How to Illustrator Or: How to Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Orange Icon

1. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR
Or: How to Learn to Stop Worrying
and Love the Orange Icon

2. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 1
INTRODUCTION
Vector vs. Raster (Illustrator vs. Photoshop)
Vector File Formats:
.ai
.svg*
These sneaky file formats can be
either vector or raster:
.eps
.pdf
*Bonus! You can use svgs on the web!
Raster File Formats:
.psd
.jpg/.jpeg
.bmp
.tif
.gif
.png

3. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 2
INTRODUCTION
File Size (Illustrator vs. Photoshop)
File Specs:
·· 10pt font
·· 14pt leading (space between lines of text)
·· 0.5" margins
·· 50% black background
·· White text
Illustrator (.ai) File Size:
1.7mb
Photoshop (.psd) File Size:
4.5mb (cue sad trombone)
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4. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 3
INTRODUCTION
Basic Setup
New File:
·· Can create file name
·· If you know how many artboards (pages) you
will have, you can set it here to start
·· Includes many standard size presets
·· Choose units the rulers will be set in (usually
inches or pixels)
·· Do you have a bleed? (Print: probably, Web: no)
·· Select color mode and resolution
Not seeing rulers or
Smart Guides?
·· Toggle both on and off in the
View menu along the top
Smart Guide
Rulers
(Drag guides from these
to align things easier)

5. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 4
INTRODUCTION
Workspaces and Palettes
My Customized Workspace:
·· Has all the palettes I use
frequently, grouped by like type
·· This has been set up by and
saved so I can come back to
"homebase" at any point
·· Yes, there is a reason the
Gradient palette is hanging out
on its own, but I won’t go into
that here
Prefab Workspaces
and Palettes:
·· All available under the
Window menu along the top
·· If you create a custom
workspace, you can save it
as your own here, too

6. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 5
TIP 1:
Selection Tool vs. Direct Selection Tool
Selection Tool (Black Arrow):
·· Selects whole shape
·· Selects whole group
Direct Selection Tool (White Arrow):
·· Selects individual anchor point
·· Selects individual piece within a group
·· Allows you to modify a path using anchor points
and bezier curves

7. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 6
TIP 2A:
Shift, Alt...
Shift*:
·· Hold shift to scale an object proportionately
Shift + Alt:
·· Hold shift + alt to scale an object proportionately, but
using the center as a scaling reference point
*Please, please for the love of all that is good, always hold shift.

8. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 7
TIP 2B:
...And Alt and Shift Again!
Alt:
·· Hold alt and drag with your mouse to create
a duplicate copy of a shape or group
Alt + Shift:
·· Hold alt + shift and drag with your mouse to create a
duplicate copy of a shape or group and move it only
in a straight line

9. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 8
TIP 3:
Align and Distribute
How to Align and Distribute
Accessing the Align and
Distribute Tools:
·· When multiple objects are
selected, the Align menu will pop
up along the top (see above)
·· The Align palette can always be
opened via the Window menu
Three Ways to Align/Distribute:
1: To Selection
2: To Key Object
3: To Artboard
To Align to Artboard:
·· Choose a single or mutiple object/s
·· Choose Align to Artboard from either
menu along top or palette
·· Select your alignment(s)
To Align to Selection:
·· Choose mutiple objects
·· Choose Align to Selection from
either menu along top or palette
·· Select your alignment(s)

10. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 9
TIP 3:
Align and Distribute (cont.)
To Align to Key Object:
·· Choose mutiple objects
·· Without holding shift (if you were), click
the object you want set as your key object
(all other objects will be aligned relative
to this object)
·· Select your alignment(s)
Distribute Spacing:
·· Choose mutiple objects
·· Use Align to Selection
·· In the Align palette, choose to distribute
spacing vertically (seen here) or horizontally

11. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 10
TIP 4:
Text Creation
When creating a text box:
·· Always click and drag to create the
text box
·· Don’t single click and start typing;
you’ll create a mess for yourself
 When you click and drag to
create a text box:
·· You can resize the box to accommodate
more text
·· Left align, center, right align all happens
within the box you’ve created
·· Text box is more flexible overall
 When you click to type:
·· You can’t resize the box (text won’t reflow)
·· To break a line of type, you have to
do so manually
·· Type is easily stretched or shrunken
when you don’t mean to
·· Left align, center, right align happens
around the point you first clicked
Text box created
No text box created
SOME BIG TEXT
SOME BIG TEXT
SOME BIG TEXT
SOME BIG TEXT MADE LONGER

12. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 11
TIP 5:
Type on a Path
Here comes a fun one:
·· Create a path (a circle, a diagonal
line, a wavy line, any path you’d like)
·· Click and hold on the Text tool to
reveal the hidden options
·· Choose the Type on a Path tool
·· Click somewhere on the
path (generally some
sort of top or starting
point is good)
·· Type or copy and paste
your text
Heads up! If the path you
created had any colors
or effects applied, they
will disappear.
·· Click and drag the long
bar opposite the type to
adjust where the type is
on the path
Beware: this can be
extremely finicky. 
Just make friends with
your undo button and
be patient.
Hey! This is text
on
acircle!
Hey! This is text on a circle!

13. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 12
TIP 6A:
Some Miscellaneous Type Tips
Character Palette:
·· Change physical characteristics
(typeface, weight, size, leading,
kerning) of selected text
·· Adjust baseline of selected text
(shift some text slightly upward
or downward)
·· Make text uppercase, small caps,
super or subscript, underlined,
or with a strikethrough
Paragraph Palette:
·· Change text alignment
·· Indent a full paragraph (from
left or right)
·· Indent just the first line
·· Add space before or after a
paragraph
·· Toggle hyphenation on and off
So... someone sent you some copy that’s
formatted ugly:
·· Type > Change Case ... will allow you to change selected
text to all uppercase, all lowercase, title case (every
word capitalized), or sentence case (first word of each
sentence capitalized)
Please just pretend these tools don’t exist; it will
make a type lover and the font’s designer cry.

14. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 13
TIP 6B:
Some (More!) Miscellaneous Type Tips
Glyphs Palette:
·· Access some "hidden" characters that may be
included with the typeface
·· Easily use FontAwesome icons as vectors!
(Yeah, I know!)
When to outline type*:
·· You’re sending a file to a printer, client, or coworker who may not
have the fonts you used, and they won’t need to change the text
·· You’re using a glyph (maybe FontAwesome?) as an icon and
would like to easily resize and reposition it
·· You’d like to edit a character/glyph in a non-standard manner
(Emma, this one’s for you!)
How to outline type:
·· Select the type box (it’s all or nothing here), then use
Type > Create Outlines
*Note: Text that is outlined can no longer be edited.

15. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 14
TIP 7:
Rounded Corners
Three ways to achieve rounded corners:
·· 1: Effect > Stylize > Round Corners
(This will round them all equal amounts)
·· 2: Shape Properties (located along the top once
a shape is selected): Choose corner radius for
individual or all (if lock is selected) corners
numerically
·· 3: Use selection tool (will affect all corners) or
direct selection tool (will affect just the corner
nearest the anchor point selected) to drag the
blue dot on a corner in or out

16. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 15
TIP 8:
Effect > Warp
Bonus: The Appearance Palette
Use Warp to:
·· Alter the shape of text while leaving it editable
Oops! Too much bulge? Not enough arch?:
·· Open the Appearance palette and click on any blue
link to edit an aspect of the shape’s appearance
(like the warp we just applied)
·· Alter the appearance of a shape in various ways

17. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 16
TIP 9A:
The Infamous Pathfinder Tool
Common uses of the Pathfinder tool:
Add/Unite Subtract/Minus Front Intersect Exclude

18. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 17
TIP 9B:
For Mikey: Using the Pathfinder to Cut a Shape in Half
How to be a shape samurai (got your katana ready?):
·· Create the shape you want to "cut" in half
·· Draw a dividing line through it (use the line segment tool)
·· With both selected, use the Divide tool within the Pathfinder palette
·· Either use the direct selection tool to move just one half or ungroup
(Object > Ungroup) the shape you just sliced to manipulate the
halves individually
Divide
Mmm... we just made a macaron
Divide
Mmm... we just made a macaron

19. HOW TO ILLUSTRATOR • 18
TIP 10:
Simple Blends
Four key steps to any blend:
·· Create beginning and end shapes
·· Select both shapes
·· Object > Blend > Blend Options...
·· Object > Blend > Make
Smooth Color (creates a smooth gradient)
Specified Distance (shapes are all equally spaced apart)
Specified Steps (5 steps for a total of 7 shapes)