Introduction to Illustrator Basics Including: Toolbox, Basic Tools & Creating a Shape

Overview Illustrator Concepts Creating New Documents Illustrator Interface Illustrator Toolbox Creating a Shape Arrow Tools & Shapes

Illustrator Concepts Used to create Vector Graphics Can be resized without losing quality Created through dots (Anchor Points) connected with Paths This is a shape, which can have a Stroke and/or Fill included

Illustrator Concepts Through various tools, the designer can create shapes that have a base of anchor points and paths using fills and strokes.

Creating a New Document Open Adobe Illustrator Can either: Hit the New Button, Do the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N, or File > New from the main menu bar

Creating a New Document Color Modes: RGB (Red, Green, Blue) – Web Usage CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) – Print Usage Raster Effects: 72 ppi (Pixels per Inch) – Web Usage 150 – 300 ppi – Print Usage Raster ppi values in this age however do not have as much of a pull as they did back in the 90s.

C. A. D. B. E. Default Illustrator workspace A. Control Panel B. Artboard C. Workspace switcher D. Tools panel E. Panel Sets

Illustrator Workspace What if I can not see/find my artboard? Solution: View > Fit Artboard in Window Can also use the Zoom Tool

Illustrator Toolbox and Key Bindings

Creating a Shape Objective: Draw a red ellipse (circle) with a black, 4 pt. stroke Use the color picker to select the fill color (red) To access the color picker, double-click on the fill icon at the bottom of the tool box

Create a Shape (Color Pick) Note: No matter which way you choose a color, it will be reflected in the other area as well.

Creating a Shape Set the stroke color to black (Either the control panel at the top or double-click the stroke icon on the toolbox) The stroke point value should be set to 4

Creating a Shape Navigate to the Toolbox, locate the Rectangle Tool Note: Many tools in Adobe products have a small arrow in the lower right corner denoting a collapsed set of tools. This means there is more than one similar tool in the group. Click and hold the Rectangle Tool to access the collapsed tool group, and select the Ellipse Tool Position you cursor on the artboard and click, hold and drag to draw a circle

Creating a Shape When done drawing the shape, Illustrator keeps the shape selected: Can now set/change the stroke and fill of the shape Change the weight of the stroke Reposition the shape

Creating a Shape The box in the image is called the Bounding Box of the shape Can be used to size the shape Position the cursor over one of the corners/anchor points to drag and resize

Arrow Tools & Shapes The black arrow (called Selection) selects an entire shape by clicking on it Can be used to move and resize via the bounding box of the shape The white arrow (called Direction Selection) can be used to select part of a shape. It enables a designer to work with the anchor points by selecting and manipulating them.

Arrow Tools & Shapes Selection Tool: Direct Selection Tool

Layers Draw another small blue rounded rectangle, 2 pixels stroke With the Use arrow keys to nudge the blue rectangle.

Rectangle Options To change the rectangle, find the Shape menu Note my options – change corner radius, etc

Layers Find the Layers pane (probably collapsed, bottom of screen, right side) Try dragging a layer up or down, see how it changes stacking order of elements (your blue rectangle was automatically added to another layer) Try trashing a layer (drag to trash icon)

Layers, Continued Eye on left lets you hide or show a layer Empty block next to eye lets you lock a layer to prevent changes Little blue button on right lets you select the artwork on a layer

Shape Manipulation Rotate the blue rectangle Use Rotate tool or Use Free Transform tool or Transform Menu or Window>Transform

Practice-scale Select the blue rectangle Double click the scale tool Scale by 200%

Rotate Ctrl-z Select blue rectangle Double-click on the Rotate tool Specify -45 degrees: Note reference point was center

Closing Tips Remember: Tools with a small triangle in the lower right corner denotes a collapsed tool Clicking and holding on the right side of the collapsed tool set allows for a free-floating panel of the toolset Many Adobe products share similar keyboard shortcuts If you are not into using these yet, it is encouraged you get on board with them