Excerpt from Adobe Illustrator CS4
Digital Classroom

• Page 1
• Page 2
• Page 3

Links

• Additional Resources for Learning Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Jumpstart - continued

Incorporating an image into your artwork

Adobe Illustrator accepts many types of image files. In this lesson, you will place a native Photoshop file onto the artboard and trace it using the Live Trace feature. By using the Live Trace feature, you can convert your image into vector artwork.

1 Choose Window > Layers or press the Layers button () in the dock. Select Layer 1 so that it is the active layer.

2 Choose File > Place. In the Place dialog box, navigate to the ai01lessons folder and select the image named ai0102.psd. Press Place. If an Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog box appears choose to Use the embedded profile and press OK. The image is placed onto the artboard.

The image, clearly, is too big. You will use the Scale tool to make the image smaller.

3 Double-click on the Scale tool () in the Tools panel; the Scale dialog box appears. In the Uniform section, type 50 into the Scale text field and press OK. The image is reduced to 50% its original size.

Reduce the image’s size.

4 Activate the Selection tool () and click and drag the image so that it is flush with the bottom of the rectangle. If necessary, reposition the text logo so that it is not hidden beneath the image.

5 Make sure the image of the man is selected, then click on the arrow to the right of the Live Trace button in the Control panel. Several options appear. Choose Tracing Options from the Live Trace drop-down menu. The Tracing Options dialog box opens.

The Tracing Options dialog box.

You will use the Tracing Options dialog box to control how Adobe Illustrator converts your placed image from a raster scanned image to vector artwork.

6 Check the Preview checkbox on the right side of the dialog box to turn the feature on.

7 From the Preset drop-down menu, choose Photo Low Fidelity. The image is now broken down into 16 shades of color, as you can see in the Max Colors text field.

Determine the settings for converting the raster scanned image to a vector image.

8 In the Trace Setting section, type 50 into the Minimum Area text field or drag the slider to 50.

9 Click in the Ignore White checkbox at the bottom of the Trace Settings section. The image’s white background becomes transparent and the cutout of the man rests on the red square. Press Trace. The image is now a vector object.

The resulting image.

10 With the traced image still selected, click the Expand button in the Control panel to expand the Live Trace object into visible vector paths.

11 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open.

Erasing vector paths and shapes

In the next part of the lesson, you’ll work with the Eraser tool. The Eraser tool erases portions of your artwork. The Eraser tools erases right through vector shapes and paths. You have to experience this tool to fully appreciate its capabilities.

1 If the traced image of the man is not already selected, select it now. When an item is selected, the anchor points become visible. In artwork as complicated as the autotrace man, this is distracting, and makes it difficult to see what you are doing. In the next step, you will hide the selection edges, but still keep the artwork active.

2 Choose View > Hide Edges, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+H (Mac OS). Hiding the edges of the selection allows you to see the results of the work you will do with the Eraser tool.

3 Select the Eraser tool () in the Tools panel and position the cursor in the lower-left corner of the traced image.

Press the ] (right bracket) key about 3-4 times to make your eraser tool larger. If you need to make it smaller you press the [ (left bracket key). No exact size is needed for this exercise, but with a larger brush you can see the tool’s effects more easily.

4 With the Eraser tool, click and drag using a rough up-and-down movement (like you might use with an actual eraser), progressing from the lower-left side to the lower-right side of the image.

Start in the lower left of the artwork.

When you release, you see that you’ve erased the bottom of the image of the man, but that the red square and its contents are intact. You will now soften the edges of the traced image.

5 Choose View > Show Edges. Make sure the image is selected and choose Effect > Stylize > Feather.

6 In the resulting Feather dialog box, select the Preview check box, then type .1 into the Feather Radius text field and press OK. The edge of the image is softened.

Apply the feather amount. Result.

7 Choose View > Show Edges, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+H (Windows) or Command+H (Mac OS) to turn the selection edges back on. By turning on the Show Edges feature, you can turn on the selection points’ visibility, thereby making it easier to see your selected artwork. If you forget to do this, you won’t be able to see what is selected.

8 Choose Select > All to make sure all your artwork is selected.

9 Open the Symbols panel by clicking on the Symbols button () in the dock on the right side of the workspace, or by choosing Window > Symbols.

10 Click on the New Symbol button () at the bottom of the Symbols panel; the Symbol Options dialog box appears.

11 Type cdart into the Name text field and select the Graphic radio button from the Type section, then press OK.

Name the new symbol.

The artwork in its entirety is now saved as a symbol.

12 Select the original artwork with the Selection tool () and press Delete. Since the artwork is now saved as a symbol, you only need the symbol instance for the remainder of the lesson.

13 Choose File > Save. Keep the file open.

Creating a 3-D object

Now you will create the CD case and map the artwork you saved as a symbol to the case.

1 Select the Rectangle tool (). You may have to click on and hold down the Ellipse tool () button in the Tools panel since you used that tool last.

2 Click once on the artboard. The Rectangle dialog box appears.

3 Type 5 into the Width text field, then click on the word Height to put the same value into the Height text field. Press OK. A 5-inch square appears on the artboard.

4 Click the Fill color swatch in the Control panel and select the CMYK Red color.

5 Choose Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel. The 3D Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box appears. Check the Preview check box on the right side of the dialog box.

6 Make sure the options are set at their defaults. In the Position section, the rotation around the X axis () text field should be -18°. The rotation around the Y axis () should be -26° and the rotation around the Z axis () should be 8°. In the Extrude & Bevel section, the Extrude Depth value should be 50 pt and Bevel should be set to None.

The default 3D Extrude and Bevel settings.

7 Click on the Map Art button on the right side of the dialog box. Mapping art allows you to place symbol artwork onto a 3-D object. This may take a few moments.

8 After choosing the art, the Surface selector shows 1 of 6. If it is showing anything different, click on the First Surface button (). Click on the arrow to the right of the Symbol drop-down menu and choose cdart, your saved symbol.

Assign the cdart symbol to Side 1 of your CD case.

9 Reposition the artwork by dragging the symbol so it aligns with the outline of the CD case in Map Art dialog box.

10 Press OK to exit the Map Art dialog box, then OK to exit the 3D Extrude & Bevel dialog box. A progress bar appears as Illustrator maps your image to the side of the 3-D object, which is a CD case.

The final result.

11 Choose File > Save to save your work, then choose File > Close.

Congratulations! You have completed Lesson 1, “Adobe Illustrator CS4 Jumpstart.”

Adobe Illustrator Training Class Locations

AGI offers regularly scheduled and private Illustrator classes at our training centers. Adobe Illustrator Training in or near Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Orlando, and London, England. Visit our Adobe Illustrator training class locations page.