Adobe Illustrator CS5 bible PHẦN 10 docx

Chapter 19: Creating Web Graphics 637 Using FXG to Enhance Flex-based Workflows If you or someone you know is creating Web-based applications in Flex, you’ll find the new Flash XML Graphics (FXG) syntax quite useful. In addition to using it like a transitional file format (FXG files can be opened in Photoshop CS5 and Fireworks CS5), FXG is designed to work as seamlessly with Flash applications as possible. To save a file in FXG format, choose File ➪ Save and then choose Adobe FXG (fxg) as the format. When you do so, the FXG Options dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 19.41. FIGURE 19.41 The FXG Options dialog box The options are as follows: l Save Illustrator Private Data. This will include Illustrator structures (like appearance set- tings) in the file. Not choosing this will make the file “fall to pieces” when reopened in Illustrator. However, this will increase the file size. l Include Unused Symbols. As it sounds, this will include symbols that are in the Symbols panel but not in used in the artwork. Always keep this unchecked. l Downsample Linked Images. This reduces externally linked images to 72 dpi. Usually this is acceptable unless you expect the artwork to be zoomed in on. 26_584750-ch19.indd 63726_584750-ch19.indd 637 6/3/10 8:04 PM6/3/10 8:04 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 638 l Conversion Options. You may choose Maintain Editability (Convert to FXG), Preserve Appearance, or the Automatic Conversion option for these categories. Automatic Conversion may turn text into outlines and pixel gradients for blends, and so on. l Show Code. This will show the resulting FXG code before you create the FXG file. Summary In this chapter, you learned the following: l Pixel Preview mode displays graphics as they would appear in a Web browser. l The Save for Web & Devices dialog box lets you optimize graphics in one easy step. l You can both open and save SVG files in Illustrator. l Illustrator can export animated SWF files. l Data-driven graphics can streamline repetitive tasks and help save time. l Illustrator can define four kinds of variables in the Variables panel. l Many variables are stored in XML. l Illustrator supports AppleScript (Mac), VBScript (Windows), and JavaScript. l Scripting is far more powerful than actions. 26_584750-ch19.indd 63826_584750-ch19.indd 638 6/3/10 8:04 PM6/3/10 8:04 PM 639 CHAPTER Illustrator Workflow IN THIS CHAPTER Workflow basics Packaging — from start to finish Tips and techniques for real- world production T hroughout this book, you’ve learned pretty much everything there is to know about Illustrator. So, what’s left? Putting it all together, of course! In this chapter, I walk you through a project that uses all sorts of Illustrator functions and explain how and why I used Illustrator’s capabilities throughout the process. Everyone uses Illustrator a little differently, and even as I wrote this, I real- ized that I could have done a few things differently in order to be more effi- cient. Each project that you work on in Illustrator results in a different set of tools and processes, and even if you do very similar things again and again, you find your workflows evolving over time. Project Background The goal of this project is to create the box for a brand-new edition of a game I published more than a year ago: Ultimate Werewolf. This would be the sec- ond box I created at this size with this particular printer, so I already have experience in terms of the production parameters. Figure 20.1 shows the final box. However, I made some mistakes the first time around, such as not including enough bleed (printed area that extends beyond the expected cuts) and fold space for the corners. While the bleed issue was an oversight on my part, the fold space was something totally new to me. Boxes with printed covers are created by gluing a printed sheet onto flat cardboard and then folding the cardboard sides down to form the shape of the box. The printed paper is what holds the box together at the corners. 27_584750-ch20.indd 63927_584750-ch20.indd 639 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 640 Because the cardboard is fairly thick, when the sides are folded down the printed paper on top slides up a bit to make its way around the corner. This has to be compensated for in the original design or the sides of the box will appear too close to the top of the box compared with the origi- nal location they were designed for. Once you understand this concept, adding a few millimeters in between the center (top) of the box and the sides is easy. Tip This project was printed overseas, where the standard forms of measurement are millimeters, not inches, so I did all my work in the metric system. Working in the measurement system of the printer is always a good idea, especially if there are changes to the files during the process. You don’t want to be doing the conversions either inside Illustrator or out, as that introduces some significant risk into the project. FIGURE 20.1 This is a photograph of the finished box; this chapter walks you through the process of creating it. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64027_584750-ch20.indd 640 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Chapter 20: Illustrator Workflow 641 The box was to be printed using the four-color process (see Chapter 18 for more on printing and four-color separations). Ninety five percent of the work I do now is four-color process, as the sav- ings from using just two or three spot colors tend to be miniscule. The other 5% tends to be black ink only, and that’s for items like score sheets or rules inserts — and the cost to produce those is still only marginally cheaper than using four colors! Building the Documents Despite using Illustrator for the last 20 years, I don’t consider myself an artist. In fact, if you take away Illustrator and stick me with a pad and pencil, the doodles that I would generate would embarrass a first-grade art teacher. So, I don’t sketch out anything first. Ever. Instead, I tend to bring all the elements of a project together and start working on it right away in Illustrator. The advantage to doing this is that I have a single file to work on that eventually is the one that’s used for printing. The box consists of two pieces; therefore, I need two files for it: the box cover and the box bottom. I created a new document (CMYK, of course, because this would be printed) for the box cover first. In order to help me organize the files, I created layers for each of the components I antici- pated needing: Guides, Background, Sides, Frames and Edges, UW logo, Front characters, tagline, flags, game info, Bézier logo, and peeps (how I refer to the people illustrations on the sides of the box). I worked with a very talented illustrator — a person, not another program — who created a whole series of characters for the cards in the game as well as the cover illustration. The resulting images were Photoshop files with transparent backgrounds, allowing me a lot of flexibility in how I used them. Setting up the document The first step after the basic document was created was to get the guides in place. Because I had done a box previously, I could copy the guides directly from the existing file to the new one. In order to do this, I locked all the layers except my guide layer in my previous file; then did a select all and copy there. In my new document, I checked the Layers panel’s popup menu to be sure that Paste Remembers Layers was selected (to ensure that all pasted items go onto layers with the same names as where they were copied from) and then chose Edit ➪ Paste In Front. Paste In Front keeps the location of the guides consistent between documents. Creating the front cover The first item I placed was the background image, as shown in Figure 20.2. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64127_584750-ch20.indd 641 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 642 FIGURE 20.2 The initial document with the background image in place. Note that all the layers are already created, but only the background image layer has any objects on it. Next, I placed the logo. The Ultimate Werewolf logo, as shown in Figure 20.3, was created in Illustrator (although it uses a pixel-based image for the texture for the letters), but instead of copy- ing and pasting the logo from the original file, I placed it as a linked file. The reason I chose this method was twofold: l I was still tweaking the logo, and this way, any changes to the logo would be reflected in the artwork automatically (Illustrator automatically updates linked placed files). l I used effects with x and y coordinates, such as a drop shadow. The location of the shadow is based on x and y coordinates in the effect itself. These values always move in the same direction, so a drop shadow that’s set to the lower right of the artwork would be in the lower right of that art even if the artwork is rotated (when you look at the rotated art right-side up, the shadow would not be in the lower right anymore). When artwork is placed, those settings are relative to the original artwork, not the position/rotation of the artwork on the page. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64227_584750-ch20.indd 642 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Chapter 20: Illustrator Workflow 643 Tip Whenever I combine different elements together in a project, I always place-link files as opposed to embedding or copy/pasting from other Illustrator documents. This is primarily so that changes made to the components are reflected in the final document. All elements I placed in this document were place-linked. I then placed the Bézier Games logo, the flags (this game includes components for both English and German), and the front characters. I didn’t place the peeps for the box sides yet, as I was focusing on the front cover first. I then typed the tagline, applying a drop shadow to it by choosing Effect ➪ Stylize ➪ Drop Shadow. I used the settings shown in Figure 20.4 to make the shadow small, as my main goal was to make the tagline as readable as possible. FIGURE 20.3 The Ultimate Werewolf logo file FIGURE 20.4 The Drop Shadow settings for the tagline text 27_584750-ch20.indd 64327_584750-ch20.indd 643 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 644 I duplicated the tagline text by dragging it down while pressing Alt (Option) and Shift, ensuring that it didn’t move horizontally when I dragged. I then double-clicked the new type object to change it to text-editing mode, pressed Ctrl+A (Ô+A) to select all the text, and pasted the trans- lated German text (copied from a Word document supplied by my translator). I colored the German text a light blue (I do the same thing for the German text on the back of the box). The last step on the front cover was to position the front characters (including the werewolf). I placed them on a different layer than the background image so that the werewolf would appear in front of the logo and then the other front characters would be in front of the werewolf. When working with my artist, I specified that the characters and their backgrounds should be on separate layers to ensure I would have this sort of flexibility. Figure 20.5 shows the finalized front cover. FIGURE 20.5 The box top of the box cover is complete. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64427_584750-ch20.indd 644 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Chapter 20: Illustrator Workflow 645 Creating the box sides The bottom/top box sides and left/right box sides are virtually duplicates of each other (just the peeps are different), so I knew that I could just do one of each and then rotate/duplicate each to create the opposite version. I started at the bottom first because it was right-side up on my screen. For the background image for the sides, I jumped into Photoshop and created two smaller versions of the background I used for the front. I place-linked the longer of the two for the bottom side on the background image layer. Figure 20.6 shows the placed image. Note that it extends beyond the guides. This isn’t just bleed; it’s also wrap. Wrap is the printed portion of the paper that goes around the bottom edges and corners of the box (look at any box that has a cover like this, and you see the wrap there, which is usually about 1 ⁄2-inch wide). FIGURE 20.6 The bottom box side has a background image in place. Next, I Alt+dragged (Option+dragged) the Ultimate Werewolf logo down and used the Scale tool to scale it so that it fit better on the side. When I scale in Illustrator, I find it’s best to keep the Bounding Box off (it only shows up with the Selection tool, and I use the Direct Selection tool more, anyway) and just press S to quickly access the Scale tool. After scaling, I press A to return to the Direct Selection tool. I copied the Bézier Games logo down and scaled it up because it needs to be bigger on the box sides. I also added the URL info below it here (having it on the front cover would have added too much busyness, but having it on the sides doesn’t have that same negative impact). Finally, I cop- ied the game information graphic (number of players, playing time, suggested age range) from another file. I didn’t place-link this graphic because the values are specific to this game, and there isn’t any place where this information appears on the product except the box cover. Finally, I placed two peeps and sized and positioned them appropriately. Figure 20.7 shows the bottom edge with everything in place. Note that the peeps are just slightly overlapping the Ultimate Werewolf logo; this was done to add an element of depth to the graphics. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64527_584750-ch20.indd 645 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 646 FIGURE 20.7 The bottom side with all elements in place To create the top side of the box, I selected all the elements on the bottom side and rotate- duplicated them 180 degrees. Normally, when duplicating a bunch of items that I want to move, rotate, or scale, I group them first. However, this wasn’t an option here because that would have moved all the objects to the topmost layer, and I wanted to keep all items on the same layers that they were on originally. Instead, I clicked with the Rotate tool in the middle of the cover portion (I just estimated this); then pressed Alt+Shift (Option+Shift) and dragged from the bottom side to the top, which snapped a copy of the selected artwork up almost exactly in place. To vertically adjust the art into the correct position, I used the up and down arrow keys, which moved the art 1 point per keystroke. To swap out the characters with new ones, I selected each of them, chose File ➪ Place, picked a dif- ferent character, and clicked the Replace check box. Replace automatically applies any transforma- tions to the new image that were applied to the previously placed image. In this case, that included scaling and rotating. Using this technique meant that I had to do only slight tweaking to the placed images on the top side of the box. For the left and right sides, I first created the left side by rotate-duplicating just the logo and char- acters from the bottom 90 degrees. I just replaced the characters and added the smaller back- ground side image. Then I selected the four elements (background image, logo, and two characters) and rotate-duplicated them 180 degrees to create the right side. After replacing the characters on the right side, the box cover was complete, as shown in Figure 20.8. Time to work on the box bottom! 27_584750-ch20.indd 64627_584750-ch20.indd 646 6/3/10 8:05 PM6/3/10 8:05 PM [...]... Effect ➪ Stylize ➪ Drop Shadow: Ctrl (Ô)+Alt (Option)+E (unused command) New in Illustrator CS5 Menu commands that have changed or been added in CS5 are indicated with a * in front of the command 651 IN THIS APPENDIX Learning commands for almost every situation Using functions Saving time with shortcuts Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 Menu Commands TABLE A-1 The File Menu Command Shortcut New Ctrl (Ô)+N New... (toggle) Transparency Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+F10 (toggle) Type ➪ Character Ctrl (Ô)+T (toggle) Type ➪ OpenType Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+Alt (Option)+T Type ➪ Paragraph Ctrl (Ô)+Alt (Option)+T Type ➪ Tabs Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+T TABLE A-9 The Help Menu Command Shortcut Illustrator Help F1 (Windows) Help key or Cmd+? (Mac) 656 Appendix: Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 Toolbox Commands TABLE A -10 Tool Selection Function Shortcut Select... Setup Ctrl (Ô)+Alt (Option)+P File Info Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+Alt (Option)+I Print Ctrl (Ô)+P Exit (Quit) Ctrl (Ô)+Q (under the Illustrator menu for Mac OS X) * In Mac OS X 10. 4 (Tiger), reassign this in the Exposé & Dashboard System Preferences pane; and in Mac OS X 10. 5 (Leopard) and 10. 6 (Snow Leopard), reassign this in the Exposé & Spaces System Preferences pane TABLE A-2 The Edit Menu Command Shortcut... at least 18 points (I used 15 mm, or about 42 points) in the same section 649 Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator FIGURE 20.11 The Marks and Bleeds section of the Save Adobe PDF dialog box with the settings I used for these project files Summary While each project is different, you can use Illustrator effectively by following these guidelines: l l Place-link elements when possible so that your... Front Ctrl (Ô)+F Paste in Back Ctrl (Ô)+B 652 Appendix: Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 Command Shortcut *Paste in Place Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+V *Paste on All Artboards Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+Alt (Option)+V Check Spelling Ctrl (Ô)+I Color Settings Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+K Keyboard Shortcuts Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+Alt (Option)+K General Preferences Ctrl (Ô)+K (under the Illustrator menu for Mac OS X) TABLE A-3 The Object Menu Command Shortcut... Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 TABLE A-7 The View Menu Command Shortcut Outline/Preview Ctrl (Ô)+Y (toggle) Overprint Preview Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+Alt (Option)+Y Pixel Preview Ctrl (Ô)+Alt (Option)+Y Zoom In Ctrl (Ô)++ (plus sign) Zoom Out Ctrl (Ô)+– (minus sign) Fit Artboard in Window Ctrl (Ô)+0 (zero) Double-click the Hand tool *Fit All in Window Ctrl (Ô)+Alt (Option)+0 (zero) Actual Size (100 %) Ctrl (Ô)+1... conflict 655 Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 TABLE A-8 The Window Menu Command Shortcut Align Shift+F7 (toggle) Appearance Shift+F6 (toggle) Attributes Ctrl (Ô)+F11 (toggle) Brushes F5 (toggle) Color F6 (toggle) *Color Guide Shift+F3 Gradient Ctrl (Ô)+F9 (toggle) Graphic Styles Shift+F5 (toggle) Info F8 (toggle) Layers F7 (toggle) Pathfinder Ctrl (Ô)+Shift+F9 (toggle) Stroke Ctrl (Ô)+F10 (toggle) Symbols Ctrl... German translation of the text I colored the German text light blue to match the German tagline from the front of the box Figure 20 .10 shows the final box bottom artwork FIGURE 20.9 The box bottom after the sides have been completed 648 Chapter 20: Illustrator Workflow FIGURE 20 .10 The box bottom with all elements in place Preparing for production I saved both files as PDF files Saving as PDF files allows... out the components in the project first and then set up layers for each of them as appropriate Save your final file as a PDF, using the High Quality Print preset as your base setting Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 I llustrator has more keyboard commands, functions, and shortcuts than ever before The tables in this appendix give you a quick reference to the commands, functions, and shortcuts for both Windows... lot of place-linked files and use all sorts of unusual fonts Even so, I always click the Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities check box in the PDF Options dialog box when saving, so if there are changes after submission, I can make them to the PDF version of the file instead of opening the original Illustrator file and then resaving it as a PDF I usually use the High Quality Print preset, but I . in Illustrator CS5 Menu commands that have changed or been added in CS5 are indicated with a * in front of the command. 28_584750-bapp01.indd 65128_584750-bapp01.indd 651 6/3 /10 8:06 PM6/3 /10. your base setting. 27_584750-ch20.indd 65027_584750-ch20.indd 650 6/3 /10 8:05 PM6/3 /10 8:05 PM 651 Shortcuts in Illustrator CS5 IN THIS APPENDIX Learning commands for almost every situation Using. section. 27_584750-ch20.indd 64927_584750-ch20.indd 649 6/3 /10 8:05 PM6/3 /10 8:05 PM Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator 650 FIGURE 20.11 The Marks and Bleeds section of the Save Adobe PDF dialog box with the settings