Adobe Illustrator CS5 One-on-One

After all that work you might argue that, for all their

fl exibility, dynamic effects don’t necessarily save on brute

force or sheer, mind-numbing effort. Which is true. But

having done the job once, you can repurpose the fruits

of your labors over and over again.

For example, with the big circle still selected, press Shift+F5 to

open the Graphic Styles panel. Press the Alt (or Option) key and

click the

icon at the bottom of the panel. Name the new style

“Spectral Brooch,” and click OK. Now press F7 to switch to the

Layers panel. Click the

in front of the Circle layer to turn it

off, and then turn on the Other Shapes layer. Now experiment

with applying the Spectral Brooch style to each of the four

paths on the new layer. Figure 10-63 shows a detail from each

and every path, independently of the others.

What I love about this (or any) graphic style is that every

path subjected to the style exhibits a unique fl aw—which

is consistent with the implementation of any piece of

artwork, automated or otherwise. And if the symmetry

bothers you, then crop it. Change the size of the artboard,

move the styled path outline one direction or another,

much as I did to create the details in Figure 10-63.

Creating 3D Text and Graphics

In this last exercise, I’ll introduce you to 3D in Illustra-

tor, which is another of the program’s dynamic effects.

Don’t get too excited. Illustrator ...