Adobe illustrator cs4- P3 pdf

CHAPTER 2: SELECTING AND EDITING ARTWORK 34 in the Tools panel, the Magic Wand panel appears; here you can specify which specifi c attributes you want the Magic Wand tool to pay attention to (Figure 2.7). The true power of the Magic Wand tool is that you can set a tolerance for each attribute. So if your document contains several objects colored a variety of shades of a color, you can still select them all with the Magic Wand tool by clicking a single object (Figure 2.8). Figure 2.7 You can use the Magic Wand panel to specify tolerance levels for di erent attributes. Figure 2.8 With the Magic Wand tool, you can easily select a range of objects that share similar colors. Selecting Similar Objects Illustrator has a Select menu that contains a variety of selection-based func- tions. You’ll fi nd some of the most useful ones in the Select > Same menu and the Select > Object menu. To use the Same functions, fi rst make a selection on the artboard with any of the selection tools in Illustrator. Then choose from the list of attributes to select objects based on that attribute (Figure 2.9). At any time, you can use the Object functions to select a certain kind of object in your fi le. You don’t need to have any objects selected fi rst in order to use the Select > Object functions. Figure 2.9 The Control panel also contains a but- ton that allows you to select similar objects. The button is available whenever you have an object selected. MAKING TRANSFORMATIONS 35 Saving Selections Making complex selections can take time, and it can be tedious having to constantly make selections on objects as you are working on a design. To make life just a tad easier, you can save your selections and retrieve them later. Once you have made a selection using any of the methods mentioned earlier, choose Selection > Save, and give your selection a name. That selec- tion then appears at the bottom of the Select menu, which you can access, or load, at any time. Because selections in Illustrator are object-based, a saved selection remembers objects even after they’ve been moved or modifi ed. MAKING TR ANSFOR MATIONS Drawing objects in Illustrator is only part of the design process. Once art is created, you can manipulate it in a myriad of ways. In Illustrator, the process of changing or manipulating a path is called a transformation, and transforma- tions can include anything from simply moving an object to changing its size or rotation. When you move a fi le, its x,y coordinates change, and Illustrator considers that a transformation. You can also move selected objects precisely by changing the x,y coordinates in the Control or Transform panel. Alternatively, double-click the Selection tool to open the Move dialog box, where you can specify values numerically as well (Figure 2.10). Clicking the Copy button in the Move dia- log box leaves the original shape in place and moves a copy of it. Of course, you can use the Selection tool to click and drag an object to reposi- tion it manually. If you press and hold the Option (Alt) key while dragging, Illustrator moves a copy of the selection. If an object is fi lled with a pattern, Figure 2.10 The Move dialog box remembers the last move transform made, so you can move an object on your artboard and then open the Move dialog box to see how far you moved it. CHAPTER 2: SELECTING AND EDITING ARTWORK 36 pressing and holding the tilde (~) key while dragging adjusts the positioning of the pattern without moving the object. Using the Bounding Box The bounding box allows you to perform several common transform func- tions; you can do this by simply clicking an object using just the Selection tool. Once you’ve made a selection, you can click an object to move it, or you can click any of the eight handles that appear on the perimeter of the bounding box to scale or resize the selection (Figure 2.11). Holding the Shift key while resizing constrains proportion. If you place your pointer just outside the edge of a handle, you can rotate your selection. Hold the Shift key to constrain the rotation angle to increments of 45 degrees. By default, Illustrator has the bounding box setting turned on. To turn it off, choose View > Hide Bounding Box (Command-Shift-B) [Ctrl-Shift-B]. The bounding box appears only when you select objects with the Selection tool. Although the bounding box is certainly useful, it can get in the way as well. Illustrator has a Snap to Point setting, where you can drag an object by an anchor point and easily align it to an anchor point in a different object. As your pointer approaches an anchor point, the object you are dragging snaps to it. When the bounding box is turned on, you can’t always grab an object by the anchor point because doing so allows you to scale the object instead. Your alternative is to either turn off the bounding box or use the Direct Selection tool (which many Illustrator users do anyway). An easy way to access the Direct Selection tool is to press and hold the Command Figure 2.11 The bounding box makes simple trans- forms, such as scale and rotate, quick and painless. TIP If you do turn o the bounding box function, you can still access similar functionality by using the Free Transform tool. MAKING TRANSFORMATIONS 37 (Ctrl) key when the regular Selection tool is active. Doing this will also make the bounding box temporarily disappear (until you release the Command [Ctrl] key). Living by the Numbers with the Transform Panel The Transform panel, which you can access by choosing Window > Transform, is a production artist’s best friend. In reality, it’s a panel that can be helpful to anyone. The Transform panel provides numeric feedback on the exact specifi cations of a selection. This includes x,y coordinates, width and height measurements, and rotate and shear values. You can also use the panel to make numeric changes to selected objects. You can enter values using any measurement system, and you can even specify math functions. For example, you can change the x coordinate of an object by adding +.125 at the end of the value and pressing Return (Enter) or Tab. You can even mix different measurement systems, such as subtract- ing points from millimeters. Use the asterisk for multiplication functions and the slash for division. If you press the Option (Alt) key while pressing Return (Enter) for a value, you’ll create a copy. At the far left of the Transform panel is a 9-point proxy that corresponds to the eight points of an object’s bounding box and its center (Figure 2.12). The point you click is extremely important—not only for the Transform panel but for all transform functions. If you click the center point, the x,y coordinates you see in the Transform panel refer to the center point of your selection. Clicking a different point reveals the coordinates for that point of the selection. When specifying transformations such as width or height settings or rotation or skew values, the point you choose becomes the origin point—the point from which the transformation originates. Rotating an object from its lower-left corner yields very different results from that same rotation applied from its center point. Figure 2.12 The 9-point proxy in the Transform panel enables you to set an origin point for a transformation. You can  nd the proxy (also called a refer- ence point) in numerous transform dialog boxes and in the Control panel as well. CHAPTER 2: SELECTING AND EDITING ARTWORK 38 If you want to transform strokes and effects, choose the Scale Strokes & Effects option from the Transform panel menu, which stays on until you turn it off. From the same panel menu, you can also choose to fl ip objects on their horizontal or vertical axis. Using Preview Bounds One of the bene ts of using Illustrator is that you can be extremely precise when drawing objects. The Control, Transform, and Information panels in Illustrator all provide exact feedback on coordinates, positioning, sizing, and more. By default, these panels use the actual vector path to determine these numbers, not the visual boundaries of the object. For example, you may have a shape that has a thick stroke or a scale e ect applied to it that is not rep- resented in the value you see in the Transform panel. When the Use Preview Bounds preference is turned on in the General panel in Preferences, all panels use the visual boundary of a  le as the value, not the underlying vector path. Working with the Transformation Tools Illustrator contains specifi c tools for performing scale, rotation, refl ection (mirroring), and shearing (skewing). These specifi c tools allow you to perform transformation with precision and with more power than the bounding box or even the Control panel. The four transformation tools—Scale, Rotate, Refl ect, and Shear—all work the same way. Here, we’ll discuss the Rotate tool specifi cally; you can apply the same techniques to the other tools. To rotate an object, select it, and choose the Rotate tool (R). Take a look at the selection on your screen, and you’ll see a special icon that appears at its center. This icon, which looks like a small crosshairs, is your origin point (Figure 2.13). To perform a rotation, position your pointer a fair amount of space away from the origin point, and click and drag in a circular motion. You don’t have to click the object itself to perform the rotation. If you click too close to the origin point, you’ll fi nd that it is diffi cult to control the rota- tion. The farther away you move your pointer from the origin point before dragging, the more leverage and control you have (Figure 2.14). TIP To lock the pro- portion of width and height values, click the link icon at the far right of the Transform panel. This allows you to specify just the height or the width of a selected object, and Illustrator scales the other value proportionally. MAKING TRANSFORMATIONS 39 While dragging with the Rotate tool, press the Shift key to constrain the rotation to 45-degree increments, press the Option (Alt) key to create a copy, and press the tilde key if your object is fi lled with a pattern and you want to rotate just the pattern. The powerful part of using a transformation tool is that you have control over the exact placement of the origin point. For example, if you select an object and then switch to the Rotate tool, you’ll see the origin point, as we discussed earlier. At that time, you can click once anywhere on your screen to redefi ne that point elsewhere. If you then click and drag, Illustrator uses the repositioned origin point for the rotation. Alternatively, you can simply click and drag the origin point itself to any location on your screen. The ability to reposition the origin point arbitrarily means you can specify an origin point that’s outside the boundaries of your object. When using the Transform panel, you can choose from only one of the nine preset options using the 9-point proxy. You can also specify transformations numerically with any of the four trans- formation tools (Scale, Rotate, Refl ect, and Sheer) by making a selection and double-clicking the desired transformation tool. One of the powerful features of opening the dialog box for a specifi c transformation tool is that when you enter a value, the next time you open the dialog box, that same value remains. Additionally, the dialog boxes for each transformation tool record the last transformation you performed with the tool. For example, if you use the Scale tool to manually resize an object, you can then open the Scale dialog box to see the exact percentage to which you scaled the object. TIP With the Trans- form Tools option turned on in the Smart Guides preferences, Smart Guides will display the rotation angle in real time as you apply the transformation. Figure 2.13 The crosshairs cursor indicates the precise location of the transformation origin point. Figure 2.14 When using the Rotate tool, click- ing away from the origin point gives you better leverage, or control, for rotating your selection. CHAPTER 2: SELECTING AND EDITING ARTWORK 40 Transforming Multiple Objects at Once When you select several objects, Illustrator performs all transformations based on a single origin point. This behavior is certainly fi ne for some needs, but sometimes you want to have transformations applied to a range of objects, and you want those transformations to be applied using indi- vidual origin points. For example, if you have several shapes selected and you want them each to rotate 45 degrees, you want each selected shape to rotate around its own center. For example, when you have several individual (ungrouped) shapes (Figure 2.15, left), selecting them all and rotating them forces all objects to share a single origin point (Figure 2.15 , center). With the Transform Each function, you can then rotate the multiple objects around their own individual origin points (Figure 2.15 , right). The Transform Each function was designed specifi cally for applying trans- formations across a range of objects, where each object maintains its own origin point. As an added bonus, the feature also contains something no other transformation tool has—a randomize function. To use this feature, select a range of objects—even grouped objects—and choose Object > Transform > Transform Each to open the Transform Each dialog box. Selecting the Preview check box allows you to see the effects of the transformation before you apply it. Specify Scale, Move, Rotate, and Refl ect settings, and if you’d like, click the Random button so that each object gets a slight variation of the settings you specify. By far, the most important setting you need to specify in the Transform Each dialog box is the origin point. Select a point from the 9-point proxy to defi ne the origin point for each selected object. Click OK to apply the transformations, or click the Copy button to create copies. Figure 2.15 With the Transform Each function, you can rotate multiple objects around their own individual origin points. TIP Even though the Transform Each func- tion was created for applying transformations to multiple objects at once, it’s a great tool to use on single objects as well. This is especially true since the Transform Each dia- log box allows you to specify multiple transformations in one step. EXPLORING THE PATHFINDER PANEL 41 Exploring the Power of the Transform Again Feature The Transform Again feature builds on the power of the transformation tools you’ve learned. Illustrator always remembers the last transformation you applied, so choosing Object > Transform > Transform Again simply reapplies that transformation, even if you’ve selected a different object. The keyboard shortcut for this feature is Command-D (Ctrl-D); it’s a good idea to memorize it, because you’ll use it often. This example illustrates the power of this feature. Draw a rectangle on your artboard. Choose the Selection tool, and drag the rectangle to the right while holding the Option (Alt) key, which creates a copy of the rectangle beside the original. Now apply the Transform Again command. Illustrator now repeats the last transformation, leaving you with three rectangles, evenly spaced. The Transform Each dialog box allows you to apply multiple transforma- tions in one step. Applying a Transform Again command after applying a Transform Each function simply duplicates those settings. The power to transform is now within you. Use it wisely. EXPLORING THE PATHFINDER PANEL The basic drawing tools (Rectangle, Ellipse, and so on) in Illustrator are great on their own, but you’ll often need to create shapes that are a bit more complex. Many times, it’s far easier to combine basic primitive shapes to create more complex ones. It can also be easier to edit existing shapes using new simple shapes rather than trying to adjust the anchor points of indi- vidual paths. The Pathfi nder panel, which you can open by choosing Window > Pathfi nder, contains two horizontal rows of buttons, each offering a differ- ent type of function. The top row, shape modes, offers functions used to combine multiple selected shapes (Figure 2.16). The bottom row, pathfi nders, consists of functions that are used to split shapes apart in a variety of ways (Figure 2.17 on the following page). CHAPTER 2: SELECTING AND EDITING ARTWORK 42 EXCLUDE MINUS FRONT INTERSECT UNITE FUNCTION PATH GEOMETRYRESULTING ARTORIGINAL ART FUNCTION PATH GEOMETRYRESULTING ARTORIGINAL ART CROP TRIM MERGE DIVIDE MINUS BACK OUTLINE Figure 2.16 The shape mode functions. Figure 2.17 The path nder functions. Combining Shapes with Shape Modes To use any of the shape modes, select two or more objects in your docu- ment, and click any of the shape mode buttons in the Pathfi nder panel. To create the cute clouds in Figure 2.18, for example, start with three ovals and a rectangle (A), use Unite to combine the three ovals (B), and then use Minus Front with the rectangle to complete the shape (C). Add sky for an added touch (D). ABCD The following are the four shape mode functions in the Pathfi nder panel: • Unite. The Unite shape mode combines all the selected shapes and gives the appearance they were all joined together. • Minus Front. The Minus Front shape mode combines all the selected shapes and then takes the top objects and removes them from the bot- tommost object. Figure 2.18 With shape modes, you don’t have to know how to draw complex art in order to create it. EXPLORING THE PATHFINDER PANEL 43 • Intersect. The Intersect shape mode combines all the selected shapes and displays only the areas in which all the objects overlap with each other. • Exclude. The Exclude shape mode combines all the selected shapes and removes the areas in which the objects overlap each other. By default, when you use any of the shape modes in the Pathfi nder panel, the resulting object is a new single path. But there’s some “hidden” functionality that allows you to use the shape modes to create something called a compound shape. A compound shape has the appearance of a single path, but the original paths that were used to create the fi nal shape are still present in the fi nal result (Figure 2.19). To create a compound shape, hold the Option (Alt) key while applying any of the shape mode functions from the Pathfi nder panel. Compound shapes offer several signifi cant benefi ts over the default shape mode paths: • Compound shapes are “live,” and each of the individual components can be edited independently. • Compound shapes can be nested, much in the same way as groups can. • Compound shapes can be applied to live text, symbols, and other complex objects. • Compound shapes are compatible with the Shape Layers feature in Photoshop (see the sidebar “Illustrator Shape Modes and Photoshop Shape Layers”). Once you’ve created a compound shape, you can “fl atten” it and reduce it to a path object by clicking Expand in the Pathfi nder panel. Additionally, you can release a compound shape by choosing Release Compound Shape from the Pathfi nder panel menu. Releasing compound shapes returns the objects to their individual states and appearances. Figure 2.19 Even though the cloud has the appear- ance of a single path, the individual shapes that were used to create the shape are still editable. CAUTION The default behavior of the shape modes in the Path nder panel has changed in Illustrator CS4. In previous versions, com- pound shapes were created by default, and you were required to use the Option (Alt) key to created expanded paths. In Illustrator CS4, Adobe reversed the behavior so that now expanded paths are created by default, and you are required to use the Option (Alt) key to create compound shapes. [...]... including Add, Subtract, Intersect, and Exclude—the same functions (with similar names) in the Pathfinder panel in Illustrator These objects are interchangeable between Illustrator and Photoshop, and they retain their shape mode settings in the process as well Create a compound shape in Illustrator, copy and paste it into Photoshop, and the compound shape becomes an editable vector shape layer The same... your objects to? Illustrator offers three distinct options: • Align to Selection The Align to Selection option, which is the default setting, automatically takes one object from your selection and aligns all other objects in your selection to that object Illustrator chooses an object based on the specific align function you apply For example, if you use the Align Vertical Top function, Illustrator aligns... that Illustrator uses to create Envelope distortions (Figure 2.37) Figure 2.37 The Envelope Options dialog box gives you greater control over how Illustrator distorts artwork within envelopes The following are the options you can set in the Envelope Options dialog box: • Rasters If your envelope contains a raster image, you can choose to turn antialiasing on or off With antialiasing turned on, Illustrator. .. enclosed by a clipping mask or a transparency alpha channel • Fidelity When Illustrator performs an Envelope distortion, it has to stretch or squeeze artwork to fit within another shape During this process, Illustrator may make small adjustments to the art so that it doesn’t become overly complex A higher-fidelity setting forces Illustrator to preserve the integrity of the artwork as much as possible,... have different Live Effects settings; Illustrator blends the settings of those effects as well Blends are pretty powerful, but don’t worry, they are easy to work with Creating a Blend If there were always just one way to perform a particular function in Illustrator, there would be less of a need for books like this one But as you’ve seen up to this point in this book, Illustrator offers a variety of ways... an anchor point from each object until the blend is created NOTE In case you’re ever playing something like the Adobe edition of Trivial Pursuit, you’ll find this information helpful: The 3D effect in Illustrator uses blends to create lighting and shading effects Unlike the first method where Illustrator created the blend based on stacking order, this method allows you to control in which order key objects... learn that blends are live in Illustrator, meaning you can adjust them even after you apply the blend To do so, using the Direct Selection tool, click a key object, and change its color, shape, position, attributes—whatever When you do, Illustrator simply redraws the blend to incorporate the change You will notice that you can’t select or edit the intermediate steps that Illustrator creates to form the... same thing with your artwork? Well, you can, using the enveloping features in Illustrator An envelope is a regular vector shape that can contain other artwork And any artwork that is contained inside the envelope becomes distorted to take on the shape of the envelope As you will soon learn, envelopes use the mesh technology in Illustrator to distort artwork In fact, these envelope meshes, as they are... continue to adjust either the envelope itself or the artwork it contains Illustrator manages the process of editing envelopes and their contents by giving you two distinct modes in which to work At any one time, you can work with the envelope shape, or you can change modes and edit the contents of the envelope Unfortunately, Illustrator doesn’t clearly identify the difference between these two modes,... on The Object Highlighting feature of Smart Guides allows you to quickly find and see the art you are editing Figure 2.39 When you’re in Edit Contents mode, Illustrator reveals the artwork within the Envelope object on Layer 1 Keep in mind that Illustrator maintains each Envelope distortion in your file as a separate entity Therefore, it’s entirely possible to have one envelope in Edit Envelope mode . in Illustrator CS4. In previous versions, com- pound shapes were created by default, and you were required to use the Option (Alt) key to created expanded paths. In Illustrator CS4, Adobe. panel in Illustrator. These objects are interchangeable between Illustrator and Photoshop, and they retain their shape mode set- tings in the process as well. Create a compound shape in Illustrator, . Because selections in Illustrator are object-based, a saved selection remembers objects even after they’ve been moved or modifi ed. MAKING TR ANSFOR MATIONS Drawing objects in Illustrator is only