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Adobe Illustrator Tips

Top Ten Tips for Learning Illustrator

  1. Learn to use the Pen Tool—this is the heart of Illustrator. Once you do, you will know how to use the pen tool in Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop (and generally in Premiere Pro).
  2. Create Swatches before applying colors — and be sure to make them Global Colors. This makes for easy changes to colors later on.
  3. When creating a new document, use RGB for web work and CMYK for print work.
  4. Use Effects instead of Filters. Effects can be removed at any time; Filters are permanent changes (after saving and closing).
  5. Careful set up and use of both Paragraph and Character styles saves time and creates a consistent look—especially with multiple users.
  6. Learn to use your Layers. Layer management is very for editing your files. Learn them and love them.
  7. If you are having trouble printing your files to older printers or RIPs, adjust your Transparency Flattener (File>Document Setup>Transparency) to Medium. Always use the High Resolution setting for high-end output devices (unless the printer supplies custom settings).
  8. Using the Pathfinder palette is easier to get the effects you want than using the Compound Path and Mast features.
  9. Adjust your Color Settings. If you don’t know what to use, try U.S. Prepress Defaults for print jobs, and Web Graphic Defaults for web work.
  10. Learn your keyboard shortcuts. The beauty of the Adobe programs is that many of the shortcuts are the same across programs.

Pen Shortcuts

All after-the-fact edits to a pen path, with the exception of adding or removing anchor points, must be done with the Direct Selection Tool.

Command or Control Key: Temporarily switches to last selection tool used.
(Tip: click on Direct Selection Tool before clicking on Pen Tool)

Option or Alt Key: Temporarily switches to Convert Anchor Point Tool
(Tip: this can occur before or after you release the mouse button)

Undo your mistakes rather than using the Delete key.

You can move the last anchor point created with the Pen Tool by holding down the Spacebar BEFORE you let go of the mouse button.

To connect a curve to a straight line, draw the straight line and then drag the curve handle from the last anchor point (do not hold down any modifier key).
To connect a straight line to a curve, draw the curve and then click on the last anchor point.

Global Updates

This is actually several tips grouped together under one main category: global updates. A couple of principals I try to work by are consistant application of my settings and global updates. It makes the creation of the design or layout easier, and makes changes easier when they are inevitably required. Here are a number of ways to do this in Illustrator:

Swatches

Stay away from the Color palette — use Swatches. (All right…, it’s OK to use the Color palette to make swatches, but don’t use it to color objects directly.) Pantone Swatches, either solid or process, are global by default. Custom process colors need to have the Global option selected before the color is used. When the swatch is updated, the color changes everywhere it is used.

Gradients

Gradients can be comprised of colors from the Color palette or, better yet, global swatches. They can be added to the swatch palette by dragging the Gradient palette’s Gradient Fill Box over to the Swatches palette. Gradient swatches can be globally updated by editing one of the swatch-applied objects in the Gradient palette, and then dragging the Fill Box over on top of the original gradient swatch while (and this is the important part) holding down the Option/Alt key.

Graphic Styles

Graphic Styles are to objects as Swatches are to colors. An objects fill and stroke color, stroke width and style, effects (from the Effects menu), transparency settings, and even multiple fills or strokes from the Appearance palette can be recorded and used over and over. The Appearance palette is used to add multiple fills and strokes, and to edit any applied effects. Once the object is formatted as desired, drag the thumbnail at the top of the Appearance palette over to the Graphic Styles palette, or, with the object selected, create a new Graphic Style. These styles are updated in a similar manner to gradients: select an object with a style applied, make the edits in the Appearance palette, and drag the thumbnail over on top of the original graphic style while holding down the Option/Alt key. Graphic Styles can be used for virtually any object you can create, including type.

Symbols

While Graphic Styles define object settings and can be used on many different objects, Symbols are for pieces of actual artwork that is used over and over in a document. A more common example is map symbols. To create a symbol, select the artwork and use the New Symbol button on the Symbols palette. To use the symbol, simply drag it out of the Symbol palette when needed — or for more fun, use one of the eight Symbol tools. To update a symbol, you need the original artwork or you can break a link on an existing symbol to turn it into editable objects again. After you make your edits, select the entire artwork and use the Redefine Symbol menu from the palette’s pop-out menu. Symbols are also used to map artwork to objects created with the 3D effects. A typical example is a wine label symbol mapped to a 3D wine bottle.

Type Styles

While not as fun as Graphic Styles or Symbols, Paragraph and Character styles were (finally) introduced in Illustrator CS (version 11). They are very important for files with numerous type blocks spread throughout the document. Again, maps are a good example. Imagine creating a complex map with thousands of street names and someone comes along and asks that all the street names be made one-half point smaller. In the past, we would have isolated the street names to their own layer, but now, we can simply edit the paragraph style. Presto — global changes to the type no matter what layer its on!

Libraries

To wrap up, the Swatches, Graphic Styles, and Symbols palette all have additional libraries available under the pop-out menu. The swatch libraries include color both color and gradient swatches. The graphic style libraries are a great way to see how effects can be used with the Appearance palette.

Quick Keyboard Tips

Holding down the Control key will switch you to the last selection tool used.

Holding down the Option/Alt key when dragging an object will make a quick duplicate; if you want to “clone” a copy, use the Paste In Back/Front menus or keyboard commands (Cmd/Cntl-B or F).

Holding down the Shift key after you start dragging an object will constrain the object along your preferences settings; the default is at 45 and 90 degree angles.