While I've worked a bit with other components of the Adobe Creative Suite, I was an absolute beginner when it comes to Illustrator, and really needed a simple guide to become familiar with the interface, tools and basic strategies. While I'm primarily interested in After Effects and Premiere Pro and Photoshop, I wanted to learn Illustrator because it's one of the best ways to create some of the elements I'd want to animate in After Effects or include in my composite images in Photoshop, or use as Buttons in Encore CS5 - and if you go through any of the major training textbooks for those programs they will invariably include several elements originally created within Illustrator CS5. Still, Illustrator's not a program you can just jump into, since it's designed for precision - this is not really a free hand or free style drawing or painting program, where you just pick up a pencil and scribble or a brush and express - it's much more like a precision tool-driven drafting, design, and illustration program. Moreover, it's vector based, which means that the shapes and designs you create with it are size independent - and will have the same quality whether they're output in a small format (like on a postcard) or a huge format (like on a poster).
So I needed an introduction, and this is the one I picked. Apart from a few minor gripes, I'm quite happy with it. Unlike other software guides I've tried there's no humor here, and it's strictly business, but is straightforward and practical and clear. Some might call it dry, but what they're aiming for here and manage nicely is clarity and directness and practical impact, a thorough hands-on introduction to the basic tools and possibilities of Illustrator CS5. I've got a lot more to learn, but mostly that'll come from more doing. After working through this book, I have a pretty good idea how Illustrator CS5 works and am no longer an absolute beginner.
The basic pedagogical approach of the Classroom in a Box series is simple: tell 'em what they're going to do, tell them how to do it, then remind them what they've done (and suggest they try it again in different ways, without guidance this time). The emphasis here is on hands-on exposure, rather than explanation. That's good, in many ways, but sometimes I wish they'd tell me why a bit more often, sometimes I wish I had a bit more in the way of explanation. There's usually a bit of explanation at the beginning of each chapter, and then an exercise, and a few little explanatory tips throughout. Still, the emphasis here is on hands-on introductions to the range of tools and features of Illustrator, so that the reader can quickly get a sense of what can be done. It seems to me the basic assumption is that the whys will come later.
Each chapter leads you through the creation of one or more projects that introduce a new set of tools and strategies, from the basics of knowing how the program is set up and how to tailor it for specific needs, through using the selection and arrangement tools, creating and editing shapes, transforming objects and using the tools for drawing and painting and text, and then using layers and perspective and blending tools, and working with brushes and effects and styles and symbols. I really liked their approach in the drawing chapter, that led me through a series of exercises where I was learning to precision trace an established set of curves and lines and shapes - especially since the pen is so useful in Photoshop and After Effects and I've used it quite a bit, but I think I finally understand how to work it and get exactly the curves and lines I want. I will say in general that while occasionally I felt a bit confused when they asked me to do something I didn't understand yet, by the end of the book it was all making sense - the "whys" really did come later.
The opening chapter throws you into a fairly advanced project, and that was where I got stuck the most. Some of the options available in the Illustrator workspace are contextual, so that when I accidentally didn't follow one instruction I could be quickly lost and not know how to do what they asked me to do next. Eventually I figured things out, but it was a bit disorienting, and took a lot longer than the "one hour" they estimated, and it might have helped to have a few more helping hints explaining what to do when I didn't see the options they were asking me to use. But that's a minor gripe, because as the chapters advanced I ran into that less and less, since I was becoming familiar with the interface, and then the instructions had the advantage of leading me as quickly as possible through some very cool examples that I could easily see as applicable to real world uses of this program. The main point of the opening chapter, after all, was to get the reader into doing things quickly so I'd be excited about the possibilities before going back and mastering the basic skills. In that it succeeded quite well, and the rest of the book is more straightforward and step-by-step. The emphasis still stays with exposure over explanation, but for the most part the explanations are superfluous once you've seen how each tool works. Plus, there are several points where the book indicates resources for better understanding the tools introduced. The book comes with a CD that contains all the files needed for following along and completing each of the hands-on examples in the book. Highly recommended for beginners, and for those who are upgrading to Illustrator from an older package and want a refresher.
Author(s): Adobe Creative Team
Edition: 1 Pap/Cdr
Publisher: Adobe Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Commentary: +OCR
Pages: 477
CONTENTS......Page 5
Prerequisites......Page 16
To install the Classroom in a Book files......Page 17
To save current Illustrator preferences......Page 18
Additional resources......Page 19
Adobe certification......Page 21
Beautiful Strokes......Page 23
Shape Builder tool......Page 24
Resolution-independent Effects......Page 25
Integration with Adobe CS Review......Page 26
Lesson overview......Page 27
Working with multiple artboards......Page 29
Creating shapes......Page 30
Working with the Shape Builder tool......Page 31
Working with strokes......Page 33
Working with color groups and recoloring artwork......Page 34
Using Live Trace......Page 36
Using Live Paint......Page 37
Working with the Blob Brush tool......Page 38
Working with type......Page 39
Using the Appearance panel and effects......Page 40
Working with brushes......Page 41
Creating and editing a gradient......Page 42
Working with symbols......Page 44
Working with perspective......Page 45
Lesson overview......Page 47
Getting started......Page 49
Understanding the workspace......Page 52
Working with the Tools panel......Page 53
The Control panel......Page 56
Working with panels......Page 57
Resetting and saving your workspace......Page 61
Using panel menus......Page 62
Using the view commands......Page 63
Using the Zoom tool......Page 64
Scrolling through a document......Page 65
Viewing artwork......Page 66
Navigating multiple artboards......Page 67
Using the Navigator panel......Page 69
Understanding rulers......Page 70
Arranging multiple documents......Page 71
Document groups......Page 74
Searching for a topic in the Search For Help box......Page 76
Exploring on your own......Page 77
Lesson overview......Page 79
Using the Selection tool......Page 81
Using the Direct Selection tool......Page 83
Creating selections with a marquee......Page 84
Creating selections with the Magic Wand tool......Page 85
Selecting similar objects......Page 86
Aligning to a key object......Page 87
Distributing objects......Page 88
Aligning to the artboard......Page 89
Group items......Page 90
Adding to a group......Page 91
Arrange objects......Page 93
Hiding objects......Page 94
Applying selection techniques......Page 95
Exploring on your own......Page 97
Lesson overview......Page 99
Creating a document with multiple artboards......Page 101
Working with basic shapes......Page 103
Understanding drawing modes......Page 104
Creating rectangles......Page 105
Creating rounded rectangles......Page 108
Creating ellipses......Page 109
Creating polygons......Page 110
Draw Inside mode......Page 111
Changing stroke width and alignment......Page 114
Working with line segments......Page 115
Joining paths......Page 117
Creating Stars......Page 118
Using the Eraser tool......Page 119
Using the Width tool......Page 120
Working with the Shape Builder tool......Page 124
Working with Pathfinder effects......Page 127
Working with shape modes......Page 129
Using Live Trace to create shapes......Page 131
Exploring on your own......Page 133
Lesson overview......Page 135
Getting started......Page 137
Adding artboards to the document......Page 138
Editing artboards......Page 139
Renaming Artboards......Page 142
Working with rulers and guides......Page 143
Scaling objects......Page 144
Reflecting objects......Page 147
Rotating objects......Page 148
Distorting objects......Page 149
Shearing objects......Page 151
Positioning objects precisely......Page 152
Changing the perspective......Page 153
Multiple transformations......Page 155
Using the Free Distort effect......Page 156
Exploring on your own......Page 157
Lesson overview......Page 159
Getting started......Page 161
Creating straight lines......Page 163
Creating curved paths......Page 164
Building a curve......Page 166
Converting curved points to corner points......Page 168
Selecting a curve......Page 171
Drawing a curved shape......Page 172
Drawing different kinds of curves......Page 173
Drawing the violin shape......Page 174
Creating the strings......Page 176
Adding arrowheads......Page 177
Creating a dashed line......Page 179
Editing curves......Page 180
Deleting and adding anchor points......Page 181
Convert between smooth points and corner points......Page 183
Drawing with the Pencil tool......Page 185
Editing with the Pencil tool......Page 186
Assembling the parts......Page 187
Exploring on your own......Page 189
Lesson overview......Page 191
Understanding color......Page 193
Understanding the color controls......Page 194
Building and saving a custom color......Page 197
Editing a swatch......Page 198
Using Illustrator swatch libraries......Page 199
Creating a spot color......Page 200
Using the Color Picker......Page 201
Creating and saving a tint of a color......Page 202
Creating color groups......Page 203
Working with the Color Guide panel......Page 205
Editing a color group......Page 206
Editing colors in artwork......Page 209
Working with the Kuler panel......Page 211
Assigning colors to your artwork......Page 213
Applying existing patterns......Page 216
Creating your own pattern......Page 218
Editing a pattern......Page 219
Creating a Live Paint group......Page 221
Editing Live Paint regions......Page 223
Working with Gap Options......Page 225
Exploring on your own......Page 226
Lesson overview......Page 229
Getting started......Page 231
Creating point type......Page 232
Creating area type......Page 233
Importing a plain text file......Page 234
Creating columns of text......Page 235
Understanding text flow......Page 236
Working with overflow text and text reflow......Page 237
Threading text......Page 238
Resizing type objects......Page 239
Formatting type......Page 241
Changing the font size......Page 243
Changing additional text attributes......Page 244
Changing paragraph attributes......Page 246
Creating and using a paragraph style......Page 248
Creating and using a character style......Page 249
Sampling text......Page 250
Reshaping text with an envelope warp......Page 251
Creating text on open paths......Page 254
Creating text on closed paths......Page 255
Creating text outlines......Page 257
Exploring on your own......Page 259
Lesson overview......Page 261
Getting started......Page 263
Creating layers......Page 265
Moving objects and layers......Page 267
Locking layers......Page 268
Viewing layers......Page 269
Pasting layers......Page 271
Creating clipping masks......Page 274
Merging layers......Page 275
Applying appearance attributes to layers......Page 277
Isolating layers......Page 279
Exploring on your own......Page 281
Lesson overview......Page 285
Understanding perspective......Page 287
Using a preset grid......Page 288
Editing the Perspective Grid......Page 289
Drawing objects in perspective......Page 292
Selecting and transforming objects in perspective......Page 294
Attaching objects to perspective......Page 299
Editing planes and objects together......Page 300
Adding and editing text in perspective......Page 305
Transforming Symbols in perspective......Page 307
Release content from perspective......Page 310
Exploring on your own......Page 311
Lesson overview......Page 313
Getting started......Page 315
Creating and applying a linear gradient......Page 316
Adjusting the direction and angle of a gradient blend......Page 319
Creating a radial gradient......Page 320
Changing colors and adjusting the gradient......Page 321
Applying gradients to multiple objects......Page 324
Adding transparency to gradients......Page 328
Working with blended objects......Page 330
Creating a blend with specified steps......Page 331
Modifying the blend......Page 332
Creating smooth color blends......Page 334
Exploring on your own......Page 336
Lesson overview......Page 339
Getting started......Page 341
Using Calligraphic brushes......Page 342
Editing a brush......Page 343
Remove a brush stroke......Page 344
Drawing with the Paintbrush tool......Page 345
Editing paths with the Paintbrush tool......Page 346
Create an Art brush......Page 348
Edit an Art brush......Page 349
Changing bristle brush options......Page 350
Painting with a Bristle brush......Page 351
Using Pattern brushes......Page 353
Creating a Pattern brush......Page 355
Applying a Pattern brush......Page 357
Changing a brush color using Tints colorization......Page 359
Changing the brush color using Hue Shift colorization......Page 361
Working with the Blob Brush tool......Page 362
Merging paths with the Blob Brush tool......Page 363
Editing with the Eraser tool......Page 364
Exploring on your own......Page 366
Lesson overview......Page 369
Getting started......Page 371
Applying an effect......Page 372
Editing an effect......Page 374
Styling text with effects......Page 375
Editing shapes with a Pathfinder effect......Page 378
Offsetting paths......Page 379
Applying a Photoshop effect......Page 381
Creating a revolved object......Page 384
Changing the lighting of a 3D object......Page 386
Mapping a symbol to the 3D artwork......Page 387
Exploring on your own......Page 390
Lesson overview......Page 393
Getting started......Page 395
Editing and adding appearance attributes......Page 396
Reordering appearance attributes......Page 398
Adding an additional stroke and fill......Page 399
Using graphic styles......Page 400
Creating and saving a graphic style......Page 401
Applying a graphic style to a layer......Page 402
Applying existing graphic styles......Page 405
Adding to an existing graphic style......Page 407
Copying, applying, and removing graphic styles......Page 409
Exploring on your own......Page 412
Lesson overview......Page 415
Getting started......Page 417
Using existing Illustrator symbol libraries......Page 418
Creating symbols......Page 421
Editing a symbol......Page 422
Breaking a link to a symbol......Page 424
Replacing symbols......Page 425
Spraying symbol instances......Page 426
Editing symbols with the Symbolism tools......Page 429
Copy and edit symbol sets......Page 431
Storing and retrieving artwork in the Symbols panel......Page 432
Symbols and Flash integration......Page 433
Exploring on your own......Page 437
Lesson overview......Page 439
Working with Adobe Bridge......Page 441
Vector versus bitmap graphics......Page 443
Placing a Photoshop file......Page 445
Duplicating and editing a placed image......Page 446
Embed a Photoshop image with Layer comps......Page 448
Applying color edits to a placed image......Page 450
Editing a mask......Page 452
Masking an object with multiple shapes......Page 453
Release a mask......Page 454
Creating an opacity mask......Page 455
Sampling colors in placed images......Page 458
Replacing a placed, linked image......Page 459
Exporting a layered file to Photoshop......Page 460
Illustrator and Adobe Flash Catalyst......Page 461
Exploring on your own......Page 462
A......Page 465
B......Page 466
C......Page 467
D......Page 468
F......Page 469
J......Page 470
M......Page 471
P......Page 472
S......Page 474
T......Page 476
Z......Page 477
