intermediate adobe illustrator cs3 welcome & course outline (2009)

Adobe Illustrator CS3digital drawing, Level II

your instructor: matthew [email protected]

Adobe Illustrator CS3 2

Getting started today

Quick introductionsQuick introductions

» customizing this coursecustomizing this course

AdministriviaAdministrivia

How to have a great classHow to have a great class

Menu of possible topicsMenu of possible topics


Quick introductions » customizing this course

Who are you and what do you do?Who are you and what do you do?

What is your experience with …What is your experience with …

» Computers & MS WindowsComputers & MS Windows

» Vector-based drawingVector-based drawing

» Adobe IllustratorAdobe Illustrator

What is something interesting about What is something interesting about you?you?


» matthew wyllyamzSoftware instructor since 1993, with an emphasis on multimedia, graphic

design, and Internet development.

Have created courses for Jefferson County Adult Ed,Colorado Christian University, Productivity Point,Colorado Free University, and the Department of Defense.

Taught Apple Macintosh classes exclusively for five years,and have been active on the Internet since 1994.

Have been using vector-based digital illustrators since 1992.

Illustrated a 300+ page book with three illustrations/page with Macromedia Freehand in 1993.

Corporate graphic designer / webmaster for two years ('97-'99).

TODAY: Independent contractor: technical and creative instructor and consultant, artist, amateur photographer, and author. BA in English writing, and have sold three books.

» http://www.mouselink.biz


Administrivia

Workshop schedule

» Four Tuesdays

» 9am – 12pm

» Two sessions per morning

» Short break (15 mins)around 10:30am

Facilities …

» Bathrooms, vending, Starbucks …


Please set cell phones to silent or turn off.Please set cell phones to silent or turn off.

Understand Understand concentrated computer training:concentrated computer training:

» Please sit at the front of the classroom and don’t sit alone.

» Class is part discussion, part lecture, part hands-on.

» PARTICIPATE! Ask questions. Answer questions. Take notes.

» Watch the screen, then try it yourself.

» This is a cooperative learning environment:

We are here to learn from each other.

Keep in mind that this class was designed for aKeep in mind that this class was designed for aspecific level of student:specific level of student:

How to have a great class


Keep in mind that this course was designed for a Keep in mind that this course was designed for a specific level of student:specific level of student:

Created for

» a semi-experienced computer user with a comfortable working knowledge of the Windows environment.

» the intermediate Adobe Illustrator user who has a fundamental understanding, and who is ready to learn about more advanced techniques.

NOT created for

» the beginning Illustrator user.

» the more advanced Illustrator user.

most importantly …most importantly …



Make it fun!

most importantly …most importantly …



Menu of possible topics

Workshop objectives

The Illustrator KEYS!

Curves and tangents

The infamous Pen Tool

Pencil and Paintbrush

Path manipulations I

Selections

Path manipulations II

Adobe Bridge

Using Templates

Working with textCharacters & Paragraphs

Leading, tracking, kerning

Type along a path

Wrapping text

Additional reshaping tools

Gradients & Transparency

Live Trace

Preferences and Help

Summary and Conclusions

… and a word about your materials


Moving on …

MORE DRAWING TOOLS DAY1

Adobe Illustrator CS3Level II workshop emphases & objectives

Learning additional jargonLearning additional jargon

MasteringMastering core concepts core concepts

Becoming more comfortableBecoming more comfortable

Understanding more advanced techniquesUnderstanding more advanced techniques

Gaining confidence through immersionGaining confidence through immersion

Increasing speed & efficiencyIncreasing speed & efficiency

Adobe Illustrator CS3 12The keys to working in Illustrator …

Everything you’ve already learned still applies!

Always pay close attention to …

The tool you have selected. The layer you are in.

Learn your modifiers and keyboard shortcuts!

Constrain Shift

Draw from center Alt

Zoom Ctrl + (or) –

Center artboard Ctrl 0Magnifier(Keep your magnification appropriate!)

Ctrl spacebar (or)

Ctrl Alt spacebar

Outlines Ctrl Y

Layer outlines Ctrl click

Layer visibility Alt click

Undo Ctrl ZSelection tool V(A drawing tool is not a selection tool!)

Direct Selection tool A

Last selection tool (temp)Hold Ctrl

Deselect Ctrl Shift A

Hide selection Ctrl H

Hand tool spacebar

Hide toolbars Tab

Change view mode F


How curved paths align to tangents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangent


Understanding the infamous Pen Tool (4-8)

Pen clicks & drags plot the anchor points of a path.

Clicking vs. clicking-and-dragging (and combinations)

Watch carefully for visual clues!

Anchor Points

» The difference between Corner Points, Smooth Points, and Cusp Points

Manipulating anchor points

» Moving, adding, deleting, converting

» Adjusting control handles

Viewing a more precise pen tool (Caps Lock)

Pen tool keyboard shortcut P



More intuitive, but not as precise?

The opposite of the pen tool

Important preferences

Applying brushes to strokes

The Eyedropper


HOMEWORK DUE

ILT workbook Unit 4: “Drawing Paths”

Time: 65 minutes.

Moving on …

PATHS & SELECTIONS DAY2

Adobe Illustrator CS3 17Review from previous weeks

Average time to complete: 45 minutes.

Utilizes essential skills sets: Using the pen tool to create corner points, smooth points, and cusp points. Additional skills: ellipse tool, line tool, spiral tool, cut, and join.

Instructions:1) From the classroom example files folder, open the document pen tool

review & challenge.ai

2) Beginning with the “triangle” layer, work your way down through each of the pen tool shape challenges, following the drawing instructions and recreating additional shapes as directed.

Challenges will increase in difficulty as you go.

3) Please work with other students, asking for, or providing assistance. When you have finished, please offer your help to other students who are still working.


Path manipulations, level IAlways select by the path

Basic transformations (2- 16,33)

Using the bounding box …

Tools: move, scale, rotate, reflect …

Duplication and Cloning (2-21)

Making multiple selectionsShift key, marquee, or lasso

Alignment and Distribution (2-23)

Group and Ungroup (2-30)

Shape Mode commands (2-25)

Compound shapes (2-30)

Changing the Reference Point


SelectionsSelect All & Deselect

Hiding selections

Understanding “persistent” settings

Select Same …

Inverse

Next Object Above/Below

The Eyedropper

Illustrator’s Magic Wand

Saving and recalling selections

Selecting multiple handles


Path manipulations, level IIPath selections vs. Anchor selections

Moving a path

Moving an anchor point (4-18)

Join and Average (4-22)

Handle adjustments

Independent handle adjustments (4-14)

Cutting a path (4-26)

Adding, deleting, and convertinganchor points (4-23)

Multiplying and reducing anchor points

Creating compound paths


Adobe Bridge comes standard with CS3

So why use it?(1-15)

Folders tab Thumbnails

Thumbnail slider Workspace buttons

Metadata


Using Templates


Moving on …

WORKING WITH TEXT DAY3

HOMEWORK DUEILT workbook Unit 5: “Working with Text”

Time: 50 minutes.

OPTIONALILT workbook Unit 8: “Adjusting Typography”

Time: 50 minutes.


Working with type, part 1Type tools

Creating a bounding box (or not)

The Character palette (5-2)(Sizing keyboard alternatives)

Scanning through font choices

Height and width adjustments

Leading, Tracking, and Kerning (5-3)(Keyboard alternatives)

The importance of Ctrl Enter


Working with type, part 2Text along a path (5-17)

The Place command vs. copy-and-paste (5-9)

The Paragraph palette (5-3)

Area Type options (5-13)

“Greek text” or Lorem Ipsumhttp://lipsum.com

http://www.lorem-ipsum.info/generator3

http://www.duckisland.com/GreekMachine.asp

http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/text

http://www.bram.us/2008/01/16/my-dummy-text-generators-alternative-to-lorem-ipsum

Flowing text through multiple placeholders (8-2)

Wrapping text around an object (8-10)

Adobe says, “To wrap text around an object, the wrap object must be in the same layer as the text and located directly above the text in the layer hierarchy. “

Making outlines (5-21)

Glyphs (8-17)


Everything you ever wanted to know about typefaces …

See the glossary at

http://www.fontshop.com/support/glossary.php


Additional reshaping toolsScale, Rotate, Reflect, Shear, Free

Transform

Warp, Roughen, Tweak, Zig Zag, Crystallize, Wrinkle, Scallop

Transform, Pucker & Bloat


HOMEWORK DUE

ILT workbook Unit 7: “Working with Fills and Colors”

Time: 40 minutes.

Moving on …

ADDITIONAL TOPICS DAY4


Gradients and TransparencyThe Gradient palette (7-11)

Linear vs. Radial

Adjusting angles

Manipulating Color Stops

» Coloring, swapping, adding, tinting, and adjusting the midpoint

Utilizing the Gradient Tool (7-13)

Simple transparencies (7-15)

Creating Opacity Masks


Live Trace

Converting a raster image into vector art

Tracing presets

Understanding Tracing Options

Previewing Rasters and Vectors

The Expand Command

Ungrouping


Setting Preferences


Getting Help

Adobe Illustrator CS3 33So, how far have we come?

Summary of classroom discussions

What is Illustrator?

What are paths?

Open vs. Closed paths

Vector graphics vs. bitmaps

The Illustrator interface

Viewing and navigation controls

Toolbox overview

File formats

CMYK vs. RGB color

Drawing basic shapes

(with keyboard modifiers)

Arrows: Black vs. White

Stroke and Fill

Showing Outlines

Rulers, guides, grids, and snapping

Clone and Duplicate

Move and Scale

Rotate and Reflect

Stacking and Layers

Setting an angle

Compound shapes

Cutting and Joining

Opacity adjustments

Creating pattern files

Align and Distribute

Group and Ungroup

Changing a Reference Point

Anchor Points

Control Handles

Curves and Tangents

Drawing with the Pen Tool

Add, delete, convert anchors


The Eyedropper

Making & Saving Selections

Working with Type

Character/Paragraph palettes

Leading, Tracking, Kerning

Text on a Path

Text Wrap

Making text outlines

Transparency and Gradients

Live Trace


Conclusions …Sincere thanks!

You cannot learn the violin in a few days.

Digital illustration is a skill – like any other – that requires gradual & continual practice & improvement.

Approach everything on a need-to-know basis, and don't worry about that which you do not yet understand.

Stay upbeat!… but if you get frustrated, remember:

You can always turn off the machine and walk away. :)

Good luck. Best wishes.And get in touch if you need more help!


Adobe Creative Suite 3


Summary of common keyboard shortcuts(Q-1)


Most popular online resources

urls urls


Review from last week» Resizing, resampling, and saving images

A

B

C

Average time to complete: 20 minutes.

Utilizes essential skills sets: Manipulating image size & resolution, resampling, and saving multiple versions of the same image.

Instructions:

1) Use Adobe Bridge to open the file:C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS2\Samples Sunflower.psd

2) Use the Image Size command and resample down 50%. What is the resulting file size and pixel dimensions of the image?

3) Use the Save for Web command. Create a JPEG set to High-60 quality, and save the image to your desktop.

4) Use the command File: Revert to restore the .psd file to its original size.

5) Use Image Size again. Resize (not resample) the image so that it may be printed at 300dpi. How large will the image appear on a printed page?

6) Use Save As to create a TIFF image and save it to your desktop.

7) Extra credit: Crop the image tightly to show only the sunflower’s petals.Save another version of the image: Sunflower cropped.psd

intermediate adobe illustrator cs3 welcome & course outline (2009)

Technology

adobe illustrator cs3

illustrator keys

advanced illustrator

adobe bridge

beginning illustrator

ctrl spacebar

ctrl z selection tool

selection tool temp