Illustrator CS4 Digital Classroom Book

Starting up

Before starting, make sure that your tools and panels are consistent by resetting your workspace. See “Resetting Adobe Illustrator CS4 Preferences” on page 3.

You will work with several fi les from the ai01lessons folder in this lesson. Make sure that you have loaded the ailessons folder onto your hard drive from the supplied DVD. See “Loading lesson files” on page 4.

See Lesson 1 in action! Use the accompanying video to gain a better understanding of how to use some of the features shown in this lesson. The video tutorial for this lesson can be found on the included DVD.

The project

In this lesson you will create artwork for a CD case and map it to a 3-D object.

1 Launch Adobe Illustrator CS4.

2 Choose File > Browse in Bridge or press the Go to Bridge button () in the menu bar.

By pressing the Go to Bridge button within Illustrator, you launch a separate application called Adobe Bridge. Bridge is an indispensable application that acts as the central command center for all of your CS4 Suite applications. You can use Bridge to help you easily locate files. With Adobe Bridge, you can see a preview of every file within any given folder.

3 Once Bridge opens, navigate to the ai01lessons folder within the ailessons folder that you copied to your computer and double-click ai0101_done.ai to open it. A CD cover appears in Illustrator. The CD artwork contains objects created in Adobe Illustrator CS4 using auto trace, symbols, the Eraser tool and Live Color feature. In the following exercises, you will create this file. You can keep the file open for reference, or choose File > Close to close it.

The completed CD artwork.

4 The new Illustrator CS4 workspace is consistent with the other applications in the Creative Suite 4, which helps you to find the tools you need faster, no matter which application you are using.

Click on the gray bar above the Tools panel to toggle between a one-column and two-column view. This lesson uses the two-column Tools panel, but you can choose whichever format you prefer.

The Tools panel can be viewed as one-column or two.

5 For this lesson you want to have multiple panels showing at the same time. To make sure that you can follow the lesson more easily choose Window > Workspace > Essentials.

Creating the background

For this artwork you will create a simple, solid-colored background and then build additional graphics using the Live Trace, Symbols and Live Color features.

1 Choose File > New. The New Document dialog box appears. Type ai0101 into the Name text field.

2 Choose Print from the New Document Profile drop-down menu. By choosing the Print preset your default colors, patterns, and gradients are built from CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) colors.

Choose Print from the New Document Profile drop-down menu.

3 Make sure that Letter is chosen from the Size drop-down menu, and choose Inches from the Units drop-down menu. Note that the New Document Profile categorization changes to Custom. Press OK; the new document is created.

The document window contains a blank artboard, which represents the entire region that can contain printable artwork.

4 Select the Rectangle tool () from the Tools panel. You will use this shape tool to create the initial background for your artwork.

5 Click once on the artboard to prompt the Rectangle dialog box.

6 Type 5 in the Width text field, then click on the word Height; the amount of 5 is automatically entered into the Height text field as well. Press OK and a 5-inch square is created.

Enter 5 in the Width text field, then click on the word Height to enter the same value in its text field.

7 Select the square with the Selection tool (), then click the Fill color swatch in the Control panel to reveal the Fill Swatches panel. Select an orange color. This example uses the orange color with values C=0 M=50 Y=100 K=0. To find this exact shade, hover your cursor over the different orange swatches and a tool tip containing each color’s respective CMYK values appears.

Select an orange fill color from the Control panel.

8 With the square still selected, click on the Stroke color swatch in the Control panel and choose None.

Choose to have no color on the stroke.

9 Choose Object > Lock > Selection or press Ctrl+2 (Windows) or Command+2 (Mac OS) to keep the orange rectangle visible and lock it in its current position.

If you need to reposition a shape, choose Object > Unlock, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+2 (Windows) or Command+Option+2 (Mac OS).

10 Choose File > Save. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the ai01lessons folder. Since you named the document ai0101 when you created the new file, ai0101.ai automatically appears in the Save As text field. Press Save.

11 When the Illustrator Options dialog box appears, press OK. Keep the file open for the rest of the lesson.

Taking advantage of graphic styles

Adobe Illustrator CS4 gives you the ability to save combinations of attributes such as fills, strokes, and special effects collectively as a graphic style. Graphic styles save you time and help keep your styles and colors consistent across a document or series of documents. When using a graphic style, you can apply interesting effects to multiple objects at once. In this example, you will create a graphic style using the Effects menu and the Appearance panel.

1 Press the letter D on your keyboard. This reverts you to the default colors – a white fill and a black stroke.

2 Click and hold on the Rectangle tool () in the Tools panel and select the hidden Ellipse tool ().

Select the hidden Ellipse tool.

3 Hold down the Shift key while you click and drag on the artboard. This creates a perfect circle. Release the mouse before releasing the Shift key; don’t worry about the circle’s size.

4 Choose Window > Transform or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+F8. When the Transform Panel appears, click on the Constrain Width and Height Proportions button () and type .25 in the W text field, then press the Tab key. The width and height are changed to a quarter of an inch.

Change the size of your shape after creating it.

5 Press the Appearance button () in the dock on the right side of the workspace to reveal the Appearance panel. The Appearance panel displays the attributes that have been applied to the selected object. In this example, the only color attributes that are visible are a fill, a stroke, and the default opacity, but you will see more attributes added to the list as you work in this lesson.

The Appearance panel.

6 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open for the next part of this lesson.

One object, multiple fills and strokes

Illustrator objects can have more than one fill and stroke. In this part of the lesson you will use this feature to add multiple strokes and make one object appear as though it’s made of multiple shapes.

1 With the circle selected, select the Stroke listing in the Appearance panel, then press the Duplicate Selected Item button () at the bottom of the Appearance panel. You now have two strokes. You can’t see the second stroke around the object, since it was created on top of the initial stroke.

2 Now you will duplicate the stroke (creating a total of three strokes) using a different method. With the topmost stroke still selected, drag it to the Duplicate Selected Item button at the bottom of the Appearance panel. You now have three identical strokes listed in the Appearance panel.

Duplicate a stroke by clicking or dragging to the Duplicate Selected Item button.

3 Select the second stroke in the Appearance panel and choose Effect > Path > Offset Path. The Offset Path dialog box appears. Check the Preview checkbox and see that this effect offsets the selected path from its original location.

4 Type .1 into the Offset text field and press OK. The stroke is offset by .1 inches. In the Appearance panel, press the arrow to the left of the second stroke to see the effect applied.

Change the offset path to .1 inches.

5 Select the second stroke again in the Appearance panel, and click the Stroke color swatch to reveal the Stroke Swatches panel. Choose CMYK Yellow. The offset stroke is now a different color from the original black stroke.

The Appearance panel allows you to change the stroke and color directly in the panel.

6 With the second stroke still selected, choose 4 pt from the Stroke Weight drop-down menu that is built right into the Appearance panel; the second stroke’s width changes to 4 points. Notice that the attributes of the stroke are now listed in the Appearance panel.

The Appearance panel lists the stroke’s The 4-point, CMYK Yellow offset path. adjusted attributes.

7 Now select the topmost stroke in the Appearance panel and choose Effect > Path > Offset Path. In the resulting Offset Path dialog box, type .15 into the Offset Path text field and press OK.

8 Select the topmost stroke in the Appearance panel again to make sure that it is selected, then choose 2 pt from the Stroke drop-down menu next to the Stroke listing in the Appearance panel. The outside stroke changes to 2 points.

9 Press the Stroke box in the Appearance panel and choose the blue color that displays the combination of C=85 M=50 Y=0 K=0. The outer stroke is now blue.

The object with multiple strokes.

Saving a graphic style

You will save the combination of effects that you’ve implemented as a graphic style, allowing you to easily apply these collective effects to other objects. Using a graphic style makes it easier to convey any changes you make to the graphic style to all objects to which that style is applied.

1 Make sure that the circle with the offset strokes is still selected and click on the Graphic Styles tab at the top of the Appearance panel to reveal the Graphic Styles panel. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click on the New Graphic Style button () at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel. The Graphic Style Options dialog box appears.

2 Type circle in the Style Name text field, then press OK.

Name the new graphic style.

The strokes become a style added to the Graphic Styles panel.

The circle style is added to the Graphic Styles panel.

3 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open.

Creating a symbol from the circle art

By creating a symbol you can add multiple occurrences of an object to your artwork. A symbol can be created from vector art and raster art that is embedded in an Illustrator file. In this lesson you will use a symbol to create artwork directly in Illustrator, which you will learn more about in Lesson 9, “Creating and Using Illustrator Symbols.” You can also create movie clip symbols right in Adobe Illustrator CS4 that can be imported directly into Flash CS3.

1 Choose Window > Symbols or press the Symbols button () in the dock to open the Symbols panel.

2 Using the Selection tool (), select the circle with the offset strokes on the artboard and drag it into the Symbols panel. When the circle is over the Symbols panel, release the mouse to drop the circle.

3 In the resulting Symbols Options dialog box, type circle into the Name text field and select the Graphic radio button. Press OK. The circle is added to the Symbols panel.

Add your circle to the Symbols panel.

4 Using the Selection tool, select the original circle and choose Edit > Clear. Now that you created a symbol, you no longer need the original. Now you will use the symbol feature to populate your background with the circle artwork.

5 Select the Symbol Sprayer tool () from the Tools panel. Your cursor becomes a small spray paint can with a circle around it, indicating the size of the spray area. Adjust its size by pressing the Left bracket key on your keyboard to make it smaller or the Right bracket key to make it larger.

6 Click and drag with the mouse in a quick, steady motion throughout the orange square that you created earlier. The circle symbols are sprayed over the square. Stop when you have between 10 and 20 circles on your artboard. If you want to redo the spray of the circles press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac OS) and start spraying again. The circles that you sprayed onto your artwork are symbol instances.

Use the Symbol Sprayer tool to add circles to your artwork.

Now you will apply transparency to the symbol instances using the Symbol Screener tool.

7 Press the Swatches button () in the dock and choose a yellow color from the color options. In this example CMYK Yellow is used.

8 Click and hold on the Symbol Sprayer () in the Tools panel to select the hidden Symbol Screener Tool ().

Use the Symbol Screener tool to change opacity.

9 Double-click on the Symbol Screener tool in the Tools panel; the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box appears. Using the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box you can change attributes of each of the Symbolism tools. The Symbol Screener tool controls a symbol instance’s opacity. You will adjust a setting in the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box so that the opacity change is more subtle.

10 In the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box, type 3 into the Intensity text field, or drag the Intensity slider to 3, then press OK.

Reduce the intensity to 3.

11 Position your cursor over one of the circle symbol instances on the artboard and click on it. All of the symbol instances covered by the radius around the Symbol Sprayer tool fade slightly. The longer you hold down the mouse, the more drastic the change in opacity.

12 Now hold down the Alt (Window) or Option (Mac OS) key and click on one of the symbol instances that you used the Symbol Screener tool on. By holding down the Alt/Option key, you can undo the Symbols Screen effects and bring the opacity back up to 100%.

The symbols after using the Symbol Screener tool.

There is no exact effect you are trying to achieve with this tool, so experiment with the Symbol Screener tool until you have the effect that you like.

13 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open for the next part of this lesson.

Creating the text logo

Now that you have saved the attributes of your object you will add some text, to which you will apply your graphic style.

Before starting, you will create a new layer so that you can easily lock down the artwork you have already created.

1 Choose Window > Layers or press the Layers button () in the dock to open the Layers panel.

2 Click in the empty area to the right of the visibility icon (); a padlock icon () appears and the artwork on Layer 1 is now locked.

3 Hold down the Alt (Window) or Option (Mac OS) key and click on the Create New Layer button () in the Layers panel.

4 In the resulting Layer Options dialog box, type text logo in the Name text field. Press OK.

The new layer appears in the Layers panel.

The new text logo layer appears above the locked Layer 1.

5 Select the Type tool () from the Tools panel, and the type attributes and options appear in the Control panel.

6 Click on the Character link in the Control panel select Minion Pro from the Font drop-down menu and choose Bold from the Font Style drop-down menu. Type 70 into the Size text field and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS).

7 Click on the Fill color swatch in the Control panel and choose the black swatch, then click the Stroke color swatch and choose None.

8 Click once anywhere on your artboard. Type Sound Art.

9 Activate the Selection tool. Click and drag on the text you created and position it in the center, toward the top of the orange square.

Type on the artboard.

10 Choose File > Save to save your work. Keep the file open.

Applying the graphic style to the text logo

Now that you created the text logo for the artwork, you will apply the graphic style that you saved earlier in the lesson.

1 Using the Selection tool, click on the Sound Art text to make sure it is selected.

2 If your Graphic Styles panel is not visible, choose Window > Graphic Styles or press the Graphic Styles button () in the dock.

3 Select the circle graphic style that you created earlier. The style is applied to the text.

Click on the saved graphic style.

Though the correct style is applied, it doesn’t work well for text. You will use the Add Effect feature to create a much better result.

4 Select the Appearance tab in the Graphics Style panel to bring forward the Appearance panel. Make sure the text is still selected with the Selection tool and click on the topmost stroke listed in the Appearance panel, then choose Effect > Pathfinder > Add. This effect adds the separate shapes together, making the effect a little more attractive.

5 Select the second stroke listed in the Appearance panel and choose Effect > Pathfinder > Add. Now the yellow stroke forms a much cleaner outline.

Add the strokes.

Warping the text logo

1 With the text logo still selected on the artboard, click on the word Type at the top of the Appearance panel, then choose Effect > Warp > Flag. The Warp Options dialog box appears with the Flag style already selected. Check the Preview checkbox to see how the warped text looks as you make changes in the dialog box.

2 In the Distortion section, click and drag the Horizontal slider left to –30 or type -30 into the Horizontal percent text field and press OK.

Set the warp options. The resulting warped text.

3 Choose File > Save to save your work. Keep this file open for the next part of this lesson.

Using the Color Guide

In this exercise you will use some of the new Live Color features. You will select a color and then use the Color Guide, which allows you to select one of Live Color’s harmonious relationships for your current color, making the job of finding complements and matching colors much easier.

1 Make sure that no objects are selected on your artboard by selecting Select > Deselect, using the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+A (Windows) or Shift+Command+A (Mac OS), or by clicking anywhere on the white artboard.

2 Make sure that at the bottom of the Tools panel the fill is the foreground color and the stroke is in the background. Click the Fill box in the Control panel to see your color options and choose CMYK Red.

3 Press the Layers button () in the dock or choose Windows > Layers to reveal the Layers panel. Click the padlock icon () to the left of Layer 1 to unlock it.

4 Select Object > Unlock All in order for the large orange square to be affected by the Live Color. Activate the Selection tool, then choose Select > All. This selects all objects in your document.

5 Press the Color Guide button () in the dock or choose Window > Color Guide to open the Color Guide panel. Notice that the red fill color is automatically made the base color, from which other harmonious color groups are assigned. Click on the Harmony Rules drop-down menu (to the right of the active colors) to see that you can select different harmonious colors that are related to the original red base. Choose Right Complement.

Illustrator automatically calculates harmonious color groups for you.

6 Click on the Edit or Apply Colors button () at the bottom of the Color Guide panel. The Recolor Artwork dialog box appears. Leave the settings at their defaults and press OK. The Right Complementary colors are applied to your artwork.

The result.

6 Repeat steps 4 and 5 to try different harmonious color selections. When you are finished experimenting return to the choice of Right Complement but do not close the dialog box.

7 Click on the New Color Group button () at the top of the Recolor Artwork dialog box; your group of colors is added to the list of color groups on the right side of the dialog box.

Add the colors as a new group.

8 Double-click on the words Color Group, which appear to the right of the colors you just added to the list. In the Edit Name dialog box that appears, type cd colors into the Name text field and press OK. Back in the Live Color dialog box, press OK again. Illustrator prompts you with a message asking if you’d like to save the changes to swatch group “cd colors” before closing. Choose Yes.

9 Click on the Swatches button () in the dock to open the Swatches panel. The cd colors color group has been added to the swatch selections.

You can do much more with the Live Color feature, like convert multicolored artwork into Pantone spot colors, as well as adjust the amount of colors in your artwork. Find out more about Live Color in Lesson 5, “Livening Up Your Artwork with Color.”

10 Choose File > Save. Keep the file open for the next part of the lesson.

Incorporating an image into your artwork

Adobe Illustrator accepts many types of image files. In this lesson you will place a native Photoshop file onto the artboard and trace it using the Live Trace feature. By using the Live Trace feature you can convert your image into vector artwork.

1 Choose Window > Layers or press the Layers button () in the dock. Select Layer 1 so that it is the active layer.

2 Choose File > Place. In the Place dialog box, navigate to the ai01lessons folder and select the image named ai0102.psd. Press Place. If an Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog box appears choose to Use the embedded profile and press OK. The image is placed onto the artboard.

The image, clearly, is too big. You will use the Scale tool to make the image smaller.

3 Double-click on the Scale tool () in the Tools panel; the Scale dialog box appears. In the Uniform section, type 50 into the Scale text field and press OK. The image is reduced to 50% its original size.

Reduce the image’s size.

4 Activate the Selection tool () and click and drag the image so that it is flush with the bottom of the rectangle. If necessary, reposition your text logo so that it is not hidden beneath the image.

5 Make sure the image of the man is selected, then click on the arrow to the right of the Live Trace button in the Control panel. Several options appear. Choose Tracing Options from the Live Trace drop-down menu. The Tracing Options dialog box opens.

The Tracing Options dialog box.

You will use the Tracing Options dialog box to control how Adobe Illustrator converts your placed image from a raster scanned image to vector artwork.

6 Check the Preview checkbox on the right side of the dialog box to turn the feature on.

7 From the Preset drop-down men choose Photo Low Fidelity. The image is now broken down into 16 shades of color, as you can see in the Max Colors text field.

Determine the settings for converting the raster scanned image to a vector image.

8 In the Trace Setting section, type 50 into the Minimum Area text field or drag the slider to 50.

9 Click in the Ignore White checkbox at the bottom of the Trace Settings section. The image’s white background becomes transparent and the cutout of the man rests on the red square. Press Trace. The image is now a vector object.

The resulting image.

10 With the traced image still selected, click on the Expand button in the Control panel to expand the Live Trace object into visible vector paths.

11 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open.

Erasing vector paths and shapes

In the next part of the lesson, you’ll work with the Eraser tool. The Eraser tool erases portions of your artwork. The Eraser tools erases right through vector shapes and paths. You have to experience this tool to fully appreciate its capabilities.

1 If the traced image of the man is not already selected, select it now. When an item is selected, the anchor points become visible. In artwork as complicated as the autotrace man, this is distracting, and makes it difficult to see what you are doing. In the next step you will hide the selection edges, but still keep the artwork active.

2 Choose View > Hide Edges, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+H (Mac OS). You just hid the selection edges so you can see the results of the Eraser tool.

3 Select the Eraser tool () in the Tools panel and position the cursor in the lower-left corner of the traced image.

Press the ] (right bracket) key about 3-4 times to make your eraser tool larger. If you need to make it smaller you press the [ (left bracket key). No exact size is needed for this exercise, but with a larger brush you can see the tool’s effects more easily.

4 With the Eraser tool, click and drag using a rough up and down movement (like you might use with an actual eraser), progressing from the lower-left side to the lower-right side of the image.

Start in the lower left of the artwork.

When you release, you see that you’ve erased the bottom of the image of the man, but that the red square and its contents are intact. You will now soften the edges of the traced image.

5 Make sure the image is selected and choose Effect > Stylize > Feather.

6 In the resulting Feather dialog box, select the Preview check box, then type .1 into the Feather Radius text field and press OK. The edge of the image is softened.

Apply the feather amount. Result.

7 Choose View > Show Edges, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+H (Mac OS) to turn the selection edges back on. By turning on the Show Edges feature, you can turn the selection points’ visibility on, thereby making it easier to see your selected artwork. If you forget to do this you won’t be able to see what is selected.

8 Choose Select > All to make sure all of your artwork is selected.

9 Open the Symbols panel by clicking on the Symbols button () in the dock on the right side of the workspace, or by choosing Window > Symbols.

10 Click on the New Symbol button () at the bottom of the Symbols panel; the Symbol Options dialog box appears.

11 Type cdart into the Name text field and select the Graphic radio button, then press OK.

Name the new symbol.

The artwork in its entirety is now saved as a symbol.

12 Select the original artwork with the Selection tool and press Delete. Since the artwork is now saved as a symbol, you only need the symbol instance for the remainder of the lesson.

13 Choose File > Save. Keep the file open.

Creating a 3-D object

Now you will create the CD case and map the artwork you saved as a symbol to the case.

1 Select the Rectangle tool. You may have to click on and hold down the Ellipse tool button in the Tools panel since you used that tool last.

2 Click once on the artboard. The Rectangle dialog box appears.

3 Type 5 into the Width text field, then click on the word Height to put the same value into the Height text field. Press OK. A 5-inch square appears on the artboard.

4 Click on the Fill box in the Control panel and select the CMYK Red color.

5 Choose Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel. The 3D Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box appears. Check the Preview check box on the right side of the dialog box.

6 Make sure the options are set at their defaults. In the Position section, the rotation around the X axis () text field should be -18°. The rotation around the Y axis should be -26° and the rotation around the Z axis should be 8°. In the Extrude & Bevel section, the Extrude Depth value should be 50 pt and Bevel should be set to None.

The default 3D Extrude and Bevel settings.

7 Click on the Map Art button on the right side of the dialog box. Mapping art allows you to place symbol artwork onto a 3-D object. This may take a few moments.

8 After choosing the art, the Surface selector shows 1 of 6. If it is showing anything different click on the First Surface button (). Click on the arrow to the right of the Symbol drop-down menu and choose cdart, your saved symbol.

Assign the cd art symbol to Side 1 of your CD case.

9 Reposition the artwork by dragging the symbol so it aligns with the outline of the cd case in Map Art dialog box.

10 Press OK to exit the Map Art dialog box, then OK to exit the 3D Extrude & Bevel dialog box. A progress bar appears as Illustrator maps your image to the side of the 3-D object, which is a CD case.

The final result.

10 Choose File > Save to save your work, then choose File > Close.

Congratulations! You have completed Lesson 1, “Adobe Illustrator CS4 Jumpstart

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