Adobe Illustrator allows full control and editing of an artwork. Since it is so customizable, many potentials of what you can do with just simple tools are not so obvious. Let's go through the 6 tools in Illustrator you might not know.
Adobe Illustrator CS6 was used to demonstrate.
6. | Appearance
• Add in multiple strokes and fill
• Rearrange the placements of the effects
• Apply effects into a particular stroke or fill
• Change opacity of a particular stroke or fill
• Illustrator effects are light, while Photoshop effects
are heavy and might takes time to load
Control panel of the appearances and effects of an object
10. | Graphic Styles
• Similar to Copy Layer Style in Photoshop
• Save your appearance setting for future uses or for
consistent design
• Graphic Style can be saved and shared
A collection of your pre-made appearance settings
14. | Transform
• Transform your object using an effect instead of an
action
• Non destructive design – easy to refer back and
makes changes
• Make floating copies that are all linked to the original
object
One of the effect from the Appearance Setting
18. | Align
• Similar to the Arrange / Align in Powerpoint
• Default alignment is to Artboard
• Align to a Key Object by:
Select all objects > click on the key object > align
• Distribution Spacing
Control board for a perfect alignment
22. | Pathfinder
• Create complex shapes from overlapping shapes
• It’s defined using shape, not outline
• Can also use Shape Builder Tool as an alternative
• Press Alt to create Compound Shape
• Release and expand compound shape
A cutting and gluing tool
26. | Blend
• Blend between lines, shape and even the blends
• The path that blend runs along can be modified
• Replace Spine Option: change the path to a shape
you created
• Can create some highlights for shapes with blends,
when Gradient Tool doesn’t work so well
Create a blend between 2 objects
31. | Pattern
• Decide your tile type, width and height
• Edit while previewing the pattern
• Pattern finished as a swatch: can be used in fill or
stroke
• Save LOTS OF SPACE compare to copy & paste or
transform effect methods
Create your pattern however you wants it
Notas del editor
Control panel of the appearances and effects of an object
Window / Appearance
Fully control of your object effect, it’s almost like a layer board meant for the effects
Add in multiple strokes and fill
Rearrange the placements of the effects
Apply effects into a particular stroke or fill
Change opacity of a particular stroke or fill
Illustrator effects are light, while Photoshop effects are heavy and might takes time to load
Pattern or gradient can also applied into stroke or fill
Some useful effects:
Crop Marks
Stylize
Transform
A collection of your pre-made appearance settings
Window / Graphic Styles
Similar to Copy Layer Style in Photoshop
Save your appearance setting for future uses or for consistent design
Graphic Style can be saved and shared
For example: if all of your buttons will always have the same gradient and rounded corners, you could just save the layer style to apply into any button you make in the future
One of the effect from the Appearance SettingEffect / Distort & Transform / Transform or Appearance Window / fx
Transform your object using an effect instead of an action
Non destructive design – easy to refer back and makes changes
Make floating copies that are all linked to the original object
Control board for a perfect alignmentTop Bar (when you select 1 or more objects) or Window / Align
Similar to the Arrange / Align in Powerpoint
Default alignment is to Artboard
Align to a Key Object by:
Select all objects > click on the key object > align
Distribution Spacing
Use this to save time arranging, and it’s a perfect alignment
Window / Pathfinder
A cutting and gluing tool
Create complex shapes from overlapping shapes
It’s defined using shape, not outline
Can also use Shape Builder Tool as an alternative
Press Alt to create Compound Shape
Release and expand compound shape
Create a blend between 2 objects
Object / Blend or Tools / Blend Tool
Blend between lines, shape and even the blends
The path that blend runs along can be modified
Replace Spine Option: change the path to a shape you created
Can create some highlights for shapes with blends, when Gradient Tool doesn’t work so well
3 settings you can applied
When applying, you can click the middle of the shape, or the corner points of the shape to morph differently
Create your pattern however you wants it
Object / Pattern / Make or Swatches Window
Decide your tile type, width and height
Edit while previewing the pattern
Pattern finished as a swatch: can be used in fill or stroke
Save LOTS OF SPACE compare to copy & paste or transform effect methods