Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
How to Use this Book xiii
Sharing Space with Windows and macOS xiv
Online Content xiv
Chapter 1 The Basics 1
The Illustrator Interface 2
Launching Illustrator 4
Learning About Illustrator 5
Opening an Existing File 6
Creating a New File 7
Working with Templates 10
Chapter 2 Customizing the Application 11
Accessing the Document Windows 12
Using the Toolbar 14
Working with Panels 16
Working with the Properties Panel 18
Working with the Control Panel 19
Customizing Workspaces 20
Configuring Illustrator Preferences 22
Chapter 3 Working with Artboards 23
Artboards Overview 24
Adding Artboards 25
Modifying Artboards 27
Managing Artboards 31
Chapter 4 Working with Color 33
Accessing Fill and Stroke Controls 34
Using the Eyedropper Tool 35
Using the Color Picker 36
Using the Color Panel 38
Using the Swatches Panel 40
Using the Color Guide Panel 46
Applying Color Changes Using Menus 48
Chapter 5 Navigating Documents 51
Changing Magnification 52
Using the Hand and Rotate View Tools 56
Using the Navigator Panel 57
Changing View Modes 58
Using Rulers 60
Using Guides and Grids 62
Using Smart Guides 64
Chapter 6 Organizing Artwork 65
Organizing Elements Using Layers 66
Selecting Elements Using Layers 70
Working with Groups 71
Managing Artwork Hierarchy and Structure 72
Aligning and Distributing Elements 75
Chapter 7 Selecting Elements 77
Selecting Objects Using Tools 78
Working with Isolation Mode 82
Selecting Objects Using Commands 84
Setting Selection Preferences 86
Chapter 8 Customizing Strokes 87
Selecting a Stroke 88
Working with the Stroke Panel 89
Applying Varied Stroke Widths 94
Converting Stroked Paths to Objects 96
Chapter 9 Drawing Lines, Curves, and Paths 97
Creating Lines and Curves with the Pen Tool 98
Using the Curvature Tool 102
Using the Line Segment Tools Group 104
Drawing with the Pencil Tool 108
Chapter 10 Creating Shapes and Symbols 109
Creating Rectangles and Squares 110
Creating Ovals, Circles, and Pie Segments 113
Creating Polygons 114
Creating Stars 115
Saving Objects as Symbols 116
Chapter 11 Adding and Customizing Text 117
Adding Text 118
Choosing Fonts 122
Customizing Character Settings 127
Customizing Paragraph Settings 130
Working with Tabs 135
Using Character and Paragraph Styles 137
Working with Special Characters 139
Managing Text Content 141
Chapter 12 Working with Brushes and Sketch Tools 145
Working with the Brushes Panel 146
Using Brush Libraries 150
Creating Brushes 152
Managing Brushes 162
Painting with the Paintbrush Tool 163
Painting with the Blob Brush Tool 165
Sketching with the Shaper Tool 167
Sketching with the Pencil Tool 168
Chapter 13 Modifying Vector Objects and Paths 169
Modifying Objects Using Bounding Boxes 170
Modifying Objects Using Tools 172
Cutting Objects and Paths Using Tools 184
Modifying Paths Using Freeform Tools 186
Modifying Objects Using Panels 188
Modifying Objects Using Commands 192
Chapter 14 Transforming Objects 193
Using Liquify Tools to Reshape Objects 194
Blending Objects 201
Masking Artwork 204
Applying Transparency and Blending Modes 206
Applying Gradients 209
Working with Live Paint 215
Chapter 15 Adding Visual Effects 217
Applying Illustrator Effects 218
Applying Photoshop Effects 230
Chapter 16 Managing Appearance Attributes 237
Modifying Applied Effects Using the Properties Panel 238
Using the Appearance Panel 239
Working with Graphic Styles 242
Using Graphic Style Libraries 244
Chapter 17 Importing Assets 245
Placing Files 246
Managing Placed Files 248
Using Image Trace to Convert Raster Images to Vector Artwork 250
Importing Photoshop (.psd) Files 252
Importing Acrobat (.pdf) Files 253
Importing Text Documents 254
Chapter 18 Saving and Exporting Files and Assets 255
Maximizing Document Efficiency 256
Managing Color Settings 257
Managing Metadata 259
Saving Illustrator Files 260
Packaging Files 261
Exporting Files Using Export As 262
Exporting with Export for Screens 266
Using the Asset Export Panel 269
Working with Save for Web 270
Appendix A Illustrator Preferences 273
Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts 287
Index 290
