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To: David Toomey
From: Dmitriy Gabriel
Subject: Adobe Illustrator-Final
Date: May 8th, 2011
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to demonstrate my knowledge and fluency with Adobe
Illustrator. First, I will provide a brief background of the program and my experience with
it this semester. Then I will delve into some of its basic functions, which will include
instructions and visual aids. My work is up on my online portfolio (note: I will continue
updating after the semester ends).
My Adobe Illustrator work can be seen here:
http://people.umass.edu/dmitriy/worksamples/illustrator/ai.html.
Introduction
Background
As I already mentioned in the original documentation plan, Adobe Illustrator is the industry
standard vector graphics editor, challenged only by the similarly massive CorelDraw and
Macromedia FreeHand. Graphic designers can do little without Illustrator’s immense
arsenal of features, so many of which continue to elude me to this day. The program has
applications in both business and creative arenas, from logo design to jaw-dropping pieces
of digital art. The 21st century artisan can benefit immensely from a working knowledge of
this program.
The first version of Illustrator was developed in 1986 and launched in 1987. Since then new
versions have been appearing almost annually. Recently Adobe made Illustrator part of the
Creative Suite series, or simply CS. In April 2010 Adobe Systems released CS5, the 15th
generation of the program.
Personal History
I was initially terrified of Adobe Illustrator. I chose the program months ago, before I had a
sound understanding of similar Adobe CS programs. Not to mention, the online video
tutorials did nothing but frustrate and intimidate me further. However, my job became
significantly easier when English 391C: Advanced Software began to cover Photoshop. It is in
Photoshop that I learned some of the series’ building blocks, including Layers, Fill and
Stroke, Eyedropper, etc. After a few weeks of diligent practice I reached a level of
understanding in Photoshop that allowed me to hit the ground running with Illustrator. And
after a period of respectable procrastination I finally began rummaging through online
tutorials.
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My first fully completed tutorial cemented my devotion to Illustrator. The picture was
unintimidating; I was interested in building morale above all else at that point.
Surprisingly, the program came very naturally to me. I finished the illustration in less than
five hours, even while constantly needing to refer to Google for wisdom and guidance. The
final picture was a cartoony sunshine scene, which I thereby titled “Sunshine”. It was
simple, but it soundly solidified my base knowledge. More importantly, it made me
thoroughly addicted. In the next month I would choose Illustrator above all other
obligations on a steady basis.
In the original documentation plan I stated I would demonstrate my knowledge of the
program with one final graphic. Completely forgetting the original goal, I instead opted for
three, all of which I am immensely proud of, and can all be seen on my portfolio. In
addition, I created some graphics for my protosite in English 391C. For all graphics I
provided brief summary, which include background and a quick overview of the tools I
used. All illustrations were completed using Adobe Illustrator CS5. I experienced difficulties
downloading the trial on my home PC; luckily, Creative Suite 5 is available on all Macs and
many PCs in the UMass library.
Under the Hood
To demonstrate my familiarity with the program, I will discuss and explain a handful of
indispensable tools and functions. Explaining every Illustrator feature would take ages, and
frankly, not all features are equally relevant. I will do my best to provide visual assistance
where applicable.
The Interface
The interface of Illustrator is separated into five main areas: Menu bar, Control Palette,
Toolbar, Floating Palette, and Artboard.
Figure 1: Illustrator interface
A
B
D
C
E
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A. Menu bar (top) - In addition to file management, the Menu bar is where the
majority of the program’s features sit. Here you will transform, arrange, splice, and
stylize objects as you see fit. You may also choose what menus and bars appear on
the working area.
B. Control Palette (top, below Menu bar) - includes specific options for the currently
selected tool. For example, if the Type Tool is active, the palette will display options
relevant only to that tool, such as font size and typeface.
C. Toolbar (leftmost side) - The bulk of essential Illustrator tools are located on the
toolbar, including, but not limited to, Selection, Pen, Line, Eyedropper, and Gradient.
Many tools have multiple functions. To access more options click on an icon with a
black arrow in the bottom-right corner, and hold. A pop-up menu appears. Scroll
over the desired option and let go of the mouse to select the new option.
Figure 2: Alternate options for the Rectangle Tool
D. Floating Palette (rightmost side) - This palette emphasizes colors and
organization. Advanced options for Colors, Swatches, Transparency, and Gradient are
found here, as well as Layers. Only one category can be active at one time while still
attached to the palette; click-and-drag an item out of the bar to make it permanently
active.
E. Artboard (middle) - This is your main work area. When you finalize your
illustration and save it in an alternate format, such as JPEG or PNG, only the contents
within the rectangular canvas will be saved (Note: to do this, click File>Save for Web
and Devices…).
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Important basics
In this section I will demonstrate a few of Illustrator’s fundamental functions.
Creating a perfect circle using the Ellipse Tool
1. Hold the Rectangle Tool on the Toolbar and select Ellipse Tool from the list.
2. Set the fill, stroke, width, and other options on the Control Palette.
3. Left-click on the Artboard where you want the shape to begin. Drag the shape in the
direction you want while holding the Shift key.
4. Release the mouse when finished.
Figure 3: Completed circle
Creating a simple shape using the Pen Tool
1. Select the Pen Tool on the Toolbar.
2. Set the fill, stroke, width, and other options on the Control Palette.
3. Left-click on the Artboard where you want the shape to begin. An anchor point
appears. You have two options: straight line, or curved line.
Straight line: left-click on a different part of the Artboard and release. A
straight line with a new anchor point appears.
Curved line: left-click a different part of the Artboard and hold. Move the
mouse in any direction to curve the path and set the direction for the next
anchor point (Note: this step may require some practice).
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Figure 4: Curved line using the Pen Tool
4. Continue creating lines until you are satisfied with your shape. Deselect to leave the
shape open, or click on the original anchor point to complete the shape.
Figure 5: Completed Shape
Adding a 2-color linear gradient to a shape.
1. Drag the Swatches and Gradient menus out of the Floating Palette.
2. Select the shape you wish to add gradient to.
3. Drag-and-drop the colors you want from Swatches to the Gradient window. The
shape changes from solid color to the gradient.
Figure 6: Default black and white linear gradient with green added
4. Delete the colors you do not want by clicking the representative color tag
underneath the gradient bar and clicking the trash icon on the right.
5. Arrange the gradient length and color length on the gradient bar by manipulating
the tags above and below bar, respectively.
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Figure 7: Basic linear bi-color gradient
Shortcuts
Here is a brief list of shortcuts I found useful in streamlining my illustrating process. (Note:
change Cmnd to Ctrl for Windows)
1. Cmnd+V=Selection Tool
2. Cmnd+P=Pen Tool
3. Cmnd+Z=Undo
4. Cmnd+Z+Shift=Redo
5. Cmnd+C=Copy
6. Cmnd+V=Paste
7. Cmnd+[=Move selected item backward
8. Cmnd+]=Move selected item forward
9. Cmnd+(-)=Zoom out
10. Cmnd+(=)=Zoom in
11. Spacebar+click-and-drag=Hand Tool
In Summation
What you just read is a tiny fraction of what Adobe Illustrator is capable of. I wanted to
touch on a handful of important points, and explain how to perform a few basic essential
operations. You can read more on my Illustrator page found in the Work Samples portion on
my portfolio.