A Do Be Illustrator CC Course Work Book
A Do Be Illustrator CC Course Work Book
A Do Be Illustrator CC Course Work Book
COURSE WORKBOOK:
Adobe Illustrator CC:
Essentials Training Course
Phil Ebiner
Daniel Walter Scott
CONTENTS
LIST OF SHORTCUTS USED IN THE COURSE
GETTING STARTED
SHAPE & LINE TOOLS
SHAPE BUILDER TOOL
CURVATURE TOOL
PEN TOOL
PENCIL TOOL
BRUSHES
WIDTH TOOL
TYPE TOOLS
COLORS
MASKING
LIBRARIES
EFFECTS & PATTERNS
ADOBE CAPTURE APP
FREE TEMPLATES
Press & hold shift + click & drag Scale object (with scale tool active)
Press & hold shift + click & drag Snap rotate (with rotate tool active)
Press & hold shift + click Draw straight & 45 degree lines (with pen tool active)
Press & hold shift + click Select multiple objects (with selection tool active)
Press & hold shift + click Deselect objects (with selection tool active)
cmd (Ctrl PC) + A Select all
GETTING STARTED
Exercise File Used: Getting Started.ai
Workspace:
Application Bar
Panels
Tools Panel
Document Window
Status Bar
Workspace Switcher
change of workspace arrangements
Document Units
specifying document units
• in Panel for existing document
• for a New Document
Tabs
• multiple documents could be open
• each 昀椀le has its own tab
• you can easily change the order
Properties Panel
• by default or by Window > Properties
• settings and controls in the context of your current task or work-
昀氀ow
Artboard Tool
• multiple Artboards in one document
• artboards represent the regions that can contain printable or ex-
portable artwork
• may have di昀昀erent sizes
Selection Tool
• black arrow - falls back tool
• select, move, rotate, and resize entire objects
Grouping Mode
• combining objects into a group so that the objects are treated as
a single unit
• you can move or transform a number of objects without
• a昀昀ecting their individual attributes or positions relative to each
other
Isolation Mode
• isolates groups (or sublayers) so that you can easily select and
• edit speci昀椀c objects or parts of objects without having to ungroup
the objects
• double-click a shape
Zoom Tool
to magnify and reduce the view of artwork
“+” means zoom in - by default
“-” means zoom out - when holding Option key (Alt key)
Hand Tool
• to pan to di昀昀erent areas of a
• document
• shortcut to temporarily select Hand Tool:
• Hold down the spacebar on the
• and drag the Artboard (active any tool except Text Tool)
Back to menu
lOMoARcPSD|22158226
Visibility of a layer:
• by clicking on a visibility panel (eye icon)
Shape Tool
• by using a Shape Tool, you can draw a shape (Fill + Stroke)
• creating shape: click + hold + drag
• resizing with Selection Tool
Recoloring:
• click Fill or Stroke color icon in Properties Panel
• by Swatches or Color Mixer
Smart Guides
View > Smart Guides
• tooltips that appear next to the pointer (magenta color)
• can be useful in certain
• situations, such as when more precision is necessary
Arrange Commands
• created objects are in “stacking order”
• it determines how they display when they overlap
• it is possible to change the stacking order of objects in an artwork
by using either Arrange commands
• either: in Panel
• or: right click with a mouse into the Document Window
Align-ing
• either in Properties Panel or right mouse click
• select object > choose aligning (or distribution)
Merging
• select > Shape Builder Tool > click++hold+drag
Deleting
• select > Shape Builder Tool > with Option key (Alt key) holding
down > click++hold+drag
Coloring
• choose the shapes > Shape Builder Tool > choose
the color “Fill” > click on the part you want to color
• coloring separates the shapes
CURVATURE TOOL
Exercise File Used:
Redraw Image.ai
Curvature Tool
• draw and edit paths quickly and visually to create paths with
smooth re昀椀ned curves and straight lines, without editing direction
lines
• works by creating anchor points where you click - curvature is
done automatically
• you are looking for the apex or where the curve changes the
most.
2 clicks
2 clicks
Double-click for corner
1 click
1 click
PEN TOOL
Exercise File Used:
Pen Tool.ai
Pen Tool
• create both freeform and more precise artwork
• Caps Lock turns the Pen tool icon from “pen” into “cross”
• clicking ones = corners
• click + drag = curve
• Esc - detach
PENCIL TOOL
Exercise File Used:
Drawing1.jpeg
Pencil Tool
• draw freeform paths that contain curves and straight lines
Stroke Options
• click “Stroke” in Panel
• Window > Strokes
ArrowHeads ArrowHeads
Dashed Line
• set the dash (pt)
• set the gaps (pt)
dash = 2 pt dash = 10 pt
gap = 10 pt gap = 2 pt
Dotted Line
• set the dash = 0 (0pt)
• set the gaps = any size (pt)
• set the gap = rounded
BRUSHES
Exercise File Used:
Drawing1.jpeg
Brushes
• allows to stylize the appearance of paths
• possible to apply brush strokes to existing paths
• Window > Brush Libraries > choose and apply
• keep the stroke of a path small (0,005 - 0,25pt)
Individual brushes
• ready to use: click+hold+drag+drop
WIDTH TOOL
Exercise File Used:
Width Tool.ai
Width Tool
• alter regular stroke widths
• select the tool > click+hold+drag
• dragging = editing the width of the stroke
• stretching the stroke to the left and to the right equally
• > release
TYPE TOOLS
Exercise File Used:
New Postcard
Text in Illustrator
• as point type
• area type
• type on a path
Point type
• horizontal or vertical line of text that begins where you click and
expands as you enter characters (click)
• each line of text is independent
• line expands or shrinks as you edit it but doesn’t wrap to the next
line
• headlines, or a few words
Area Type
• uses the boundaries of an object (like a rectangle) to control the
昀氀ow of characters, either horizontally or vertically (click+hold+drag)
• When the text reaches a boundary, it automatically wraps to 昀椀t
inside the de昀椀ned area
more paragraphs
• Scaling point type this way will stretch the text if you drag any
bounding point
• Scaling area type - you can drag any of the eight bounding points
on the text area to resize it
Formatting type
• font family and font style
• font size
• font color
• additional character formatting
• paragraph formatting
Typekit fonts
• aside from applying local fonts to text from your machine, Crea-
tive Cloud subscribers can apply Typekit fonts
• typekit is a subscription service o昀昀ering access to a library of fonts
Placeholder text
• “Lorem Impsum”
• commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document or
a typeface without relying on meaningful content
• Type > Fill with placeholder text
Options
• Type > Type On A Path > Type On A Path Options
• E昀昀ect
• Align to Path
• Scaling
• Flip
COLORS
Exercise File Used:
Colors.ai
Eyedropper-ai
Post Card.ai
Color Modes:
RGB
• red, green, blue
• display colors
• screen has light coming out of it, so can create more colors
• bigger gamut
CMYK
• cyan, magent, yellow, black
• for print
• smaller gamut
Eyedroper Tool
• to simply copy appearance attributes (not only color)
• select an object > Eyedropper Tool > click on the attribute you
want to copy
Color Themes
• displays color themes from a Adobe Color website
• Window > Color Themes > Explore Tab
Gradient
• color blends of two or more colors that you can apply to the 昀椀ll or
stroke of artwork
• select the object > Swatches in Panel
Gradient Options
• Window > Gradient
• Type, Angle, Colors, etc.
MASKING
Exercise File Used:
Desk.jpeg
Drawing2.jpeg
Color Bomb.jpeg
Compound Path.ai
Clipping Mask
• a clipping mask is an object or group of objects that masks (with
its shape) artwork below it in the same layer or sublayer so that only
artwork within the shape is visible
• a masking object (path which will be used as a clipping mask) must
be above the objects it masks
• “Create Clipping Mask” or “Release Clipping Mask”
Clipping Mask: Shape
• create a masking object > place it above the objects it will mask >
click right mouse button > create mask
Compound Path
• use a vector object to cut a hole in another vector object
• holes appear where paths overlap
• select object > create compound path
LIBRARIES
Exercise File Used:
CC Libraries.ai
Bike.jpeg
Creative Cloud
• Creative Cloud libraries are an easy way to create and share
stored content such as images, colors, text styles, etc.
• in order to use Creative Cloud libraries, you will need to be signed
in with your Adobe Illustrator CC and have an internet connection
Use
• once synced, those assets will be available to other applications
and apps that support libraries (aslong as you are signed in with the
same Creative Cloud account)
• when you drag a graphic from your Creative Cloud library to a
project, it is automatically placed as a linked asset
• if you make a change to a library asset, the linked instances will
update in your projects
• holding down Option key (Atl key) will brake down the link
Share libraries
• to share your libraries with your colleagues or clients, use Librar-
ies Panel > Collaborate
CC Market
CC members can access assets from Market for free choosing from
an selection of vector graphics, icons, patterns, UI kits, etc.
• Warp Tool
• Twirl Tool
• Pucker Tool
• Bloat Tool
• Scallop Tool
• Crystallize Tool
• Wrinkle Tool
• Create object > select object > Object > Transform > Transform
Each
• > adjust options (scale, move, rotate...) > click COPY
Creating Patterns
• patterns you create are saved as a swatch in the Swatches panel
for the document you’re working in
• Select the object > Object > Pattern Options > Make Pattern
Image Tracing
• can be useful for turning a drawing into vector art,
tracing raster logos, tracing a pattern or texture, etc.
• click the Image Trace button in the Properties panel
• or Object > Image Trace > Make
• or Window> Image Trace
• choose any of the option = this converts the image
into an image tracing object = you can’tedit the vector
content yet, but you can change the tracing settings
(Image Trace Panel button)
• to edit the vector, image has to be “expanded”
Adobe Capture
• use your mobile device as a vector converter to
turn photos into color themes, patterns, type, materi-
als, brushes, and shapes. Then bring those assets into
your favorite desktop and mobile apps to use in your
projects.
PATTERN BRUSH
FREE TEMPLATES
EXPORTING
Export as package
• File > Package > Choose options > Save
• will save all links, fonts and others in one package to use