Adobe Illustrator CC 2014 Book

Setup & Introduction

Downloading the Class Files

The Tools Panel Expanded & Keyboard Shortcuts

Section 1

Setting Preferences: Do This Before Other Exercises!

• Setting up preferences & workspaces

Straight Lines

• Using the Pen tool
• Adjusting the workspace
• Arranging objects
• Color fills

Curves

• Drawing curves with the Pen tool
• Anchor points & direction points
• Default fill & stroke

Corners & Curves

• Drawing corners & curves with the Pen tool
• Adjusting anchor points

Section 2

No Smoking Sign

• Fill & stroke
• Basic shape tools
• Grouping objects
• The Layers panel
• Working with templates
• Saving Illustrator files: options

Super Hero

• Live Trace & Live Paint
• Tracing hand-drawn images
• Coloring Live Paint objects
• Brushes
• The Flare tool

Section 3

What’s Behind the Green Door?

• Compound Paths
• The Group Selection tool

Mask Till You Drop

• Clipping masks (shapes)
• The Blob Brush tool
• The Eraser tool
• The Reflect tool

Masking with Type

• The Type tool
• Clipping masks (editable type)
• Filling text with a photo
• Placing linked images

3D Shapes: Milk Duds Box

• 3D Extrude & Bevel
• Creating symbols from artwork
• Mapping symbols onto 3D objects
• Lighting & shadows for 3D objects

Section 4

Will It Blend?

• The Blend tool
• Blending options

Wavy Line Blend

• Blending lines
• The Reflect tool
• The Rotate tool

Juggling Colors & Gradients

• Dashed lines & stroke options
• Saving colors as swatches
• Blending modes
• The Gradient tool
• Saving gradient swatches

Combining Shapes with the Pathfinder

• Merging paths (Pathfinder)
• Transparency options
• Grouping objects

Section 5

Patterns

• Creating & applying pattern swatches
• Scaling & rotating patterns
• Working with layers
• The Align panel

1-Page Advertisement

• Working with type
• Text & character options
• Adding a drop cap
• Type on a path
• Text wrap
• Filling text with a pattern

Stylin’ Effects

• Using the Appearance panel
• Transparency
• More blending modes
• More drop shadows
• Arrowheads

Appearance & Graphic Styles

• Graphic Styles
• The Appearance panel
• Multiple fills
• Auto-sizing text boxes

Section 6

Illustrating a Shirt Design

• Using Photoshop & Illustrator together
• Creating/editing clipping masks
• Compound paths

Layers, Artboards, & Recoloring Artwork

• Adding & removing layers
• Creating & using multiple artboards
• Recoloring artwork
• Converting CMYK art to spot colors

Bonus Material

AT&T Logotype & Symbol

• Recreating a logo graphic & text
• Drawing from a scanned template

Computerizing a Company Logo

• Placing templates
• Converting text to outlines
• Subtracting from a shape area (Pathfinder)

Reference Material

Quick Reference for Drawing Paths

• General rules for creating paths
• Available keystrokes when drawing

Blending Modes

• Explanation of each blending mode

Web File Formats Quick Reference

• Comparison of JPEG, GIF, PNG, & SVG

Web Color Palettes