Before you release the mouse, try pressing the Shift key. For instance, if you keep pressing the down arrow, you’ll end up with a triangle. Instead, use the up and down arrow keys to add and remove points. Draw a star, but don’t release the mouse button. The Star tool makes more shapes than just a traditional star. These boxes are much easier to work with and will save you a lot of sanity. You can make text boxes by drawing a box with the text tool. While that method is still the default, there is another way. I would end up with one long, jumbled line that was frustrating to work with. When I first started working with Illustrator, I simply selected the text tool and started typing. You can use the Flatten Transparency to make them into editable shapes. The Blend makes several shapes in between the circle and the square. Select the two shapes and go to Object > Blend > Make. Choose Specified Steps and the number of steps. Next, you’ll need to set the number of steps in your Blend. First, draw a circle and a square several inches apart. You can also use the Blend on shapes to get “in between” or “tween” shapes. Most people use the Blend command (Object > Blend > Make) for gradient blends. You can also use the Transform Again for repeating Scaling and Rotating effects. This gives you multiple shapes that are spaced evenly. Next, perform a Transform Again (Command/Control D) on your copied shape. You can use the Option/Alt Drag from the tip above. It is great for creating uniform spacing. The Transform Again command (Object > Transform > Transform Again) is used to repeat your last action. You can also group objects between layers to move an object onto a different layer. This will move the new object directly beneath the old one. Go to Object > Group or Command/Control G. With the object still highlighted, shift click on the object that you want it to be directly underneath. First, send the new object to the back (Object > Arrange > Send to Back). If you have several overlapping objects on your artboard and you want to add a new shape in between them, try using the Group command. It also is a powerful tool for moving objects around. The Group command is mainly used to group objects together. You can also use the Flatten Transparency on Brush Effects, Blend Effects and Warp Effects. Make sure Raster/Vector Balance is set to 100. Go to Object > Flatten Transparency to use it. To outline a dashed line, you’ll have to use the Flatten Transparency. The outline stroke command flattens stroked lines, but not dashed lines. The Flattened Transparency command enables you to see what your artwork will look like when flattened. Try aligning two circles by their “center” points by dragging the first object by its “center” point onto the “center” point of the second object. The Smart Guides will tell you where the two objects intersect. With your Smart Guides on, you’ll notice that when you roll over objects, the lines highlight and the words: path, anchor and center appear. To turn on your Smart Guides, go to View > Smart Guides or Command/Control U. The Align tools are useful, but they only do so much. If you hold down both, it will make a copy that is lined up horizontally or vertically. This time, hold down the Shift key and you’ll notice that the shape is constrained to moving only on a horizontal or vertical plane. Select a shape and start moving it to a new location. Some of the more commonly used keys on the keyboard are the option/alt and the shift keys. This will make a duplicate in the same location. Select your object and double click on the rotate tool in the tool bar. Another option is to use the Rotate tool. The keyboard shortcuts for these are: Command (Mac OS)/Control (Windows) F for Paste in Front and Command/Control B for Paste in Back. These will paste the object in the same place. You can use the Paste in Front and Paste in Back for that (located in the Edit menu). The only problem is sometimes you want to copy things in place. Some examples to start you off with are V for the Selection tool, A for the Direct Selection tool, R for the Rotate tool and Shift + E for the Eraser tool.Ĭopy and Paste is probably one of the most used features in Illustrator. Learning the one-letter shortcuts for changing tools on the Tool Bar will also save you time. You don’t have to learn all of them however, think about which commands you use often and learn those. Keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time. This is a fairly obvious tip, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Here are a few tips to help make your designing a little easier. Luckily, you don’t need to know every little feature to make great designs and illustrations. Adobe Illustrator is a powerful program with a ton of features, and learning them all can be a daunting task.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |