Course Overview
This two-day comprehensive Illustrator hands on training is an in depth courseware using the industry standard tool for creating rich vector graphics for everything from a business card to a roadside billboard. Illustrator is not just for artists. Use Illustrator to quickly manipulate and create Acrobat PDF documents, create mocks and dashboards for prototyping, create logos, brochures and much, much more. This Adobe Illustrator course starts at a fundamental level and works through intermediate concepts including color, typography and all of the "Live" features such as Live Type, Live Trace, Live Paint, and Live Color.
Your instructor will cover the pitfalls, and the best practices will be followed so that you are creating artwork that can be used for print, web, video and mobile devices in this Illustrator class.
This Illustrator CS4/CS5 training is intensive, but not complicated. Our job is to make difficult concepts easy to understand and implement into your own projects.
Course Outline
NEW FEATURES OF CS5 COVERED
- Perspective drawing
- Beautiful strokes
- Bristle Brush
- Crisp graphics for web and mobile devices
- Multiple Artboards enhancements
- Shape Builder tool
- Drawing enhancements
GETTING TO KNOW THE WORK AREA
- Viewing Artwork
- Using the Illustrator Tools
- Working with Panels
- Using Panel Menus
- In-Panel Appearance Editing
- Changing the View of Artwork
- Using the View Commands
- Using the Navigator Panel
- New Multiple Artboards Feature
- New On-Object Controls
- Using the Illustrator Help
SELECTING AND ALIGNING
- Using the Selection Tool
- Using the Direct Selection Tool
- Selections with the Magic Wand
- Grouping Items
- Aligning Objects
- Applying Selection Techniques
CREATING BASIC SHAPES
- Using Basic Shape Tools
- Using Live Trace to Create Shapes
- Drawing Polygons, Spirals, and Stars
- The New Blob Brush Tool
TRANSFORMING OBJECTS
- Scaling Objects
- Reflecting Objects
- Distorting Objects
- Shearing Objects
- Positioning Objects Precisely
- Changing the Perspective
- Making Multiple Transformations
DRAWING WITH THE PEN TOOL
- Creating Straight Lines
- Creating Curved Paths
- Building a Curve
- Curves and Corner Anchor Points
- Selecting and Manipulating Curves
COLOR AND PAINTING
- Color Mode
- Understanding the Color Controls
- Color Fundamentals
- Copying Attributes
- Using the Appearance Panel
- Building and Saving Your Own Custom Color
- Using Illustrator swatch libraries
- Creating a Spot Color
- Creating Color Groups
- Editing Color with Live Color
- Creating a Color Group with Live Color
- Assign Colors to Your Artwork
- Using Patterns
- Creating Your Own Pattern
- Applying Live Paint
- Create a PDF from your artwork
WORKING WITH TYPE
- Importing a Text File
- Creating Columns of Text
- Understanding Text Flow
- Working with Overflow Text
- Threading Text
- Working with Font Size and Color
- Paragraph Attributes
- Saving and Using Styles
- Creating Character Styles
- Sampling Text
- Creating Text on Paths and Shapes
- Creating Text Outlines
WORKING WITH LAYERS
- Creating Layers
- Moving Objects and Layers
- Locking Layers
- Viewing Layers
- Pasting Layers
- Creating Clipping Masks
- Merging Layers
- Applying Appearance Attributes to Layers
BLENDING SHAPES AND COLORS
- Creating a Gradient Fill
- Adjusting the Direction of a Gradient
- Adding Colors to a Gradient
- Creating Smooth-Color Blends
- Modifying the Blend
- Combining Blends with Gradients
- New Gradient Options
- Gradient Angle, Position
- Gradient Elliptical Dimensions.
WORKING WITH SYMBOLS
- Using Illustrator Symbol Libraries
- Editing Symbols
- Creating Symbols
- Applying a Symbol Instance
- Using the Symbolism Tools
- Updating a Symbol
- Breaking a Link to a Symbol
- Mapping a Symbol to 3D Artwork
NEW ENHANCED GRAPHIC STYLES
- Combine Styles for Unique Effects
- Styles for Increased Efficiency
- New Thumbnail Previews
- Exploring the Library of Pre-built Styles.
OVERVIEW OF PRINTING AND COLOR SEPARATIONS
- Learning about Printing Devices
- Halftone Screens
- Output Device Resolution
- The RGB Color Model
- The CMYK Color Model
- Spot Colors
- Synchronizing Color Using Adobe Bridge
- Separations Preview
- Specifying the Bleed Area
Prerequisites
Illustrator Training: Essential Skills I Course Prerequisites
- Basic Computer Skills on Windows or Mac