Adobe Illustrator has been around since 1987 in various forms and it is another program that used to be the sole use of designers but is now much more widely used. However getting to grips with the platform can be difficult at the beginning hence why there are many Adobe Illustrator courses available and we are going to go through 5 different methods here which can help new designers create better illustrations.
Proportional Strokes And Effects
Creating an object in Illustrator then realizing that changing the size also changes the pattern size as well is an annoyance for new designers. There is a simple way around this however and it is called the scale strokes and effects option. Go to Illustrator, Preferences, General. Here you will find the scale strokes and effects option and simply uncheck or check it depending on whether you want it to correspond to the object size or not.
Changing The Document’s Background Color
As a default, the background of a new document in Illustrator is set to white however we obviously do not always want white as the background color. Newbies to the program can spend ages trying to find the way to change this and it is remarkably easy. It also avoids the need to create a new layer, fill it then lock the layer. Go to File, Document Setup, select transparency then check ‘simulate colored paper’. The white square is the color of the document so click on it and change it to whatever you want and your document will have a different background color.
Hide All Unnecessary Palettes
Sometimes we can get so bogged down in the palettes, new layers and all the other features that we can barely see the actual design itself. To get rid of all the extra palettes you have become lumbered with and see your progress, select shift and tab which will only leave the tools palette so you can see your work.
A useful method for new Illustrator designers is draw a guideline around an angle. If you have the pen tool selected and draw the angle that you want your guideline to be, go to View then Guides and then Make Guides. You will see that the object you have drawn will turn into a guideline and it will not only work on angles but also irregular shapes as well. An easy but highly effective method.
Easy Way To Make Tables
Creating tables in Illustrator can sometimes see beginners spend ages drawing them however do you know that a quicker method is simply pasting from Word? This is a simple copy and paste table method that will take your table from Qord and place it right into Illustrator.
Learning A Few Tips Makes Things Easier
Adobe Illustrator courses include graphics and text., like most of the CS5 programs, is complex and full of features. While this may seem overwhelming for new users, some simple methods and tips can help to make the process a lot smoother and easier.
Ashley Gardner is a private tutor and advocate of continuous education. She writes for the local paper and writes tips for college students.