Illustrator CC: Visual QuickStart Guide

Illustrator CC: Visual QuickStart Guide

Released August 2013
Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
ISBN: 9780133439137

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

For almost two decades, the best-selling Visual QuickStart Guides by Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas have been the textbooks of choice in classrooms and the go-to tutorial and reference for art and design professionals. This edition includes their trademark features: clear, concise, step-by-step instructions; hundreds of full-color illustrations; screen captures of program features; and supplemental tips and sidebars in every chapter.

This fully updated edition for Illustrator CC covers the new enhancements and features, including significant upgrades to the interface, new unembed an image, multiple file placement, images in Brushes, and touch type and Free Transform tool.

The new and updated Illustrator CC features are clearly marked with bright red stars in both the table of contents and main text.

Readers can follow the steps in a tutorial fashion, or use the book as a reference guide to individual program features. Many of the key illustrations used in the book are available via Web download for practice by readers.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Contents
  5. 1. Create & Save Files
    1. Launching Illustrator
    2. Creating a new document
    3. Using templates
    4. Adding artboards to a document
    5. Deleting artboards
    6. Modifying artboards
    7. Aligning and rearranging artboards
    8. Choosing artboard options
    9. Saving a document in the Adobe Illustrator (.ai) format
    10. Ending a work session
  6. 2. Manage Color
    1. Introduction to color management
    2. Choosing color settings for Illustrator
    3. Synchronizing the color settings
    4. Changing the document profile
    5. Proofing a document onscreen
  7. 3. Workspaces
    1. Features of the Illustrator workspace
    2. Using tabbed document windows
    3. Arranging document windows
    4. Changing the zoom level
    5. Moving an area of a document into view
    6. Fitting an artboard in the document window
    7. Changing the screen mode
    8. Switching document views
    9. Creating custom views
    10. Configuring the panel groups and docks
    11. Choosing, saving, managing, and resetting workspaces
  8. 4. Panels
    1. The Illustrator panels that are used in this book*
  9. 5. Bridge
    1. Opening files from Illustrator
    2. Launching Adobe Bridge
    3. Features of the Bridge window
    4. Choosing a workspace for Bridge
    5. Previewing graphics in Bridge
    6. Opening files from Bridge
    7. Customizing the Bridge window
    8. Saving custom workspaces
    9. Resetting the Bridge workspace
    10. Using thumbnail stacks
    11. Searching for files
    12. Creating and using collections
    13. Rating and labeling thumbnails
    14. Filtering the display of thumbnails
    15. Choosing a sorting order for thumbnails
    16. Assigning keywords to files
    17. Exporting the Bridge cache
    18. Managing files via Bridge
  10. 6. Geometric Objects
    1. Selecting and deleting objects
    2. Creating rectangles and ellipses
    3. Creating polygons
    4. Creating stars
    5. Creating line segments
    6. Creating spirals
    7. Creating pixel-perfect artwork for the Web
  11. 7. Freehand Drawing
    1. A quick color primer
    2. Drawing with the Pencil tool
    3. Drawing with the Paintbrush tool
    4. Choosing options for the Pencil and Paintbrush tools
    5. Using the Blob Brush tool
  12. 8. Select
    1. The five selection tools
    2. Using the Selection tool
    3. Using the Direct Selection tool
    4. Selecting objects via a command
    5. Selecting objects via the Layers panel
    6. Working with groups
    7. Isolating individual objects
    8. Using the Lasso tool
    9. Using the Magic Wand tool
    10. Saving selections
    11. Selecting and deselecting all objects
  13. 9. Move, Copy & Align
    1. Moving objects
    2. Aligning objects with the help of Smart Guides
    3. Copying objects
    4. Aligning and distributing objects via buttons
    5. Creating ruler guides
    6. Creating guides from objects
    7. Locking and unlocking guides
    8. Clearing guides
    9. Using the grid
  14. 10. Fill & Stroke
    1. Using color in Illustrator
    2. Colors for your output medium
    3. Using the basic color controls
    4. Saving colors as swatches
    5. Choosing colors via the Color panel
    6. Applying colors from a library
    7. Changing the tint percentage
    8. Changing the stroke weight, alignment, caps, and joins
    9. Creating arrows
    10. Creating a dashed stroke
    11. Using the Eyedropper tool
    12. Using the Swatches panel
    13. Using the Color Guide panel
    14. Using Kuler
    15. Replacing colors in your artwork
    16. Inverting colors
    17. Colorizing grayscale images
    18. Blending fill colors
    19. Creating a pattern
    20. Editing a pattern
  15. 11. Transform
    1. Transforming an object via its bounding box
    2. Using the Free Transform tool
    3. Using the Scale, Rotate, Shear, and Reflect tools
    4. Using the Transform and Control panels
    5. Using the Transform Each command
    6. Using the Transform effect
    7. Repeating a transformation
  16. 12. Reshape
    1. The building blocks of a path
    2. Moving points and segments
    3. Reshaping curves
    4. Converting points
    5. Adding points
    6. Deleting points
    7. Reshaping objects with the Pencil or Paintbrush tool
    8. Applying a variable width profile preset to an object’s stroke
    9. Changing an object’s stroke width using the Width tool
    10. Reshaping objects with the Blob Brush tool
    11. Using the Reshape tool
    12. Erasing sections of objects
    13. Aligning points
    14. Joining endpoints
    15. Reshaping objects using commands
    16. Slicing and dicing
  17. 13. Layers
    1. Getting to know the Layers panel
    2. Creating layers
    3. Deleting layers and objects
    4. Selecting listings on the Layers panel
    5. Selecting objects via the Layers panel
    6. Restacking layers and objects
    7. Duplicating layers and objects
    8. Locking layers and objects
    9. Hiding layers and objects
    10. Collecting objects into a new layer
    11. Releasing objects to layers
    12. Merging layers and groups
    13. Flattening layers
  18. 14. Appearances
    1. Applying appearance attributes
    2. Editing appearance attributes
    3. Hiding and deleting appearance attributes
    4. Copying appearance attributes
    5. Expanding appearance attributes
  19. 15. Effects
    1. Applying Illustrator effects
    2. Editing, duplicating, and deleting effects
    3. A few Illustrator effects up close
    4. Rasterizing objects
    5. Applying Photoshop effects via the Effect Gallery
  20. 16. Graphic Styles
    1. Graphic styles basics
    2. Loading graphic styles from a library
    3. Applying graphic styles
    4. Removing a graphic style from an object
    5. Applying multiple graphic styles to an object
    6. Creating graphic styles
    7. Redefining graphic styles
    8. Deleting graphic styles from the panel
    9. Creating a custom graphic styles library
    10. Breaking the link to a graphic style
  21. 17. Image Trace
    1. Tracing a raster image using a preset
    2. Applying custom tracing settings
    3. Expanding a tracing into paths
  22. 18. Live Paint
    1. Creating a Live Paint group
    2. Using the Live Paint Bucket tool
    3. Using the Live Paint Selection tool
    4. Reshaping a Live Paint group
    5. Adding new faces and edges to a Live Paint group
    6. Choosing gap options for a Live Paint group
    7. Expanding and releasing Live Paint groups
  23. 19. Create Type
    1. The type tools
    2. Choosing a font and font size for a type tool
    3. Creating point type
    4. Creating area type
    5. Creating path type
    6. Copying or moving type characters
    7. Importing text into Illustrator
    8. Threading type objects
    9. Converting point type to area type, and vice versa
    10. Rotating type
  24. 20. Style & Edit Type
    1. Selecting type
    2. Changing the font family and style
    3. Changing the font size
    4. Changing the leading value
    5. Applying kerning and tracking
    6. Using smart punctuation
    7. Inserting alternate glyphs
    8. Applying hyphenation
    9. Changing paragraph alignment
    10. Changing paragraph indentation
    11. Changing inter-paragraph spacing
    12. Using paragraph and character styles
    13. Using the Touch Type tool
    14. Hanging punctuation
    15. Setting tabs
    16. Changing the baseline shift value
    17. Creating type outlines
    18. Wrapping type around an object
    19. Applying appearance attributes to type
  25. 21. Pen Tools
    1. Drawing with the Pen tool
    2. Converting anchor points on paths
  26. 22. Acquire Images
    1. How images are acquired in Illustrator
    2. Using the Open command
    3. Using the Place command
    4. Importing Photoshop images into Illustrator
    5. Managing linked images
    6. Embedding and unembedding images
    7. Dragging and dropping images into Illustrator
  27. 23. Brushes
    1. Applying brushes to existing paths
    2. Using the Brushes panel
    3. Removing brush strokes from objects
    4. Expanding brush strokes
    5. Creating and editing Calligraphic brushes
    6. Creating and editing Scatter brushes
    7. Creating and editing Art brushes
    8. Creating and editing Bristle brushes
    9. Creating and editing Pattern brushes
    10. Painting brush strokes inside objects
    11. Duplicating brushes
    12. Editing a brush manually
    13. Editing brush strokes on objects
    14. Deleting brushes
    15. Creating a custom brush library
  28. 24. Gradients
    1. Applying a gradient to an object’s fill or stroke
    2. Creating a two-color gradient
    3. Editing gradient colors via on-object controls
    4. Saving a gradient as a swatch
    5. Changing the position, length, or angle of a gradient in an object
    6. Spreading a single gradient across multiple objects
    7. Expanding a gradient into paths
  29. 25. Combine Paths
    1. Using the Shape Builder tool
    2. Applying the Shape Mode commands
    3. Applying the Pathfinder commands
    4. Using the Compound Path command
    5. Working with compound paths
    6. Applying Pathfinder effects
  30. 26. Clipping Masks
    1. Creating a clipping set
    2. Selecting objects in a clipping set
    3. Adding objects to, and deleting them from, a clipping set
    4. Releasing a clipping set
  31. 27. Transparency
    1. Changing an object’s opacity or blending mode
    2. Controlling which objects the transparency settings affect
    3. Creating an opacity mask
    4. Editing masked artwork or the masking object in an opacity mask
  32. 28. Symbols
    1. Accessing the symbol libraries
    2. Creating individual symbol instances
    3. Creating symbol sets with the Symbol Sprayer tool
    4. Replacing symbols in a document
    5. Creating symbols
    6. Deleting symbols from the panel
    7. Creating a custom symbol library
    8. Editing symbols
    9. Choosing options for the symbolism tools
    10. Using the Symbol Shifter, Scruncher, Sizer, Spinner, Stainer, Screener, and Styler tools
    11. Unlinking symbol instances
    12. Expanding symbol instances
  33. 29. Live Color
    1. Creating color groups via the Recolor Artwork dialog
    2. Using the color wheel in the Recolor Artwork dialog
    3. Assigning colors to artwork via the Recolor Artwork dialog
    4. Reducing colors via the Recolor Artwork dialog
  34. 30. Preferences
    1. Opening the Preferences dialog
    2. General Preferences
    3. Sync Settings Preferences
    4. Selection & Anchor Display Preferences
    5. Type Preferences
    6. Units Preferences
    7. Guides & Grid Preferences
    8. Smart Guides Preferences
    9. Slices Preferences
    10. Hyphenation Preferences
    11. Plug-ins & Scratch Disks Preferences
    12. User Interface Preferences
    13. File Handling & Clipboard Preferences
    14. Appearance of Black Preferences
  35. 31. Print & Export
    1. Print dialog: General options
    2. Marks and Bleed options
    3. Output options
    4. Graphics options
    5. Color Management options
    6. Advanced options
    7. Summary options
    8. Using the Separations Preview panel
    9. Printing and exporting semitransparent objects
    10. Creating and editing presets
    11. Producing crop and trim marks
    12. Choosing a resolution for effects
    13. Packaging files for output
    14. Choosing a file format for export
    15. Saving files in the Adobe PDF format
    16. Using the Export command
    17. Using the Document Info panel
    18. Optimizing files for the Web
    19. Exporting artwork as CSS code
    20. Exporting Illustrator files to Adobe Photoshop
  36. Appendix
    1. Syncing Illustrator settings via the Creative Cloud
    2. Managing files via the Creative Cloud
    3. Sharing your artwork on Behance
  37. Index
  38. Vector art and photography

Product information

  • Title: Illustrator CC: Visual QuickStart Guide
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: August 2013
  • Publisher(s): Peachpit Press
  • ISBN: 9780133439137