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November 19, 2011
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Pen tips
Pen Tips
Pen Tip No. 1
In Adobe® Illustrator®, always click the Direct Selection tool before clicking and drawing with the Pen Tool.
The reason for this is to make sure that when the Ctrl key (Windows®) is pressed (or Command key for Macintosh®), that the next selected tool is the Direct Selection Tool instead of a different, unintended selection tool. While actively making or modifying a path using the pen, pressing Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) will activate the last selection tool used. It is more likely that you will make adjustments to anchor points and control handles while you are drawing than it is that you will move the entire path.
Pen Tip No. 2
Tear off the pen tools in Adobe Illustrator and let it float as its own palette on the workspace.
To do this simply grab the Pen Tool button on the Tool Palette and drag it away from it. Keep it near your drawing.
Pen Tip No. 3
You can make a simulated connector point in Adobe Illustrator using the following technique:
In Illustrator 8 First, click
View > Snap To Point
This provides a means to snap points and and control handles on top of other points. This step is not necessary in Illustrator 7 because "Snap To Point" is the default.
The theory behind this tip is by laying the control handle on top of the third point (the far point in the straight line segment), it is assured that the curve going into the second point will be at a tangent to the straight segment. In Adobe Photoshop®, although there is no provision for snapping a handle over a point, you could drag a handle over a point and come close to it.
Pen Tip No. 4
Although Deneba Canvas™ doesn't have a connector point, it does have an arc tool which places both ends of an open arc so the tangents are at right angles. This makes it easy to create the same effect as a connector point.
To create this effect, first drag out an arc.
Next double-click the arc to place it in edit mode.
Select the point you wish to connect the tangent straight section. Either drag a marquee around it or click it.
This is what the point looks like when it is selected.
Next select the Curve tool. Press Ctrl-Shift (Windows) or Command-Shift (Mac) and click to place the endpoint of the straight section. The tangent line of the point that connects the straight segment to the curved segment can be pulled using Shift-Drag to constrain its movement.
Pen Tip No. 5
Sometimes you may want a point with only one control handle. In Deneba Canvas™ 5 and 6, Macromedia® FreeHand® 8 and CorelDRAW® 8 there are provisions for making one-handled anchor points. In Adobe Illustrator, however, you have to drag the handle over its anchor point to get rid of it:
Pen Tip No. 6
Many times you will want to close an open path (Photoshop users click here for complete instructions). Sometimes it happens that you simply get lost while drawing a path and you find yourself no longer adding points to the path. To restart a path (append to a path) in Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand or CorelDRAW, the technique is basically the same.
1. Position the pen (for CorelDRAW users the Bezier Tool or the Freehand Tool) over an end point in the path you want to restart. When you first click the tool and before positioning the cursor over the end point in the path, the cursor will appear as follows:
2. Except for CorelDRAW while using the Bezier Tool, when you are over the point, the cursor will change to let you know that the next click will append to the path:
3. That is your cue that the next click will append to the path. Click once to restart adding line segments to the path.
4. When you are ready to close the path simply position the cursor over the other end point of the path. When the cursor is over the point it will change to let you know that the next click will close the path:
5. Click once to close the path.
Deneba Canvas™
With Deneba Canvas, restarting or closing an open path is very straightforward. To restart (append to) an open path, simply put the path into edit mode (double-click using the Selection tool), then select the endpoint you wish to resume adding segments to, (click to select it) then select the Curve tool and resume with the next point. When you want to close the path, when the cursor changes to a small crosshair, (below). This means the pointer is directly over an anchor point. The next click (or drag) closes the path:
To close an open path without adding points, put the path into edit mode, then click one of the endpoints with the Curve tool. A new segment will be added joining the endpoints.
Pen Tip No. 7
Here's an undocumented tip for Deneba Canvas. Sometimes you may want to change the angle of a tangent line without changing its length. To do this, select an anchor point and position the mouse pointer just to the right or left until the cursor changes into a hollow arrowhead:
When it does, click and drag the tangent line to change its angle...
The angle of the handle will change, but not its length.
Pen Tip No. 1
In Adobe® Illustrator®, always click the Direct Selection tool before clicking and drawing with the Pen Tool.
| First click the Direct Selection Tool | Then click the Pen Tool |
 |  |
The reason for this is to make sure that when the Ctrl key (Windows®) is pressed (or Command key for Macintosh®), that the next selected tool is the Direct Selection Tool instead of a different, unintended selection tool. While actively making or modifying a path using the pen, pressing Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) will activate the last selection tool used. It is more likely that you will make adjustments to anchor points and control handles while you are drawing than it is that you will move the entire path.
Pen Tip No. 2
Tear off the pen tools in Adobe Illustrator and let it float as its own palette on the workspace.
To do this simply grab the Pen Tool button on the Tool Palette and drag it away from it. Keep it near your drawing.
Pen Tip No. 3
You can make a simulated connector point in Adobe Illustrator using the following technique:
In Illustrator 8 First, click
View > Snap To Point
This provides a means to snap points and and control handles on top of other points. This step is not necessary in Illustrator 7 because "Snap To Point" is the default.
| 1. Drag the first point |  |
| 2. Drag a second point |  |
| 3. Click to place a third point |  |
| 4. Grab the handle of the second point and drag it over the third point. |  |
| 5. When the solid arrowhead cursor changes into a hollow one, the handle is on top of the point. Release the mouse button. |  |
| 6. At this time you can now change the direction of the first curve going into the second point. No matter how you adjust it, there will always be a smooth transition into the straight line segment. |  |
| 7. To reshape the curve, drag the control handle of the first point. |  |
| 8. When the desired shape is attained, release the mouse button. |  |
The theory behind this tip is by laying the control handle on top of the third point (the far point in the straight line segment), it is assured that the curve going into the second point will be at a tangent to the straight segment. In Adobe Photoshop®, although there is no provision for snapping a handle over a point, you could drag a handle over a point and come close to it.
Pen Tip No. 4
Although Deneba Canvas™ doesn't have a connector point, it does have an arc tool which places both ends of an open arc so the tangents are at right angles. This makes it easy to create the same effect as a connector point.
To create this effect, first drag out an arc.
Next double-click the arc to place it in edit mode.
Select the point you wish to connect the tangent straight section. Either drag a marquee around it or click it.
This is what the point looks like when it is selected.
Next select the Curve tool. Press Ctrl-Shift (Windows) or Command-Shift (Mac) and click to place the endpoint of the straight section. The tangent line of the point that connects the straight segment to the curved segment can be pulled using Shift-Drag to constrain its movement.
Pen Tip No. 5
Sometimes you may want a point with only one control handle. In Deneba Canvas™ 5 and 6, Macromedia® FreeHand® 8 and CorelDRAW® 8 there are provisions for making one-handled anchor points. In Adobe Illustrator, however, you have to drag the handle over its anchor point to get rid of it:
| 1. The center point has two handles. Let's get rid of one of them. |  |
| 2. Drag a handle back into the point. |  |
| 3. When the handle is over the point, the cursor changes from a solid arrowhead to a hollow one. Release the mouse button. |  |
| 4. Now you have a one-handled anchor point. |  |
Pen Tip No. 6
Many times you will want to close an open path (Photoshop users click here for complete instructions). Sometimes it happens that you simply get lost while drawing a path and you find yourself no longer adding points to the path. To restart a path (append to a path) in Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand or CorelDRAW, the technique is basically the same.
1. Position the pen (for CorelDRAW users the Bezier Tool or the Freehand Tool) over an end point in the path you want to restart. When you first click the tool and before positioning the cursor over the end point in the path, the cursor will appear as follows:
 | Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8 |
 | Adobe Photoshop 5 |
 | Macromedia FreeHand 8 |
 | CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool |
 | CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool |
2. Except for CorelDRAW while using the Bezier Tool, when you are over the point, the cursor will change to let you know that the next click will append to the path:
 | Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8 |
 | Adobe Photoshop 5 |
 | Macromedia FreeHand 8 |
 | CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool |
3. That is your cue that the next click will append to the path. Click once to restart adding line segments to the path.
4. When you are ready to close the path simply position the cursor over the other end point of the path. When the cursor is over the point it will change to let you know that the next click will close the path:
 | Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8 |
 | Adobe Photoshop 5 |
 | Macromedia FreeHand 8 |
| CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool |
 | CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool |
5. Click once to close the path.
Deneba Canvas™
With Deneba Canvas, restarting or closing an open path is very straightforward. To restart (append to) an open path, simply put the path into edit mode (double-click using the Selection tool), then select the endpoint you wish to resume adding segments to, (click to select it) then select the Curve tool and resume with the next point. When you want to close the path, when the cursor changes to a small crosshair, (below). This means the pointer is directly over an anchor point. The next click (or drag) closes the path:
To close an open path without adding points, put the path into edit mode, then click one of the endpoints with the Curve tool. A new segment will be added joining the endpoints.
Pen Tip No. 7
Here's an undocumented tip for Deneba Canvas. Sometimes you may want to change the angle of a tangent line without changing its length. To do this, select an anchor point and position the mouse pointer just to the right or left until the cursor changes into a hollow arrowhead:
When it does, click and drag the tangent line to change its angle...
The angle of the handle will change, but not its length.
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials - lesson 5
Lesson 5 - Advanced topics
Exercise 1 - Creating Color seps
- Save a file as EPS.
- (5.5 only) Launch Separator.
- Print. In Illustrator 6.0 or newer, color-separation controls are available in the Print dialog.
Remember that you should pre-separate photographs by saving them as CMYK in a program such as Photoshop before placing them in Illustrator.
Exercise 2 - creating a chart
- Draw one side of a tree with the
freehand drawing tool.
Make sure it is selected. Hold the Alt key and click on it with the
Reflect tool.
Select Axis:Vertical and click Copy to create the other side of the tree. Add a brown trunk if you wish.
- make a rectangle around it, with no fill, no stroke, send it to the back (Control -)
- Object:Graph:Design
- Select the Chart Tool. Click on your page. Enter (or import) chart data. Click OK.
- Object:Graph:Columns. Select your design. Choose the “Vertically Scaled” option. Click OK.
Here’s another example. using a different type of graph. This time, we’re repeating the graphic instead of stretching it. Create your design as in steps 1 - 4, above. Choose the Repeating design. Enter a 1 in the "each number represents x units" field. Click OK.
Exercise 3 - Placing a bitmap "over" a drawing
- In Photoshop, convert drawing to Bitmap
- Save as EPS. Set "Make Whites transparent."
- Place in Illustrator
Layers
(Parts of this section are paraphrased from the excellent book, The Illustrator Wow Book, by Sharon Steuer.) Layers can simplify and enhance the Illustrator working environment significantly.
Layers themselves are quite easy to use, once you’re in the habit. One of the beautiful aspects of Illustrator’s implementation of multiple layers is that you cannot move objects to locked or hidden layers. That might seem like an unnecessary restraint, but in Aldus FreeHand the opposite approach results in objects mysteriously disappearing into hidden layers.
Though the Layers palette is a relatively new addition, Illustrator has always provided a powerful and flexible drawing environment to manage the stacking order of objects. The seemingly straightforward commands Hide, Show, Lock, Unlock (from the Arrange menu), and Paste InFront and PasteInBack (from the Edit menu) offer considerable control over Illustrator objects. Even though you can now benefit fully from the newer layers functions discussed at length in this chapter, the original secret powers are still well worth learning:
Paste In Front, Paste In Back (
-F, -B) Even if you use a million layers to separate objects, you will still need these two functions. They don’t merely paste an object in front of or behind all other objects; they paste exactly in front of or behind the object you select. The second, and equally important, aspect is that the two functions paste objects that are cut ( -X) or copied ( -C) in the exact same location (in relation to the page margins). This ability applies from one document to another, ensuring perfect registration and Layers palette basics:
-F, -B) Even if you use a million layers to separate objects, you will still need these two functions. They don’t merely paste an object in front of or behind all other objects; they paste exactly in front of or behind the object you select. The second, and equally important, aspect is that the two functions paste objects that are cut ( -X) or copied ( -C) in the exact same location (in relation to the page margins). This ability applies from one document to another, ensuring perfect registration and Layers palette basics:- A dot under the Eye means a layer is visible; a dot under the Pencil means it’s unlocked.
- Click to place dots in, or remove them from, the Eye or Pencil columns. Or, click-drag up and down to remove dots or place them in multiple layers.
- Double-click on a layer to open that layer’s print and view preferences.
- Shift-click to select multiple layers, then let go of the Shift key. When multiple layers are selected, if you then click on the Eye or Pencil itself, you will hide/ lock all layers that are not selected. Double-clicking on one layer will access Preferences, which you can set for all the selected layers.
Shortcut keys can be handy here:
- Unlock and show all layers (
- unlock and show all objects (
In the dialog box which then appears, click to Replace the selected EPS with this new one. If you didn’t intend to replace an EPS, click Ignore (which places the new EPS in addition to the one that was selected), or just Cancel. To move a selected object to another layer: open the Layers palette, grab the colored dot to the right of the object’s layer and drag it to the desired layer. To move a copy of an object: hold down the Alt key while you drag.
Making Gradients
Make your own gradients by placing and spacing pointers representing colors along the lower edge of the color scale in the Gradient palette, or by adjusting the midpoint of the color transition as a result of sliding the diamond shapes along the top of the scale. Illustrator saves gradients by name, so changing the colors or styling of a previously used gradient will automatically update all objects filled with that gradient. You can adjust the length, direction and center-point location of selected gradients, as well as unify blends across multiple objects by clicking and dragging with the Gradient-fill tool. To fill type with gradients, convert the type to an object.
Exercise
- To open your Gradient palette, double-click on the Gradient tool or on a gradient name in the Paint Style palette, or choose Window: Show Gradient.
- Click on the lower edge of a gradient to add a new color.
- Hold down your Alt key to drag a copy of a color pointer.
- With the Eyedropper tool, Control-click in your image to load that color into a pointer.
- Drag one pointer over another to swap their colors.
Use blends for irregular or contoured transitions.
For domed, kidney-shaped or contoured objects (such as shadows), only a blend will do. Make two objects with the same number of points (try scaling one to create the other). Set each to the desired color and click on a related anchor point on one, then the other, with the Blend tool.
Try setting the number of steps that the Blend dialog box recommends (you can experiment with fewer, but there is rarely a need for more). The more similar the colors, the fewer steps you’ll need. (See the Adobe CD’s “Smooth blends” for technical specifications for calculating smooth blends.)
Explore!
Experiment with the filters. Pathfinder filters are the best!
Illustrator Easter Egg!
As many already know, clicking Illustrator’s status bar brings up a pop-up menu, letting you change what’s displayed in the status bar.
Should you like a change of scenery, or have the impulse to innocently confuse a coworker for a few hours, press the Alt key before you click the status bar!
Imaging Essentials
The following review was written by Randy M. Zeitman on behalf of the User Group Alliance(UGA). It may be freely distributed or reprinted in its entirety. If printed, please send a copy to:
UGAPO Box 29709Elkins Park PA 19027-0909
Thank you, Randy M. Zeitman
Imaging Essentials, the second installment of Adobe Press’s Professional Studio Techniques series, nicely integrates step-by-step insights into Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Dimensions, and Premiere.
As with its predecessor, Design Essentials, Imaging Essentials serves as a “cookbook” for artists familiar with the basic features of the program. Each recipe is highly detailed in color and peppered with relevant software tips and insights.
In fact, the examples detailing the creation of banners, tubes, hoses, and three-D cans in Dimensions might inspire you to buy a copy of the Adobe Dimensions as well! (Dimensions is a 3-D graphics program that saves files in Illustrator format.)
A fraction of the indispensable topics include: Simulating graininess in a photograph, impressionist effects, painting in neon, transparent shadows, masking images with type, metallic type, creating gradations with type (most interesting!), blending images together, and creating masks for QuickTime movies.
Deserving special note are sections exploring the idiosyncrasies of combining Illustrator and Photoshop artwork as well as various printing considerations.
If you already own Design Essentials, you’ll be happy to find a set of upgrade notes to keep your copy in sync with Photoshop and Illustrator.
When a team of Adobe Designers get together to detail their digital discoveries, only good things can happen. Imaging Essentials, Adobe Press, ISBN 1-56830-051-4
Design Essentials
The following review was written by Randy M. Zeitman on behalf of the User Group Alliance(UGA). It may be freely distributed or reprinted in its entirety. If printed, please send a copy to:
UGAPO Box 29709Elkins Park PA 19027-0909
Thank you, Randy M. Zeitman
Design Essentials, the first release in Adobe Press’s Professional Studio Techniques series, might be one of the best digital special effects book on the market to date.
In a nutshell, Design Essentials provides step-by-step instructions to reproduce a variety of traditional photographic techniques in Photoshop. While several Illustrator effects are also detailed, particularly the magic behind creating three-D boxes, many effects described are directly available in Illustrator 5.5.
Beautifully detailed sections on impressionist effects, stippling, posterizing, bleeding, textures, text effects, translucent shapes, rustic effects, halftones, and even duotones, tritones, and quadtones are just a sampling of the techniques demystified. Charts showing the effects of applying a combination of Photoshop filters to an image are also helpful. And not only does Design Essentials show you how to create a stereoscopic image, a pair of three-D glasses is included in the back of the book!
Considering that Design Essentials is packed to the gills with information, in color no less, the $39.95 isn’t hard to take at all. Design Essentials makes a great addition of any Photoshop users bookshelf. Design Essentials, Adobe Press, ISBN 0-672-48538-9
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