​Introduction to Illustrator

CREATING OBJECTS
Objects: set of anchor points connected by curved or straight segments
Path: edge of an object
  • Open: endpoints (lines)
    • Pencil = freeform lines
    • Paintbrush
      • Strokes categories = calligraphic, art
    • Line segment, arc segment
  • Closed: continuous (shapes)
    • Rectangle, ellipse, polygon, star = set number of anchor points
    • Pen = straight lines or curved lines with as many anchor points as desired
      • Direction lines = angle affects slope of the curve and length affects height of the curve (click for straight line, drag for curved)
PEN TOOL:  WATCH YOUR CURSOR!!
  • No symbol = create new line or shape
  • –  = add anchor point
  • x  = remove anchor point
  • >  = convert corner point to curved point
  • o  = close object
SELECTION TOOLS:  WATCH YOUR CURSOR!!
  • Selection = select entire object (black arrow)
  • Direct selection = select parts of object (white arrow)
    • Black box = found a path
    • White box = found an anchor point

TRANSFORM TOOLS: WATCH YOUR CURSOR!!
  • Rotate = turn in any direction
    • HOLD SHIFT to turn object at a specific angle
  • Reflect = create mirror image
    • HOLD SHIFT to keep proportion
  • Shear = slants
  • Free Transform = rotate, scale, reflect, or shear
  • Blend = transform one shape into the next with a series of transitional shapes
STROKE & FILL:
  • Stroke = outline of a path
    • Default = 1 pt, black
  • Fill = inside of a path
    • Default = white
SHORTCUTS:
Cntrl C = Copy        *Tear off palettes by holding and dragging to end and letting go
Cntrl X = Cut            * Open tool options by double clicking on the tool
Cntrl V = Paste
Cntrl Z = Undo

Swatches Palette

Pathfinder Palette

How to Trace an Image

Open or place a raster image in your Illustrator document.

With the placed image selected, do one of the following:
  • Choose Object > Image Trace > Make to trace with default parameters. Illustrator converts the image to black and white tracing result by default.
  • Click the Image Trace button in the Control panel or the Properties panel, or select a preset from the Tracing Presets button ().
  • Choose Window > Image Trace or switch to the Tracing workspace to open the Image Trace panel, and do one of the following:

(Optional) Adjust the results of the tracing in the Image Trace panel (Window > Image Trace).

To convert the tracing object to paths and to manually editing the vector artwork, choose Object > Image Trace > Expand.

For a video on tracing, see Image Trace in Illustrator CS6 and later releases.
Source: ​https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/image-trace.html


​Illustrator Resources

Adobe Illustrator User Guide

HOW TO'S
How To Get Started in Illustrator
How To Create and Edit Shapes
How To Design and Draw with Shapes
How To Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil Tool
How To Change Color and Strokes
    • NOTE: If you are making shapes in Illustrator that you want the lasercutter to cut out, the stroke weight must be set to .02 pts
How to Create 3D Objects

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