Learn how to edit a locked vector image, specifically a cityscape, in Adobe Illustrator. The guide will teach you how to add a jpeg as a background, unlock a cityscape vector image, add a new layer for a jpeg, and recreate a building using the shapes tool.
Key Insights
- The article covers the process of editing a locked cityscape vector image in Adobe Illustrator, beginning with the addition of a jpeg background.
- It further explains how to create a new layer for the jpeg image, and the steps to adjust its size and opacity for better visibility.
- Finally, the content provides detailed instructions on how to recreate a building using Illustrator's shapes tools and the process of combining all components into a single shape using the shape builder tool.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
In this video, we'll be working within our Illustrator City file. So, let's begin by opening up our file. We'll go to File > Open*, and rather than selecting our city JPEG, we'll be selecting our city Illustrator file.
We'll then click Open*, and here we can see that we have our city; however, it's missing a building in the middle. We'll be recreating this building, so let's save this file as a newly titled file. We'll go to File > Save As*, and from here, let's simply add the word "Completed, " then click Save and OK*.
Next, let's discuss how we're going to be adding our building. To do this, we'll be placing the JPEG—also found within our folder—as a background, and recreating the building ourselves using vector tools. Currently, this image is already a vector image; however, the city itself is locked.
The first thing we can do is unlock our city by clicking the dropdown. If we scroll all the way to the bottom—past all of the rectangles and windows—we'll see that our final path is locked. We'll unlock it, allowing us to edit our building. Next, however, let's scroll back to the top, click the dropdown of our city, and lock this group so that as we're drawing our building, we don't accidentally make changes to the existing image.
Next, let's add a new layer that we can drop our JPEG into. We'll retitle this City JPEG and hit ENTER. Now, let's add our JPEG file. To do this, we'll go to File > Place*, and from here, select our JPEG image.
We'll click Place*, and then click and drag it onto our artboard. If we want to make changes to the size of this image, we can do so either by clicking and dragging the edge using V (our Selection Tool*), or with our image selected, we can go into Properties*, and transform it based on its width and height. In this case, let's maintain the width and height proportions by clicking the link icon to the right. For our width, let's type 1920 and hit ENTER. We'll see that it also matches 1080—the exact size of our artboard.
Next, let's move this layer below our city layer by dragging it to the bottom. Finally, since we're going to be using this as a tracing image, let's change its opacity to provide some distinction.
Clicking Opacity*, we'll type 50 and hit ENTER. We can now see our current vector image clearly, with the gray or faded part of the building represented by the JPEG beneath. Now we're ready to begin recreating our building.
Let's add one more layer, and title this layer Building*, then hit ENTER. From here, let's drag this Building layer on top, and we can begin recreating our building. To do this, we'll zoom in. The way I want to recreate this building is by using the Shape Tools*.
Let's lock our City JPEG layer so it doesn't move, and make sure we're within our Building layer. Let's select the Rectangle Tool*. From here, we'll simply begin creating rectangles along the left-hand side of the building. For this building, it doesn't have to be exactly perfect, but let's do our best to match the lines already present.
Click and drag. Sometimes, Smart Guides that snap to certain points can be unhelpful for recreating an image. To disable them, we'll go to View and uncheck Smart Guides*. From here, we’ll be able to recreate our rectangles at any point we determine.
For the top part, we can see that it goes across at an angle, so let's not use the Rectangle Tool for that one. Instead, we'll use the Pen Tool*. With the Pen Tool (shortcut P), we'll click and begin to follow the outline of the shape.
As we continue making points, we'll begin to see our building take form. Looking at this, I’ve made these points a little too low, so I’ll hit CTRL+Z, CTRL+Z to undo, and recreate the line. I’ll finish up the building by extending it all the way to the left and overlapping slightly in black.
Let's zoom out, drag toward the top, zoom in again, and I’ll complete the top of the building. Finally, I want to make a quick modification—ensuring that the top line is straight. I'll press A to select the Direct Selection Tool*, and drag it over to the left, selecting both points and aligning them with the edge of the building.
While we could recreate the entire image just with the Pen Tool*, in this case, I find it easier to use the Rectangle Tool for most parts and fill in the gaps with the Pen Tool*. Next, let's create one shape out of our building. To do this, we’ll hit CTRL+A to select all of our building shapes, then use the Shape Builder Tool to begin dragging each of these components so we end up with one final shape.
Let's now save our work by hitting CTRL+S on the keyboard, and in the next video, we'll begin adding windows.
See you there!