 137Creating DIY Brushes 139Editing existing bristle brushes to create new ones 139Crafting calligraphic brushes 144Applying or designing art brushes 146Defining scatter brushes 149Creating pattern brushes 151Using Brushes with a Drawing Tablet 155Chapter 10: Improving Workflow with Symbols 157Rationalizing Workflow with Symbols 158Using Illustrator’s preset symbols 158Adding symbols to a document 159Managing symbols 162Getting Creative with Dynamic Symbols 163Creating dynamic symbols 163Orchestrating dynamic symbol instances 164Spraying Symbols 166Setting Symbol Sprayer options 167Managing sets of sprayed symbols 168Part 3: Applying Color, Patterns, and Effects 169Chapter 11: Designing in Living Color 171Understanding Print versus Screen Color 172Defining color for print 172Choosing RGB color for screens 175Understanding web safe color 176Configuring grayscale 177Managing the Color of Strokes and Fills 177Apply color from the Tools panel 177Apply color from the Control or Properties panel 179Using Color Guides and Color Themes 180Getting color advice 180Styling with Adobe color themes 182Managing Color Swatches 185Adding colors to the Swatches panel 186Changing the display of swatches 187Creating and Merging Live Paint Groups 188Creating Live Paint groups 189Coloring Live Paint faces 190Editing Live Paint edges 190Controlling Live Paint faces and edges 192Chapter 12: Bringing Graphics to Life with Gradients, Blends, and Transparency 197Merging Colors with Gradients 198Applying gradients 200Unleashing linear gradients 201Radiating radial gradients 207Transforming gradients with Gradient Annotator 208Using freeform gradients 209Blending for Beauty and Productivity 212Setting blend options 213Working with blends 213Applying Transparency 214Defining and applying transparency 215Clipping with opacity masks 218Chapter 13: Designing with Patterns 221Applying Patterns 222Applying a pattern to a fill 223Applying patterns to strokes 224Applying patterns to text 225Creating Your Own Patterns 226Transforming Patterns 227Scaling a pattern and object together 228Scaling patterns and objects separately 229Rotating and moving patterns 230Moving a pattern within a shape 230Stacking patterns 231Defining Pattern Options 233Chapter 14: Styling with Effects 237Navigating the Universe of Effects 237Getting your money’s worth from effects 238Using Photoshop effects with care 239Appreciating SVG filters 240Choosing and Applying Effects 240Managing Effects 242Using the Appearance panel 242Expanding effects 244Saving graphic styles 246Generating 3D Effects and Mapping Artwork 247Mapping artwork 247Using Adobe Stock images 248Exploring 3D effects and mapping 248Part 4: Designing with Type 253Chapter 15: Formatting Area Type 255Editing Area Type in Illustrator 256Generating an area type box 256Getting type from other apps 258Using Illustrator’s proofing tools 259Styling Area Type 260Choosing type font and style 260Sizing, leading, kerning, and tracking type 262Sizing headlines to fit 263Scaling area type 263Using character styles 264Formatting Paragraphs 266Laying Out Area Type in Columns 267Shaping Area Type 268Placing area type in a path 268Wrapping type around an object 270Flowing Type from Box to Box 272Converting Area Type to Point Type and Vice Versa 274Chapter 16: Getting Artistic with Point Type 275Understanding How Point Type Works 275Creating and Editing Point Type 276Contorting Point Type 278Scaling point type 278Rotating point type 279Interactive Styling with the Touch Type Tool 280Placing Type on Paths 281Changing baseline shift on aligned type 282Moving type on a path 283Applying effects to type on a path 284Sharing Fonts and Outlining Type 285Sharing fonts 285Outlining type 286Part 5: Handing Off Graphics for Print and Screen Design 287Chapter 17: Exporting Raster Files 289Exporting in a Hurry 290Maximizing Illustrator’s Export Options 293Understanding the vector to raster journey 293Orchestrating vector to raster workflow 294Defining raster dimensions 295Defining raster resolution 295Navigating Illustrator’s Raster Output Options 296Exporting to Specific Raster Formats 297Exporting PNGs 297Optimizing JPEGS 300Handing off TIFF artwork to print 301Relying on Your Team 303Chapter 18: Unleashing the Power of SVGs 305Understanding the Role of Scalable Vector Graphics 306Defining an SVG-friendly environment 308Exporting versus saving 311Preparing Artwork for SVG Output 312Simplifying paths for screen output 312Reducing the file size with symbols 313Applying Transparency and Effects to SVGs 314Outputting SVGs with transparent backgrounds 315Applying transparency effects to SVG 318Applying SVG filters 321Creating SVGs with Scalable, Searchable Type 324Exploiting the value of scalable, searchable type 324Optimizing type functionality by saving SVGs 326Adding code snippets to SVG graphics 328Exporting or Saving SVGs 329Exporting SVGs for screens 330Managing raster objects in SVGs 331Saving SVGs for digital development 332Part 6: The Part of Tens 335Chapter 19: Top Ten Illustrator Resources 337This Book’s Unofficial Website 337Adobe Illustrator Official Documentation 338Using Illustrator to Create SVG for the Web 339A Unique Resource for Artistic Fashion Designers 339Going Crazy with Illustrator 340Style Tile Templates 341Follow Jean-Claude Tremblay @jctremblay 341Technical Drawing in Illustrator 342Online Tutorials from Adobe 342Illustrator CC Digital Classroom 343Chapter 20: Top Ten Productivity Tips 345Generate Layers 345Use Shapes for Guides 346Generate Guides from Rulers 347Place Multiple Files 348Import Photoshop Files 349Edit Placed Objects 350Import Word Files 351Crop a Placed Image 351Play Actions 352Use Shortcut Keys 353Index 355

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