✒️ Adobe Illustrator

7.1Introduction of Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator (Ai) is a vector graphics editor developed by Adobe, first released in 1987. It is the industry standard for creating logos, icons, typography, illustrations, infographics, and any artwork that must scale without losing quality.

Vector vs Raster

Illustrator workspace

• Artboard — the "page" you design on (multiple allowed).
• Toolbar — Selection, Pen, Type, Shape, Brush, Pathfinder tools.
• Control panel (top) — contextual options for the selected tool.
• Panels (right) — Layers, Colour, Swatches, Stroke, Character.
• Menu bar — File, Edit, Object, Type, Effect, View, Window.

7.2Creating and Viewing Documents

Creating a new document

• File → New (Ctrl+N).
• Pick preset: Print, Web, Video, Art & Illustration, Mobile.
• Set artboard size, orientation, number of artboards, bleed (for print), colour mode (RGB or CMYK), raster effects resolution (72 / 150 / 300 ppi).

Viewing

• Zoom — Ctrl+ +/−, or Zoom tool (Z).
• Fit artboard to screen — Ctrl+0.
• Hand tool — spacebar for pan.
• Preview vs Outline — Ctrl+Y toggles between coloured view and wireframe.
• Screen modes — Normal, Menu, Full Screen (F).
• Rulers, Guides, Grid — View menu; essential for alignment.

Saving / opening

• .AI — native Illustrator format.
• .EPS — older vector format, widely compatible.
• .PDF — shareable, print-ready.
• .SVG — vector for web.
• Export (File → Export → Export As) for PNG, JPEG, etc.

7.3Working with Pages (Artboards)

In Illustrator, "pages" are called artboards. One document can hold up to 1000 artboards — perfect for designing a full stationery set (letterhead, envelope, card) in one file.

• Artboard tool (Shift+O) — add, move, resize, delete artboards.
• Artboards panel — reorder, rename, navigate.
• Each artboard can have its own size.
• Export each artboard as a separate file.
• Great for: logo variations, multi-page brochures, social media sets.

7.4Working with Graphics

Drawing tools

• Pen tool (P) — the heart of Illustrator. Draws precise paths by setting anchor points and bezier curves.
• Shape tools — Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star, Line.
• Pencil / Brush — freeform drawing.
• Curvature tool — easier curves than the Pen.
• Direct Selection (A) — edit individual anchor points.

Colour and appearance

• Fill — the inside colour of a shape.
• Stroke — the outline colour, weight, style (dashed, arrowheads).
• Gradient — smooth transition between colours.
• Swatches — saved colours for reuse.
• Pantone / Global colours — change once, update everywhere.

Modifying paths

• Pathfinder — Unite, Minus Front, Intersect, Exclude: combine shapes.
• Transform — Scale, Rotate, Reflect, Shear.
• Align panel — align/distribute selected objects.
• Grouping (Ctrl+G) — treat objects as one.
• Clipping mask — crop shapes using another shape.

Working with images

• File → Place — insert a raster image.
• Linked vs Embedded — linked keeps file size small; embedded makes the file self-contained.
• Image Trace — convert a raster logo/sketch to vector.

7.5Formatting and Styles

Type (text)

• Type Tool (T) — point type, area type, type on a path.
• Character panel — font, size, tracking, kerning, leading, baseline shift.
• Paragraph panel — alignment, indents, spacing before/after.
• OpenType features — ligatures, small caps, alternate glyphs.
• Create Outlines (Ctrl+Shift+O) — convert text to editable vector shapes (important before sending files to a printer who may not have your font).

Styles

• Character Styles — saved font/size/colour combos for text.
• Paragraph Styles — full paragraph formatting saved.
• Graphic Styles — saved appearance (fill, stroke, effects) you can click to apply to any shape.
• Styles enforce consistency across a brand / document set.

7.7Working with Tables

Illustrator does not have a true table tool like InDesign. You create tables by:

• Using a grid of rectangles (Rectangular Grid Tool) to draw rows/columns.
• Typing text inside each cell (area type).
• Copy-pasting a table from InDesign or an Excel export as a linked image.
• For data-heavy work, InDesign is the right tool. Illustrator is fine for small tables in infographics.

7.8Packaging and Printing

Prepare for print

• Colour mode CMYK (File → Document Color Mode).
• Bleed — 3 mm extra beyond the artboard edge so cutting errors don't leave white strips.
• Overprint preview — check how black type and strokes overprint.
• Create Outlines on all text to avoid missing fonts.
• Embed all images (or send linked assets with the file).
• Check resolution of placed images — 300 DPI at print size.
• Flatten transparency before saving.
• Save as PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 — print-ready presets.

Printing directly from Illustrator

• File → Print: select printer, paper size, orientation, marks (crop, bleed, registration), scaling.

Packaging the file (for handover)

• Unlike InDesign, Illustrator doesn't have a classic "Package" command — instead:
• File → Package (in newer versions) — gathers the .AI file + linked images + fonts into one folder.

7.9Export Illustrator File to Other Programs

• To Photoshop — Export as PSD with layers preserved, or drag-and-drop vector as Smart Object.
• To InDesign — File → Place the .AI directly. Updates live if the AI is edited.
• To web — Export As SVG (scalable, small) or PNG (raster with transparency).
• To Office (Word / PPT) — Export as EMF or paste as PNG.
• To printer — Save As PDF/X, or send the .AI file.
• To video apps (After Effects) — import .AI; layers preserved for animation.
• Legacy EPS — still accepted by older presses and some vendors.