89 Best-Selling Adobe Illustrator Books of All Time - BookAuthority
Looking for:
Adobe illustrator cs4 shape builder tool free |
Adobe illustrator cs4 shape builder tool free -
How to do everything adobe illustrator cs4 mar by Peter Gregor - Issuu
It includes the use of layers, Rulers, grids, placing objects and the Measurement tool. To complete the module some of Illustrator's handy tools are demonstrated, including saving images for the web, saving in other formats, drawling graphs, adding arrowheads to lines, using Photoshop effects and saving styles.
Currency Calculator. Module 2 covers advanced Adobe Illustrator CS4 features. Module 1 Introduces the different components of the Illustrator screen, drawing simple shapes, using the Ruler and Grid, entering and formatting text, copying and moving objects, using the Paintbrush, Pencil and Blob Brush Tools, using Live Paint, applying Fill and Gradient effects, creating 3D shapes, using images and symbols, applying distorting effects on shapes and using layers.
Module 2 Covers using the Pen Tool, applying the Mesh Tool, displaying shapes in envelopes, Live Tracing, creating Masks, applying blends, adjusting Paths, creating realistic 3D shapes, using multiple Artboards in documents, using the Artboard Tool, creating accurate designs, saving images for the web, drawing graphs, applying Photoshop effects and applying Graphic Styles.
Module 1 Chapter Descriptions Chapter 1: Introduction to Adobe Illustrator This chapter introduces the Adobe Illustrator screen ad its basic tools for drawing lines, arcs, rectangles, ovals, polygons, stars, etc, and how these shapes can be edited. Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. Chapter 1: Introduction to Adobe Illustrator 24 pages. Chapter 3: Combining Objects into Designs 12 pages. Chapter 4: Drawing and Painting Tools 16 pages.
Chapter 5: Using the Blob Brush Tool 14 pages. Chapter 6: Fills, Gradients and Effects 20 pages. Chapter 7: Creating 3D Shapes 15 pages. Chapter 8: Images and Symbols 16 pages. Chapter 9: Distorting Shapes 16 pages. Chapter Using Layers 20 pages. Chapter The Pen Tool 20 pages. Chapter Using Envelopes 12 pages. Chapter Live Tracing 20 pages. Chapter Creating Masks 18 pages. Chapter Blends and Paths 20 pages. If you select all the paths before merging, then there would be a performance overhead.
By default, the tool is in merge mode, where you can combine different paths. The pointer in this mode appears as. To break or extract the region from the rest of the shape, move the pointer and click the selected region.
To merge paths, drag along the region and release the mouse, the two regions get merged to form a new shape. The art style of the object from where the mouse drag was initiated is applied to the merging shapes.
If no art style is available on mouse down, then the art style available on mouse release is applied to the merging shapes. If no art style is available on mouse down or mouse release, then the art style of the topmost selected object in the Layers panel, is applied. For details, see Setting the Shape Builder tool options. The Hand Tool Use the Hand tool to reposition your view of the artboard by dragging the view up, down, left, or right.
As you drag, the artboard within the work area shifts and will stay in the new position when you release your mouse. When you release your mouse, the cursor returns to the previous tool you were using. The Navigator Panel The Navigator panel, shown in Figure , allows you to quickly view a thumbnail of your work and adjust the magnification. A colored box in the thumbnail view shows your location on the image. The panel also has a zoom slider, zoom buttons, and the current zoom magnification.
The Info Panel The Info panel displays information about selected objects as well as any area in the workspace directly below the position of the pointer. Rulers, Grids, Guides, and Smart Guides When opening a new document, the document rulers, guides, and grids are hidden from view. These visual aids are a must when creating art that requires precision alignment. Each can be easily turned on and off, and customized to meet your every need. The rulers will automatically display the unit of measure selected when you created the document points, picas, inches, millimeters, centimeters, or pixels.
To see special artboard rulers directly above and along the left edge of your artboard, select View Show Artboard Rulers. Guides Once your rulers are displayed, you can easily drag nonprinting vertical and horizontal guides into the page to assist you with the alignment and placement of objects and text.
To create a guide, click the inside of the top or left ruler and drag your mouse into the workspace. Drag the guide indicator into the desired position on your artboard and then release. Repeat this process to bring additional guides into the workspace as needed. Figure shows a document with two guides in place and a third in the process of being placed. Guides can display as either lines or dots and in any color.
N To lock and unlock guides, select View Guides Lock. Snap to Grid When grids are visible, you can specify that Illustrator snaps objects to the gridlines when repositioning objects in the workspace. The grid need not be horizontal! Once you click OK to close the dialog box, the grid will display at the new angle. So awesome! Smart Guides Smart Guides are visual aids that assist you with the creation, placement, alignment, transformation, and editing of objects.
You can then drag objects to the desired position in the workspace and have them snap into place when the mouse pointer moving the object gets within 2 pixels of the anchor point. You can actually feel the snapping occur with your mouse! The default full-color view of your page is called Preview mode. You can change this view to Outline mode so you see only the outlines, or paths, of your work without any color, gradients, or patterns applied to the fill or stroke.
To switch from Preview to Outline mode, select View Outline. To return to Preview mode, select View Preview. Figure shows an object in both Preview and Outline mode. Print Tiling Tool The Print Tiling tool, located in the flyout menu under the hand tool on the Tools panel, lets you adjust the printable area of your artboard, which by default matches the size of the artboard s minus any margins as specified by your chosen printer.
To adjust the printable area, select the Print Tiling tool and click the artboard. Any work that falls outside these printable area guides will not be printed. With multiple artboards, each artboard has its own page tiling printable area that can be adjusted with the Print Tiling tool. The Bridge can be launched from any Adobe CS software application and supports both native Adobe and nonnative file formats. When the Bridge opens, use the Folders panel on the left side of the application to browse for and find folders and files on your computer.
The Content panel in the center of the Bridge will display thumbnail views of your files inside the selected directory. This is a wonderfully powerful program that can streamline your work process and perform tasks such as batch renaming files, let you apply star label ratings to your files, preview files in a Slide Show format, and much more. When the page opens in your browser, click the Adobe Bridge link on the left to expand the navigation menu.
Then click the Working With Adobe Bridge link to begin learning more about this useful tool. The Shape Tools Making shapes in Illustrator is incredibly easy to do! In fact, all of the shape tools work in a similar fashion, so once you learn how to use one, you can apply those same skills to the rest.
The shape tools are all located in the flyout menu under the Rectangle tool. How to Do Everything: Adobe Illustrator CS4 Because Illustrator is a vector-based program, all the shapes are drawn mathematically, which means you can alter the size of them as often as you like without any loss of resolution.
You can even do things like enter the size of the shape in one unit of measure, such as inches, and have Illustrator automatically convert those units into another unit of measure, such as pixels. Once shapes are created, you can modify their strokes and fills and further transform them with the other tools. Figure shows a star can be transformed into something new. For best results, use the following guidelines when working with the shape tools:.
Once the origin is set, drag in any direction to create the desired shape. For instance, drag up or down to create a tall shape, drag to the side to create a wide shape, or drag diagonally to create a more proportioned shape. The SHIFT key also constrains the paths and objects created by the other shape, pen, and line tools by aligning them to the artboard as you drag, or by ensuring the objects conform to or degree angles. N Creating shapes with exact measurements To create shapes with precise dimensions, select the desired shape tool on the Tools panel and click once on the artboard without dragging.
You can see these anchor points and paths as blue lines and blue dots around the edges of any selected object, like the example in Figure The Rectangle Tool Use the Rectangle tool to draw rectangular and square shapes with hard-edged corners. Once you understand how to draw this shape, you can apply the same techniques for drawing shapes with the other tools. Select the Rectangle tool on the Tools panel.
Click and drag your cursor diagonally on the artboard to create the desired shape. Release your mouse to add the shape to the artboard.
In new, blank documents, the Stroke and Fill colors are set to a default white fill with a black 1-pt stroke. When you need to create a rectangle or square using exact width and height measurements, select the Rectangle tool and click once on the artboard, without dragging, in the spot where you want the upper left corner the point of origin of your rectangle to be. Enter the new desired Width and Height along with the desired unit of measure abbreviation, such as 3.
Click the OK button. The new shape will be added to the artboard with the same stroke and fill attributes displaying in the Fill and Stroke boxes at the bottom of the Tools panel. To create a rounded rectangle, select the Rounded Rectangle tool on the Tools panel and click and drag your cursor diagonally on the artboard to create the desired shape. Before you release your mouse, adjust the corner radius of your shape, if desired, by pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard: UP increases the corner radius, DOWN decreases the corner radius, LEFT removes the corner radius to create square corners, and RIGHT adds the maximum amount of curviness to create super-rounded corners.
Figure shows examples of some rounded rectangles with different corner radius sizes. To create a rounded rectangle with a precisely sized corner radius, select the Rounded Rectangle tool and click the artboard. Enter the desired Width and Height with the abbreviated unit of measure, such as 1 in, and then enter the desired Corner Radius size with unit of measure, such as 12 pt or 0.
Click the OK button to add the new shape to your artboard. Once you create a shape, though you can edit it with other tools, there is no way to re-open the rounded rectangle radius dialog box to make precise adjustments to the corner radius. Instead, your options include either creating a new shape with the desired dimensions and corner radius and deleting the old shape , or using a Convert To Shape effect, which can modify any shape into a rectangle, rounded rectangle, or ellipse. To modify a shape using the Convert To Shape effect, select the object to be modified and open the Shape Options dialog box by choosing Effect Convert To Shape and then selecting a shape such as Rounded Rectangle from the submenu.
When the dialog box opens, select Absolute to precisely resize the shape, or choose Relative to modify the size of the shape by adding extra width and height. When applicable, enter the desired Corner Radius. To preview the shape effect, check the Preview checkbox.
To accept the transformation, click the OK button. To reject it, click Cancel. The Ellipse Tool When you need to draw a circle or oval shape, select the Ellipse tool and click and drag on the artboard to create the desired shape. Then, release the mouse to add the shape to the artboard. To create circles and ellipses with exact measurements, select the Ellipse tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Ellipse dialog box. Enter the desired measurements in the Width and Height fields, along with the unit of measure.
For perfect circles, input the same unit, such as 1 in, in both the Width and Height fields. Click OK to add the shape to your artboard.
The Polygon Tool To draw polygons with three or more sides, select the Polygon tool and then click and drag on the artboard to create the desired shape. Before you release your mouse, you can add or subtract. When the shape meets your needs, release your mouse to add the polygon to your artboard. To create polygons with exact measurements, including the desired number of sides, select the Polygon tool and then click, without dragging, on the artboard to open the Polygon dialog box.
Enter a radius with the desired unit of measure, such as 2 in, enter the number of sides for your polygon in the Sides field, and click OK to add the polygon to your artboard. The Star Tool With the Star tool you can draw stars with three or more sides and with any length inner and outer radius for the points.
To create a star, select the Star tool, and then click and drag on the artboard to create a star shape. Before you release your mouse, use the following keyboard shortcuts to add or subtract points as well as increase or decrease the length of the points and center of the star:. When the star has the shape you want, release your mouse to add the shape to your artboard. To draw a star that is perfectly sized with an exact number of points, select the Star tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Star dialog box.
Enter the desired units and the unit of measure in the Radius 1 inner radius , Radius 2 outer radius , and Points number of points fields. Then, click OK to add the star to your artboard. Figure shows a sample of the variety of shapes you can create with the Star tool.
The Flare Tool The Flare tool creates the illusion of a lens flare. To use the Flare. Release the mouse to add the shape to your artboard. For example, Figure shows how different flares look by themselves and on top of other objects. To customize the properties of the flare shape, select the Flare tool and click without dragging on the artboard to open the Flare Tool Options dialog box. Enter the desired settings to the Center, Halo, Rays, and Rings fields.
For best results, enable the Preview checkbox to see the adjustments before you apply them. When satisfied, click the OK button to add the flare to your artboard, and then reposition the object as needed using the Selection tool. The Line Segment Tools Drawing line segments with a vector tool is much simpler than trying to draw them by hand.
The Line Segment Tool To create a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal straight line, select the Line Segment tool, click and drag on the artboard, and release the mouse to add the line segment to your artboard. To draw a line with precise dimensions, select the Line Segment tool and click the artboard to set the point of origin for the line and launch the Line Segment Tool Options dialog box. Enter the desired length and angle for the line. If no stroke color is specified in the Tools panel but a fill color is, click the Fill Line checkbox to fill the line with the current fill color.
Leave it unchecked to fill the line with the color specified for the stroke. Click OK to add the line segment to your artboard. The Arc Tool Use the Arc tool to draw curved line segments.
To draw an arc, select the Arc tool from the Tools panel, click the artboard, and drag to the desired length. After you release your mouse, the arc will be added to the artboard. Enter the desired arc attributes:. N Length X-Axis Enter a number to set the arc width. N Length Y-Axis Enter a number to set the arc height. N Reference Point Click a corner square in the reference point locator to set the point of origin for the arc.
When satisfied, click OK to add the arc to the artboard. Figure shows examples of an open arc, an open arc with fill, and a closed arc with fill. The Spiral Tool To create spirals quickly and easily, select the Spiral tool and do one of the following:.
N Click and drag on the artboard to draw and rotate the spiral. Release the mouse to add the spiral to the artboard. N Click without dragging to set the point of origin for the spiral while opening the Spiral dialog box. Enter the. N Decay Set the decrease in distance between one spiral and the next. N Segments Set the number of spiral segments. Each spiral twist is made up of four segments.
The selected spiral in Figure has ten segments. The Rectangular Grid Tool With the Rectangular Grid tool you can create horizontal and vertical grids with any number of rows and columns. To draw a grid, select the Rectangular Grid tool, click the artboard, and drag out the desired grid shape.
Before releasing the mouse, adjust the number of rows and columns using your arrow keys. To create rectangular grids with exact proportions, select the Rectangular Grid tool and click the artboard to set the point of origin for the grid and to open the Rectangular Grid Tool Options dialog box.
Enter the desired grid settings and when satisfied click OK to add the grid to your artboard:. N Horizontal Dividers Set the number of horizontal dividers to create rows. Enter a Skew number to weight the dividers toward the top or bottom of the grid. N Vertical Dividers Set the number of vertical dividers to create columns. Enter a Skew number to weight the dividers toward the left or right of the grid.
N Use Outside Rectangle As Frame This option draws the grid frame with a separate rectangle shape rather than with individual divider lines. Create a polar grid by selecting the tool and clicking and dragging on the artboard. As you can see in Figure , grids can range from the simple to the complex.
To create a polar grid with more exact measurements, select the Polar Grid tool and click the artboard to set the point of origin for the grid and to open the Polar Grid Tool Options dialog box. Enter the desired grid settings, and then click the OK button to add the polar grid to the artboard:.
Edit the Skew to weight the dividers clockwise or counterclockwise. N Create Compound Path From Ellipses This option draws each circle with its own compound path and fills every other circle with the specified Fill color.
Editing Lines and Shapes After drawing a shape, you can change the color of the stroke and fill, the weight of the stroke, and the shape of the line or path of an object. Colors can be applied with swatches from the Swatches and Color Guide panel, as well as from the Color panel. Stroke properties are made with the Stroke panel. Select the object. Make either the stroke or fill active by clicking the Stroke or Fill box at the bottom of the Tools panel, or inside the Color panel.
Change the color using one of the following methods:. N Select a swatch from the Swatches or Control panel. N Double-click the Stroke or Fill box to open and select a color from the Color Picker dialog box also covered in Chapter 9. To apply a color, click inside the Select Color area to select a color, and then click the OK button. The Stroke Panel The Stroke panel is where you can modify the strokes applied to your objects.
N Miter Limit When the length of a stroke point join is greater than or equal to four times the stroke weight, the miter join automatically converts to a bevel join.
Adjust the limit, which is set to 4 by default, to override this setting. Figure shows examples of each. N Dashed Line Click this checkbox to create a dashed or dotted line instead of a solid line. Use the dash and gap fields to create patterned or irregularly patterned dashed lines.
Combine with cap and join buttons to create rounded or flat dash edges. For example, to create a dotted line, like the one shown in Figure , select Dashed Line, input a 0 pt dash and an 8 pt gap, and then click the rounded caps button.
The Cutting Tools Illustrator has two cutting tools, the Scissors and Knife, which can be used when refining and altering objects. These tools should not be confused with the Slice tools, which are used for creating web graphics and will be covered in Chapter The Scissors Tool The Scissors tool lets you cut along a segment or anchor point but not an endpoint of a selected object and creates open shapes and paths. For example, if you make two cuts along the path of a circle, you can then detach that segment from the whole, as shown in Figure The Knife Tool The Knife tool cuts into objects and paths, both with and without object selection, and creates closed shapes.
Cut objects take on the stroke and fill attributes of the original object. When one or more objects are selected, only those objects can be cut into with the Knife. However, if no objects are selected, the Knife will cut into any object or path that falls under the cut line. Figure shows how a set of objects looks before being cut, when none of the objects are selected as the knife slices through them, and when just the star shape is selected as the knife slices through them.
The next step is to learn how to select an object, or part of an object, so you can edit and manipulate it. The Selection Tools Each of the Selection tools lets you select an entire object, or part of one, to make edits. The tools are mostly located at the top of the Tools panel, with the exception of the Eyedropper tool, which is located a little further down. Fortunately, Illustrator has a shortcut that toggles the currently selected tool with the Selection tool, and this shortcut is even more efficient than changing tools from the Tools panel or using the tool shortcut key such as B for the Paintbrush.
Use the dropdown menu or Next button to select the Selection and Anchor Display options and adjust the settings. When finished, click OK to close the dialog box. The Selection Tool Use the Selection tool the black arrow to select an object in any of the following ways:. N Click the desired object. N Click and drag a selection marquee around the desired object s or path s and then release the mouse.
Isolation Mode Isolation Mode, which will be covered in greater detail in Chapter 7, is used to modify objects in a group, or grouped objects nested inside another group. Make changes to the objects as needed.
To exit Isolation Mode, either doubleclick with the Selection tool on an empty space of the artboard, select Exit Isolation Mode from the context menu, or click the gray arrow, like the one shown in Figure , at the top of the document workspace. The Direct Selection Tool Clicking with the Direct Selection tool lets you select the anchor points or path segments of any object.
You can then reposition those parts separate from the rest of the object. When you click. However, when you click the fill of a filled object, the entire object gets selected.
Figure illustrates how a selected anchor point on a star and a selected path on a circle look before and after being moved with the Direct Selection tool. A selected anchor point appears as a small solid-blue square. By contrast, unselected anchor points on a selected object appear as hollow blue squares. When selecting multiple paths, unfortunately there may not always be a clear visual indication of which paths are selected.
Nonetheless, after selecting multiple paths, you can still click and drag any one of them to move them all at once. With grouped objects, use the Direct Selection tool to select one or more objects within a group.
The Group Selection Tool The Group Selection tool selects objects within a group, groups within nested groups, or multiple groups in the open document. You can also use it to select individual objects inside a blend, clipping mask, or compound path more on those in Chapters 15 and To make a selection with this tool, do one of the following:. N Click an object once in a group to select just that object.
N Double-click an object to select the parent group. Three clicks select both the nested group and the parent group. Figure illustrates what a single-, double-, and triple-click looks like when selecting an object, group, and nested group with the Group Selection tool. Additional clicks will continue adding groups to the selection. Once all the objects or groups are selected, manipulate them as desired, and then click away from the objects to deselect them. If the panel opens minimized, with just the Fill option showing, click the double-sided arrow next to the panel name to expand the panel.
For each of the settings, the tolerance setting determines how similar or dissimilar the individual properties are when making selections. A high tolerance, for example, selects more objects within the range of properties as the original object, while a low tolerance selects fewer objects. Customize the settings as desired, and when finished, close the panel. All your settings adjustments will remain in place until you change them again.
When selecting with the Magic Wand tool, do any of the following:. N Create a selection Click an object with the properties you desire once, and all objects with matching properties will be selected.
The Lasso Tool One of the simplest selection tools, the Lasso, selects any objects that fall inside an invisible selection shape or path you draw with this tool.
Try it! The Eyedropper Tool Like the Magic Wand, the Eyedropper tool works by looking at the properties of the selected object s. However, unlike the Magic Wand, the Eyedropper has the ability to both pick up and apply object attributes, including character and paragraph styles for text! To pick up and apply properties from one object or text to another with the Eyedropper tool when no objects on the artboard are selected, click an object to copy its properties.
As you click, the dropper icon suddenly looks like it has ink inside it! When hovering over text, the dropper icon includes a tiny T. By default, the Eyedropper copies all the properties in a selection. To refine the selection characteristics, edit the settings in the Eyedropper Options dialog box, which can be opened by double-clicking the Eyedropper tool.
When finished, click the OK button to close the dialog box and begin using the new eyedropper options. You can sample RGB colors from anywhere outside the open file, even on your desktop. The sampled color will appear as the stroke or fill in your Tools panel, ready for you to apply it to another object using any of the methods just described. The Select Menu Use the items in the Select menu to quickly access objects in your document. Objects can be selected, reselected, deselected, and inverted, as well as saved and reloaded for later use.
Platformspecific Win or Mac keyboard shortcuts, when applicable, are. N All In Active Artboard Selects only the objects and paths on the active artboard in the open active document. N Next Object Above Selects the next object above a selected object, relative to their stacking order on the artboard. N Next Object Below Selects the next object below a selected object, relative to their stacking order on the artboard. N Same Selects all the objects that have the same attributes as a selected object.
N Save Selection To save a selection for later reuse, select any combination of objects in your file and choose this option.
When the Save Selection dialog box opens, enter a name for the selection and then click OK. Make and save as many selections as you like. Saved selections are listed at the bottom of the Select menu for easy access. N Edit Selection Rename or delete any of your saved selections in the Edit Selection dialog box, which opens when you select this option. The Pencil Tool The Pencil tool works just like having a pencil in your hand, only you control it with your mouse or with a graphics-tablet stylus if you happen to have a nifty graphics tablet, such as the Graphire from Wacom.
After releasing your mouse, the path is drawn with anchor points at the start and end points, as well as along the curves of the path. The actual number of points on the path depends on the intricacy and length of the line and the settings in the Pencil Tool Options dialog box, which can be opened by double-clicking the. Paths automatically take on the last-used stroke and fill, though once drawn, the color and other properties of the paths can be altered and refined with the other tools.
To watch a video on drawing with the Pencil tool, visit www. However, when the pencil is in close proximity to another actively selected path, the x will disappear and any new drawing with the Pencil will result in the alteration of that selected path, as illustrated in Figure To make a closed path, draw out the desired shape with the beginning and end points at roughly the same spot. Try it and see for yourself how it works. Figure shows how the cursor should look when creating a closed path.
The Pencil is also a very handy editing tool! With it, you can modify any existing selected path or shape, and even connect two separate paths together:.
N Edit a selected shape Draw anywhere on top of the path of a selected shape to redraw that segment of the shape, as in the example in Figure When a merge icon appears next to the icon as seen in Figure , which is a visual indicator that you can successfully connect the paths, release the mouse, and then release the keyboard shortcut. The smoothing process is pretty straightforward.
Select the object to be smoothed. Then, select the Smooth tool. Repeat step 2 until the line has the desired quality. The resulting line will be much smoother and will contain fewer anchor points along the path. Figure shows an example of a path before and after smoothing. To adjust the amount of smoothing, double-click the Smooth tool to open the Smooth Tool Options dialog box.
The Fidelity controls the distance the cursor must be from the original path before it adds new anchor points, and the Smoothness dictates how much smoothing the tool applies. Higher values result in a smoother path. For an alternate way of smoothing paths without removing anchor points on a selected object, try the command: Object Path Simplify.
Make sure the Preview option is checked so you can see the results. Figure shows an example of a path before and after using the Path Eraser tool. The Eraser Tool Unlike the Path Eraser tool, which is really limited to erasing the paths of selected objects, the Eraser tool can erase pretty much anything including paths, fills, objects made up of compound paths or inside clipping paths, and even paths inside Live Paint groups.
The Eraser works slightly differently when objects are selected versus when there are no objects selected on the artboard:. N Erasing without selections To erase anything on the artboard, regardless of stacking order or placement on individual layers, first make sure no objects on the artboard are selected, and then choose the Eraser tool and drag across the area to be erased.
N Erasing with selections To erase a specific object or set of objects, while leaving all other objects on the artboard untouched, select the object s before selecting the Eraser tool, and then drag across them to erase the desired parts.
The leaves in Figure illustrate how easily objects can be modified with the Eraser. In addition to erasing freehand with the preceding methods, you can also erase creatively using the following keyboard shortcuts:.
Figure demonstrates a constrained degree-angle erasure. When you release the mouse, everything inside the marquee disappears! If you happen to be using a graphics-tablet stylus, you can also adjust additional eraser settings, including fixed, random, pressure, stylus wheel, tilt, bearing, and rotation. The Paintbrush Tool The Paintbrush tool lets you add personality and style to your work by stylizing the paths you create.
You can use four different types of paintbrushes in Illustrator shown in Figure , each of which create unique styles of brush strokes:. N Calligraphic Brush Styles paths with an angled point, like a calligraphic pen. Stroke color is applied evenly along the center of the path. N Art Brush An object or shape such as a decorative banner or watercolor splash is stretched along the length of a path.
N Pattern Brush Patterned tiles conform to, and are repeated along, the length of a path. Each pattern brush can include up to five tiles, representing the inner and outer corners, start, end, and sides of the pattern. The style of the brush stroke can either be applied to a path as you draw on the artboard with the Paintbrush tool, or applied separately to any existing selected path through the Brushes panel.
To paint with a preset brush stroke, click the desired stroke in the Brushes D panel, select the Paintbrush tool from the Tools panel, and begin drawing a path on the artboard. To apply a brush stroke to an existing path, select the object s on the artboard and then click the desired brush stroke in the Brushes panel.
In addition, the panel has several buttons and menu options to assist you with selecting and applying strokes:. N Remove Brush Stroke Click here to remove a special brush stroke from any selected object or group of objects and replace it with the default 1-pt black stroke.
N Options of Selected Object Click to access the Stroke Options dialog box for any selected object, and change the stroke of that object without updating the original brush. When the dialog box opens, make adjustments as needed to modify the stroke.
The dialog box looks slightly different depending on the brush type, and contains the same settings used to create the brush. N New Brush Click to create a new custom brush. N Delete Brush Select a brush in the Brushes panel, and then click the trash icon to delete that brush. You may also delete brushes by dragging and dropping them into the trash.
Creating a Custom Brush You can create four custom brush types, each of which has its own Stroke Options dialog box with custom settings. Before you begin, keep in mind the following:.
N For scatter, art, and pattern brushes, you must make the artwork for the brush before you create the brush. N For art and pattern brushes, the artwork for the brushes cannot include working type. N For pattern brushes, you can create up to five tiles of patterns, for the inner and outer corners, start, end, and sides of the pattern.
All the tiles must be added to the Swatches panel as patterns before creating the brushes. N For all brushes that use artwork, the art cannot contain gradients, blends, mesh objects, graphs, placed files, bitmap images, masks, or other brush strokes. N After a brush has been added to the Brushes panel, you can modify the brush settings through the Brush Options dialog box by double-clicking the brush.
To create calligraphic or pattern brushes, click the New Brush button on the Brushes panel. To create art or scatter brushes, select the art before clicking the New Brush button.
Select a brush type in the New Brush dialog box and click OK. In the Brush Options dialog box, name your new brush and adjust the settings as desired. Click OK to add the new brush to the Brushes panel. Custom Calligraphic Brush Create your own calligraphic brush using the settings in the Calligraphic Brush Options dialog box:. N Angle Sets the brush angle of rotation. Enter a number in the Angle field or drag the arrow in the preview window. N Roundness Sets the brush roundness.
Enter a number in the Roundness field or drag a black dot in the preview window. N Diameter Sets the diameter of the brush. Enter a number in the Diameter field or drag the slider.
N Random The brush has a random angle, roundness, or diameter. For instance, a brush with a 10 pt diameter and a 10 pt variation results in a diameter of anywhere between 0 and N Pressure Stylus Users Only The brush has a varied angle, roundness, or diameter set by the pressure applied by a graphics-tablet stylus, based on the value entered, when applicable. N Tilt Stylus Users Only The brush has a varied angle, roundness, or diameter set by tilt of the graphics-tablet stylus. N Bearing Stylus Users Only The brush has a varied angle, roundness, or diameter set by pressure and tilt applied with the graphics-tablet stylus.
N Rotation Stylus Users Only The brush has a varied angle, roundness, or diameter set by the rotation of the graphics-tablet stylus pen tip. N Scatter Controls how closely objects follow the path. N Rotation Controls the angle of rotation of the objects.
N Rotation Relative To Sets the angle of rotation for objects, which can be scattered relative to the path or the page. These settings are identical to the settings of the Calligraphic brush. N Direction Sets the direction the artwork will flow in, relative to the path.
Click on one of the arrow boxes to set the direction for the artwork. N Tile buttons Apply different patterns from the Swatches panel to different parts of a path, as shown in the example in Figure Select each tile to set the pattern from the listing below the tiles. The patterns for the tiles must be rotated in the proper direction and then added to the Swatches panel before you create this type of custom brush.
See Chapter 12 for more on creating patterns. N Fit Sets how patterns are stretched to fit along the path. Stretch To Fit adjusts the length of a pattern to fit the path of the object.
Add Space To Fit inserts empty space between the tiles so the pattern fits proportionally along the path. Approximate Path adjusts tiles to the closest path without altering the tiles by applying the pattern inside or outside the path to keep tiling even. Colorization Options The stroke color appearing in the Stroke box of the Tools panel at the time a stroke is applied with a scatter, art, or pattern brush, along with the colorization method set in the Brush Options dialog box, determines how the stroke appears when it gets applied to a path.
The following options are the same in Scatter, Art, and Pattern brushes:. N None Select this option to keep the colors specified in the brush, rather than overriding them with colorization settings or modifying them using the current stroke color. N Tints Alters the brush stroke with tints of the stroke color. Black is replaced with the stroke color while all other colors are replaced with tints of the stroke color.
This method works well with spot colors. N Tints And Shades Alters the brush stroke with tints and shades of the stroke color.
Comments
Post a Comment