Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

11.

Move the text down. The point type is currently ex-

actly aligned to the center of artwork, not to mention

the artboard. But because the letters rest on the base-

line, they’re too high with respect to the bone pattern.

To center the letters vertically, do the following:

• Click the Type item at the top of the Appearance

panel.

• Choose Effect→Distort & Transform→Transform

or press my dekeKeys shortcut, Ctrl+E (-E).

•

Turn on the Preview check box. (In most of the

dynamic effect dialog boxes, Preview does not stay

on, so you have to go back and reactivate it on a

regular basis.)

• Change the Vertical value in the Move area to 168

points to move the text down 2 and

1

⁄3 inches.

• Press the Tab key to update the preview. And then

click the OK button to accept the change, as in

Figure 10-37.

Why not really move the text instead of temporarily

doing so using a dynamic effect? Two reasons: First, this

permits you to keep the point type locked into align-

ment with the violet square that surrounds the artboard.

Second, when employing a dynamic effect, you have the

option to change your mind in the future.

12. Rotate the bones another 22.5 degrees. After taking a

moment to gauge the appearance of the artwork, it oc-

curs to me that the bones are off-center, thanks to the

fact that I offset their strokes back in Step 7 (page 351).

Plus, I think they’d look better if they were grouped