REUSABLE AND EDITABLE CONTENT IN ILLUSTRATOR

Illustrator for beginners and experts alike

Matt Sullivan

training and development specialist

Adobe Certified Instructor

GOALS

demystify Illustrator for beginners four concepts necessary to become an

Illustrator expert deconstruct Illustrator docs into manageable

components organize for maximum editability and reuse

ILLUSTRATOR FOR BEGINNERS

Top-notch vector drawing tool Resizable, controllable artwork Intimidating

4 KEY PARTS OF ILLUSTRATOR

Solid vs. Hollow arrow Path tool Layers panel Appearance panel

Solid vs Hollow selection toolsSolid arrow selects entire object/group

Hollow arrow selects portion of object/group

Option/Alt-clicking with hollow arrow selects entire object/group

Path/Pen toolUse modifiers to access Path submenu of tools

Rule of 2/3’s: Control handles should approximate 2/3’s the length of the path

UNDERSTAND ANCHOR POINT OPTIONS

Straight to Straight path Straight to Curved path Curved to Curved (smooth) Curved to Curved (change dir)

Layers panel(typical)

No naming

No organization

Creates greater chance of mistakes in editing

Layers panel (better)Rename by 2x clicking objects

Group with Cmd/Ctrl-G shortcut

No need to name everything

Nested elements

Allows intuitive selections and editing

InDesign allows show/hide of highest level layers

Appearance panelQuick access to formatting applied to object

Shows relationships and order of formatting

Allows multiple strokes and fills

MODIFIER KEYS

Shift keyConstrainsadds to selection“turbo” when using arrows

Space BarPan tool

Option/Alt keySubtractsinvokes dialog

Cmd/Ctrl keyTemporary access to arrow tool

FAVORITE SHORTCUTS

Cmd/Ctrl-SpacebarActivates the Pan tool

Cmd/Ctrl keyActivates last-selected Arrow tool

Cmd/Ctrl-0Fit in Window

Cmd/Ctrl- + or –Zoom in or out

Alt-click with hollow arrowSelect entire object/group

Tab/Shift-TabShow/hide panels

Up/Down arrowsMoving artwork, changing values in dialogs

Preview buttons in dialogs

CS6 HIGHLIGHTS

Interface now matches other CS apps (like Photoshop

Pattern Options panel Image Trace replaces Live Trace 64-bit

TRAINING/DEV

www.mattrsullivan.com matt@mattrsullivan 714 960-6840 Publicly scheduled, private, hourly Onsite, virtual, recorded available CV: Google “mattrsullivan” (quotes

included)