Introduction to Adobe Illustrator for Graphic Designs

Introduction to Adobe Illustrator for vector illustrations, logos and icons. Using the application, basic tools, shapes, layers and filters.

Adobe Illustrator is a very similar application to Adobe Photoshop in its appearance and layout. Illustrator is a vector-based graphics tool, whereas Photoshop is raster or pixel-based. 

Vectors are built up from mathematical lines and curves, which makes them resolution-independent. A vector can be resized unlimitedly, and there will be no loss in quality. 

Pixel-based images are built up from a bunch of tiny dots. As you resize the image, the dots become larger and blocky, and the image loses quality. This loss of quality is known as pixelation. Pixelation occurs when the individual pixels that make up an image become visible to the naked eye, resulting in a jagged, rough appearance. This is why pixel-based images are not suitable for resizing or scaling up without losing quality.

Adobe Illustrator can create freehand vector artwork, trace existing artwork, and create logos, icons and complex shapes. For example, you can use Illustrator to create a detailed illustration, a simple logo, or a complex infographic. The versatility of Illustrator allows you to create a wide range of artwork, from simple to complex.

As with Adobe Photoshop, there are tons and tons of features in Adobe Illustrator. These features are designed to enhance your design process and make it more efficient. For example, you can use the Pathfinder tool to combine or subtract shapes, or the Live Paint tool to fill shapes with color. This is just a simple overview of the application with more detailed tutorials to follow.

Adobe Illustrator Workspaces

The workspace of Adobe Illustrator is designed to be user-friendly, similar to Photoshop. You can easily switch between different workspace presets on the top right-hand side, adapting the tool options and layouts to your specific task, whether it's tracing, freehand design, or icon design. 

You will find options for the currently selected tools at the top. This can be things like brush size, zoom levels and so on. As with Photoshop, the layers and swatches can be seen on the right-hand side.

Creating New Documents and Opening Existing in Adobe Illustrator

There are lots of different options for creating a new document window. Most of these will remain the same, except for the document size, which you must specify.

There is an option to select a profile. You can create a document for print, web, devices and video/film. These options control the base size and resolution of the document. 99% of the time, you will use the print profile as this gives good all-around quality and can be downsized more quickly than the other profiles that can be upscaled.

You can also select the units of measure which define how sizes will be measured. You can set this manually to whichever unit you choose to measure distance in, or it will be applied when selecting a profile. Typically, when working with print, you will use centimetres or inches, while with the web, you will use pixels.

Finally, you can select the colour space to use - usually RGB or CMYK. These are explained in the colour theory tutorial.

Drawing in Adobe Illustrator

There are a few essential drawing tools that you can use. The first we are going to look at is the basic rectangle tool. This tool allows you to draw rectangles and squares. You can drag a rectangle on the canvas, or if you know the exact size you require, you can single-click the canvas. Single clicking will cause a dialogue box to show, prompting you for the size. Basic circles and polygons can be added in the same way. Each tool in Illustrator has its own unique function, and understanding how to use them effectively is essential for creating your designs.

Changing the colour of shapes is done by using the fill and stroke options in the bottom left. The fill is the interior colour of the shape, and the stroke is the outline or border. From the dialogue, you can pick any colour you want. You can also select no colour by clicking on the box with the red line through it. You can also change the stroke thickness. Clicking on background or foreground colours will show a colour picker dialogue where you can select a new colour.

You can select objects by clicking on them with the arrow selection tool, and once selected, you can resize them by clicking and dragging the corners. To rotate an object, you can click and drag just outside the corner; the mouse pointer shape will change to indicate turning.

You can also select objects with the direct selection tool with many lines. This allows you to choose the individual nodes of the shape. Each shape is built from lines, and each line starts and ends with a node. You can now move a node to deform the shape into any other shape you want.

Combining Shapes with Adobe Illustrator

You may often need to combine shapes to form a composite shape. Shapes can be combined once drawn onto the canvas. Combining is done from the Window menu by selecting Path Finder. This will open a new window with four modes - unite, minus front, intersect and exclude all.

The union will create a new object, which combines the selected objects.

Subtract will remove the area of the top object in the selection from the object below, over which it overlaps.

Intersect will create a new object consisting of only the area where all selected objects overlap.

Exclude performs the opposite of Intersect - the new object will contain the areas NOT overlapped by the selected objects.

You can also use the Shape Builder tool, which will pick out intersected shapes and allow you to select an intersection. Clicking on an intersection will create a new shape for you.

Using the Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator

The pen tool is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox. There is also much mystery surrounding the tool; some need help understanding its concepts. It takes some time to get used to it and pick up the basics. 

The pen tool is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox. It works by creating anchor points. Anchor points define the start and end of a line segment or the curvature of a curve. These points are connected with lines. All you need to do is point and click; each anchor point created will be automatically linked to the previous one. You then return to the first point to close the shape. You can now use this shape in the same way as any other shape. Understanding how anchor points work is crucial for mastering the Pen Tool.

Under the pen tool, there is a flyout menu that allows you to add and delete anchor points, and there is the anchor point itself. You can add points by clicking anywhere on the lines between points and delete a point by clicking on it.

The anchor tool allows you to modify the actual lines between points. After selecting the tool, you can see the mouse pointer change when you hover over a line. You can adjust the line and create a curve by clicking and dragging. You will also see handles appearing from each node. These allow you to change the direction and strength of the curve. The best way to learn this bit is to try it out and see how the curves change.
  

Creating and Using Guides in Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator will often find edges and object centres for you automatically. This is handy for aligning lines and objects. Illustrator will "snap" to these alignments when you move or rotate for more accurate results.

You can also turn on a grid by going to the view menu, selecting Show Grid, or pressing Ctrl+#. This is also handy for lining up distant objects.

Transforming Objects with Adobe Illustrator

We've already seen how to scale and rotate, but you can perform other object transformations.

Once you select an object or objects, you can transform it from the Object menu, Transform and choose one of the basic transformations. 

Colouring in Adobe Illustrator

Shapes can be coloured using the simple colours described above. However, it is common to apply some more graphical shading and patterns. This can be done by selecting a shape and selecting the gradient tool from the left-hand side tools panel or on the right. This will open up a new property panel on the right-hand side. From here, you can select the gradient type and colours. Now click and drag on the shape where the gradient should start and end. Like Photoshop, you can create gradients with more than two colours and apply one of the preset gradients. 

Applying Effects in Adobe Illustrator

There are lots of different effects that can be applied to a shape. These range from a simple drop shadow to more complex effects. Effects can be used from the Effect menu. Effects range from 3d and 2d transformations, stylise, blurs and textures.

Layers in Adobe Illustrator

Layers in Illustrator are different to the layers in Photoshop. In Illustrator, multiple objects can be selected individually within the same layer, while in Photoshop, every action on a layer becomes that layer. In the layers window, you can expand a layer to see the objects, like layers within layers. 

By changing the order of the layers, you can determine which object is on top. An example of this is shown below.