Teach Yourself ILLUSTRATOR 7 in 24 hours

With the release of Illustrator 7, Adobe has completed a tightly integrated trio of applications(Photoshop 4, PageMaker 6.5, and now Illustrator) that all work in the same way. Most keycommands are the same across all applications, and palettes look and work the same. Theapplications are truly cross-platform, working virtually identically on both the Macintosh andWindows 95/Windows NT platforms. If you are already familiar with Photoshop, many thingswill be familiar to you as you learn Illustrator....
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Teach Yourself ILLUSTRATOR 7 in 24 hoursteachyourselfILLUSTRATOR 7 in 24 hours by Mordy GoldingHOUR 1GETTING TO KNOW ILLUSTRATORWith the release of Illustrator 7, Adobe has completed a tightly integrated trio of applications(Photoshop 4, PageMaker 6.5, and now Illustrator) that all work in the same way. Most keycommands are the same across all applications, and palettes look and work the same. Theapplications are truly cross-platform, working virtually identically on both the Macintosh andWindows 95/Windows NT platforms. If you are already familiar with Photoshop, many thingswill be familiar to you as you learn Illustrator.If you are already an Illustrator user, you will need to adjust to version 7s new interface, and itsmetaphors. And for those new to Illustrator in general, this chapter will deal with how Illustratorworks, and how it differs from other graphics programs.This hour, we will learn about:* Raster and vector images* Illustrators environment* Illustrators tools and palettes* Views in IllustratorNOTE: Illustrator 7 is a major program upgrade. Whereas the last Macintosh version was 6, thelast Windows version of Illustrator was 4.1. Version 7 finally brings identical features to bothplatforms while sporting a completely revised user interface. If youve used Illustrator before,you may go through a short transitional phase to get used to working in version 7.RASTER VS. VECTORIn the ever-growing world of computer graphics, there are two types of images -- raster andvector. Some programs that create raster images (also known as pixel or paint images) arePhotoshop, MacPaint, PC Paintbrush, or Painter. Some programs that create vector art (alsoknown as object-oriented art) are Illustrator (thats us!), FreeHand, MacDraw, and Expression.Other programs, such as Canvas and CorelDRAW, have tools to create both raster and vectorimages.Raster ImagesRaster images are made up of a whole lot of tiny dots, called pixels. To illustrate this concept, wewill use a sheet of graph paper. Each square on the sheet represents one pixel (see Figure 1.1).Lets start simple and create a black and white circle that is 20 pixels in diameter (see Figure 1.2).The number of pixels determines the resolution of your file. The computer stores this file byrecording the exact placement and color of each pixel. The computer has no idea that it is acircle, only that it is a collection of little dots. HOUR 1 Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2Each pixel has a coordinate, and the contents of that pixel are recorded and saved in a file.In this example, we see each individual pixel, and the circle is very blocky. By adding morepixels, thereby increasing the resolution, we can make that same circle appear smoother becausethe pixels are much smaller. Of course, the higher your resolution is, the larger your file size willbe because the computer has many more pixels to keep track of.Where the problem arises is when you try enlarging a raster image. Because the resolution is set,when you scale the art, in reality, you are just enlarging the pixels, which results in a jaggy (orpixelated) image. HOUR 1Vector Images: An Objective ApproachVector art is different in that instead of creating individual pixels, you create objects, such asrectangles and circles. By noting the mathematical coordinates of these shapes, a vector programcan store files in a fraction of the space as raster images, and more importantly, be able to scaleimages to virtually any size without any loss in detail.Unlike raster images, the vector circle appears smooth at 100% (left) and just as smooth whenenlarged 800% (right).THE ILLUSTRATOR WORKPLACENow that we know all about Illustrator, lets actually open it up and see what it has to offer. If itisnt already installed, follow the instructions that came with Illustrator to install it on yourcomputer. Now, lets launch Adobe Illustrator 7.NOTE: If youve launched Illustrator before, or if youre working on someone elses computer,its a good idea to trash your Adobe Illustrator Prefs file (in System Folder > Preferences folder)so that what you see pictured in this book matches what you see onscreen. Also, if Illustratorseems to be acting weird, or even crashing often, trashing the preferences and restartingIllustrator usually clears things up.The next time you launch Illustrator, a sparkling new Preferences file is automatically created.TIP: Did you know that you can edit Illustrators Preferences file? If youre the daring type, openthe file in a text editor and you can make changes, such as turning off warning dialog boxes.After viewing the beautiful Illustrator splash screen and trying to read all the names of theprogrammers to see whether you know any of them, you are presented with Illustrators workingenvironment and an open Untitled document--were ready for action. HOUR 1The Illustrator WindowFirst, lets take a tour of the Illustrator window. Well start with a general look at Illustrator andthen go into more detail about each part.Across the top of the screen is the menu bar, which contains Illustrators commands andessentials such as printing, saving, copying, and pasting.Directly underneath is the document window, which is the actual Illustrator file. In the title bar ofthe document window is the filename and the percentage at which it is currently being viewed.On the far left of the screen is a tall narrow strip of boxes. This is the Toolbox which contains thetools you will use to work in Illustrator.In the center of your screen you will see the page border of your document. You can change thepage size to fit whatever you might need--anywhere from 2x2 inches ...