209 Lesson 9, Using Effects and Transparency
9
Understanding blending modes is easier when you use the following terminology: the blend color is the original color of an object, in this case, the yellow stroke and blue fi ll.
The base color refers to the underlying color(s), in this case, the maroon and gray. The resulting color is how it appears to the eye.
For specifi c details on the various blending modes, refer to the Transparency and Blending Modes section in the Painting section of the Illustrator CS4 Help Viewer.
4 Choose Normal from the Blending mode drop-down menu in the Transparency panel to return the object to its original state.
5 Return to the Appearance panel and select the Stroke attribute. Open the Transparency panel again and choose Multiply from the drop-down menu. Notice how the stroke now interacts with not only its background, but also the fi ll color. This is because it is located above the fi ll in the hierarchy of the Appearance panel.
6 In the Appearance panel, click and drag the Stroke attribute to below the Fill listing and notice the change in the hexagon’s coloring. Because the stroke is now below the fi ll, it is only blending with the underlying colors.
Move the Stroke attribute to beneath the Fill attribute.
7 Select the Fill attribute and in the Transparency panel, choose Overlay from the Blending Mode drop-down menu. Because the fi ll is above both the stroke and the underlying colors, it blends with both.
Saving and importing graphic styles
Earlier in the lesson, you created the VM Style Yellow Outline graphic style. You can apply that style to objects, groups, and even entire layers. You will apply the style to groups and layers shortly, but fi rst you will learn how to share graphic styles between documents.
1 Press Shift+Ctrl+A (Windows) or Shift+Command+A (Mac OS) to deselect everything in the document.
2 Open the Graphic Styles panel. Ctrl+click (Windows) or Command+click (Mac OS) on all the default graphic styles except the VM Style Yellow Outline style.
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210 Adobe Illustrator CS4 Digital Classroom
3 With the default styles selected, press the Delete Graphic Style button ( ) at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel. When the Delete the Style Selection warning message appears, press OK (Windows) or Yes (Mac OS). You are deleting these styles because you do not want them to be saved as part of your new Graphic Style library.
4 Press the panel menu button ( ) in the upper-right corner of the Graphic Styles panel and choose Save Graphic Style Library.
The Save Graphic Styles as Library dialog box appears. Normally, you are directed to save libraries in your system folder. For this exercise, navigate to the ai09lessons folder. In the Name text fi eld, type ai0901_styles.ai and press Save.
5 Choose File > Save to save your work, then choose File > Close.
6 Choose File > Open. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the ai09lessons folder and select the ai0902.ai fi le. Press Open.
7 Choose File > Save As. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the ai09lessons folder and type ai0902_work.ai in the Name text fi eld. Press Save. When the Illustrator Options dialog box appears, leave the settings at their defaults and press OK. You will now import the Graphic Style library you just saved.
8 Press the Graphic Styles button in the dock ( ) to open the Graphic Styles panel.
Press the panel menu button and choose Open Graphic Style Library > Other Library.
The Select Library dialog box appears. Navigate to the ai09lessons folder, select the ai0901_styles.ai fi le, then press OK. The ai0901_styles.ai graphic styles open in a separate panel.
Applying graphic styles to layers and symbols
In addition to applying graphic styles to a single object, you can also apply them to all objects in a layer. In this example, there are three diff erent logo types, and you are interested in seeing how the same eff ect looks on each of them.
1 Press the Layers button ( ) in the dock to open the Layers panel. Select the Click to Target button ( ) to the right of the Three logos layer name to target the entire layer. All three objects on the artboard are on the same layer and are automatically selected.
Press the Click to Target button to target and thus apply attributes to the entire layer.
2 Select the VM Style Yellow Outline style from the ai0901_styles panel. All three objects now have the same style applied to them.
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Self study
211 Lesson 9, Using Effects and Transparency
9
3 Choose Window > Symbols or press the Symbols button ( ) in the dock to open the Symbols panel. From the default group of symbols, click and drag the Cloud symbol onto the artboard. Notice that the graphic style is automatically applied to the cloud symbol instance you just added to the document. Since you targeted the entire layer, all objects on the layer with a graphic style applied inherit the style’s properties.
If you want to add a new object without the graphic style, the best idea is to place it on a new layer. In this case, you will remove the graphic style from the layer and then reapply it to the three logos as a group.
4 Open the Appearance panel and select the Layer:VM Style Yellow Outline attribute at the top of the panel to select all the objects on your artboard. At the bottom of the Appearance panel, press the Clear Appearance button ( ) to remove the graphic style.
Press the Clear Appearance button.
5 Click anywhere in the background of the document to deselect the objects. Place your cursor above the three logos and click, drag downwards, and release to select them (but not the cloud illustration).
6 Click on the Yellow Outline Graphic Style in the ai0901_styles panel to apply it to the group of three logos.
7 Choose File > Save to save your work, then choose File > Close.
Congratulations! You have fi nished Lesson 9, “Using Eff ects and Transparency.”
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Self study
You can create unique graphic styles for your projects by combining combinations of eff ects, fi lls, strokes, and transparencies. Experiment with the following combinations; when you fi nd ones that you like, be sure to save them into a library for reuse.
1 Open a new Graphic Style library in the Graphic Style panel. The Image Eff ects and Artistic Eff ects libraries are good places to start. Apply a complex graphic style preset to an object and break down the way it was created by looking at the order and properties of the attributes in the Appearance panel. Reverse-engineering the Illustrator CS4 presets is an excellent way to learn useful combinations for your own projects.
2 Create a graphic style that uses a gradient as a fi ll color. Applying this graphic style to rectangles or circles will allow you to make buttons for the Web, for example. Also try applying gradients to text for interesting eff ects, being sure to save the graphic style.
3 Create a bull’s-eye graphic. Use a basic circle shape with a large stroke. Add multiple strokes using the Appearance panel and apply the Transform eff ect, increasing the horizontal and vertical scale as necessary.
Review
Questions
1 What are the attributes of an object and where are they located in Illustrator?
2 After you add an eff ect to an object, what are the steps you need to take to modify the eff ect?
3 What are graphic styles? Name at least one advantage and disadvantage to using preset graphic styles.
4 True or False: The attributes of an object in Illustrator can have multiple levels of transparency.
5 How are graphic styles shared between documents?
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