Illustrator I

I450 Technology Seminar

Bitmap vs. Vector

• Photoshop = Bitmap• Illustrator = Vector

• Bitmap images are resolution dependent• Vector images are resolution independent

• Terminology– Bitmap = Raster

Bitmap vs. Vector

• Bitmap Images– Bitmap images -- also known as raster images

-- are made up of pixels in a grid. Pixels are picture elements; tiny dots of individual color that make up what you see on your screen. All these tiny dots of color come together to form the images you see. The typical computer monitor has 72 or 96 pixels per inch, depending on your monitor and screen settings.

Bitmap

32 pixels

32 pixels

Most desktop icons are bitmap images, and are 32 pixels x 32 pixels.

Notice the pixels in this image.

Resolution

• Bitmap images are displayed on a computer at 72 or 96 dpi (dots per inch)– dpi = ppi (pixels per inch)

• Bitmap images are printed at 150-300 dpi

• A 300 dpi scanned image appears much larger on a 76 dpi computer screen

Bitmaps

• All scanned images• All images from a digital camera• Pixels in a grid• Resolution dependent• Resizing reduces quality• Easily converted• Restricted to rectangle• Minimal support for transparency

Bitmap vs. Vector

• Vector Images– Vector images are made up of many

individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by matematical equations rather than pixels, so they always render at the highest quality. Objects consist of lines, curves, and shapes with editable attributes such as color, fill, and outline

Vector

• Scalable

• Resolution independent

• No background

• Cartoon-like

• Inappropriate for photo-realistic images

• Metafiles contain both raster and vector data

Vector

• Because they're scalable, vector-based images are resolution independent. You can increase and decrease the size of vector images to any degree and your lines will remain crisp and sharp, both on screen and in print. Fonts are a type of vector object

Vector images are not restricted to a rectangular shape like Bitmaps

Rasterizing

• Turning a vector image into a bitmap

• Lose all the vector qualities

Illustrator

• File -> New

• Set size– Pixels, inches– Letter, 800 x 600

• Orientation

• RGB, CMYK

Layers and History

• Doesn’t use layers like Photoshop

• Objects in Illustrator are independent of each other

• No History Palette– Use Undo (Crtl + Z) to go back as far as the

beginning of an image

Navigation

• Hand Tool

• Navigator Window– Move red box over

desired spot on image

Zooming

• Can zoom up to 6400%

• Photoshop = 1600%

• Notice image renders perfectly at 6400%– No pixilation because the images are not

made with pixels!

• Vector graphics scale perfectly, forever

Arrange

• Send to back

• Send to front

• Send backward

• Send forward

Shapes

Selection Tools

Selection tool Direct selection tool

Select entire objects Select

endpoints of objects

Moving selections

• Once an image is selected use the arrow keys to move it in small increments– Hold down Shift to move it faster

Stroke

Fill Color

Stroke Color

Stroke = Image Border

Stroke Palette on the right

Set weight, cap, etc.

Cap = rounded corners, or straight

Join = for boxes – round corners, or straight

Crtl & Alt Shortcuts

• Alt drag = copy, paste– Hold down Crtl D to keep pasting

• To scale an image perfectly, hold down Shift while scaling

• Hold down Alt and scale to scale from the middle

Pen tool

• Used to draw curves

GradientSimilar to Photoshop

Grouping

• Group objects:– selecting them– right click– Group

• Ungroup:– Right click– Ungroup

• Once objects are grouped you can move them together

Divide Tool

• Used to cutout the intersection of two objects

• Create two objects, place them so they are overlapping:– Transform -> Pathfinder -> Divide

Divide Shortcut

• Put one object on top of the other

• Select both objects

• Press Crtl + 7– Get the intersection of the two

Create Outlines

• Type -> Create Outlines– Creates endpoints– Use direct selection tool to manipulate these

endpoints

Rotate Tool

Place an anchor point on the page

Rotate images around this point

Styles, Swatches, Brushes, Symbols

Styles with Shapes

References

• http://graphicssoft.about.com/library/extra/blfund_bitmap.htm