lightning talk illustrator_for_developers
TRANSCRIPT
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]
Illustrator, the basics
Vector vs Rastor
Pen tool, layers, and color
Saving to an SVG
Object expand and pathfinder
Quick commands I use often
Laying out text
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]
Your workspace, multiple artboards, and quick commands
Windows/ Workspace/ Essentials - what I use, sometimes I get lost and then I just reset it. Like coding - google is your friend if you’re confused.
Setting Up Your Environment
vaml\ptCmd +Cmd -Cmd fCmd b
selection tool - I spend like 80% of my time hereDirect selection tool - more on that latermarquee (rectangle) tool, shift to grow as squareoval... not line. hold alt grow from center, shift to grow circleline.pen tool - crazytext boxzoom inzoom outcopy in frontcopy in back
To learn more, just hover over tools, hold down on tools, and just try everything out. Also, Google. You’re not going to break anything and you can always undo... like forever, it’s amazing.
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]
Tools and skills - layers, pen(p), eyedropper(i), direct selection(a)
Learn By Tracing
Save as SVGOpen new document - Command + N
Document Setup - Alt + Command + P
Define Artboard
Adjust settings -Only glyphs usedLink locationStyle elements1 Decimal PlacesUnicode UTF-8 EncodingOutput fewer <tspan> elementsUse <textPath> elements
Paste Image
Save as - SVG
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]
Laying Out TextBuild text box first, then write in it. This will keep text from becoming an object, meaning it won’t get stretched if you resize it.
Text with box
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]
Text without boxText with
box text
Expanding Text for SVGsText can also be turned into an object with points, meaning you won’t be able to edit it as text any longer but instead as a series of points and lines. You can then save it as part of an svg.
Select text
Object / Expandobject and fill
Illustrator, the basics [email protected]