computer illustration | midterm review

• Describe how to get a “tear off” menu?

Click and hold the Selection tool over a tool until the group of tools that resides underneath appears. Without releasing the mouse, drag to the triangle at the end of the group and then release the mouse to tear off the group.

• What are guides? How can you make them?

Guides help you align text and graphic objects.

Create guides:

If the rulers aren’t showing, choose View > Show Rulers.

Position the pointer on the left ruler for a vertical guide or on the top ruler for a horizontal guide.

Drag the guide into position.

To convert vector objects to guides, select them and choose View > Guides > Make Guides.

• Know the two viewing modes and when/why you use each one.

By default, Adobe Illustrator sets the view so that all artwork is previewed (CPU) in color, but when you need to edit "the bones" of an illustration, you can choose to display artwork so that only its outlines (or paths) are visible. 

• Which mode is the fastest mode to work in? Why?

Outline mode- viewing artwork without paint attributes speeds up the time it takes to redraw the screen when working with complex artwork.

• What are primitive shape tools? 

Tool that automatically draws the set shape.

• Name the primitive shape tools.

Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Spiral, and Star tool.

• Understand modifier keys and how they change the different primitive shape tools. 

These key combinations will alter the way the object is drawn. There are 3 key combinations that can be used with the primitive shape tools:

-Shift (constrain a primitive shape to be proportionate.)

-Option (draw the selected primitive shape from the center point out.)

-Shift + Option (constrain your primitive shape to proportionate measurements while drawing it from the center point out.)

• Understand object transformations and how you access and apply the different transformations available.

Window > Transform.

Scale

Shear

Rotate

Reflect

• The two fundamental components of any vector object created in Illustrator are the anchor points and segments that make up the shape’s outlines or paths. 

• Know the definition of a segment.

The simplest path you can draw with the Pen tool is a straight line, made by clicking the Pen tool to create two anchor points.

• Know the definition of a path.

A path is the black line that appears when you draw a line in Adobe Illustrator. A path is made up of a series of points called “anchor points” and line segments between these points. 

• The Pen tool is the most important of all the Illustrator tools because it allows the widest range of creation and control over custom paths. 

• Know the difference between a closed path and an open path. 

Open Paths – This is a simple line with two end points.

Closed Paths – A closed shape no end points. Ex: rectangle, circle etc.

• Know the Pen tool symbols (icons that show next to the cursor).

more here

• Curving segments are also known as Bezier curves. 

• Know how to create a curved segment.

You create a curve by adding an anchor point where a curve changes direction, and dragging the direction lines that shape the curve. The length and slope of the direction lines determine the shape of the curve.

• Know the difference between smooth points and corner points. 

Smooth point- made up of two linked control handles and help prevent the path from changing direction abruptly. both handles are in line w each other.

Corner Points- helps the path change direction. formed by line segments whose curves do not transition smoothly together.

• Know the difference between the Selection tool and the Direct Selection tool and when to use each one of them. 

Selection tool- allows you to select text and graphics frames, and work with an object using its bounding box. 

Direct selection tool- allows you to select the contents of a frame, such as a placed graphic, or work directly with editable objects, such as paths, rectangles, or type that has been converted to a text outline.

• All shapes comprise of anchor points and segments and can therefore be modified on a point-by-point basis. 

• Know the two components involved when painting objects. 

Fill and stroke.

• Know the ways you can color an object. 

Gradients, with patterns, paint brush, etc.

• Know the definition of a stroke.

A stroke can be the visible outline of an object, a path, or the edge of a Live Paint group.

• Understand Brushes, how you can access the different brush libraries, and how to apply them in your illustration.

Brushes let you stylize the appearance of paths. There are different types of brushes in Illustrator:

-calligraphic (strokes that resemble those drawn with the angled point of a calligraphic pen and are drawn along the center of the path.)

-scatter (disperse copies of an object (such as a ladybug or a leaf) along the path.)

-art (stretch a brush shape or object shape evenly along the length of the path.)

-pattern (paint a pattern—made of individual tiles—that repeats along the path.)

-bristle (create brush strokes with the appearance of a natural brush with bristles.) 

(Window > Brush Libraries > [library]).

You can apply brush strokes to a path created with any drawing tool, including the Pen tool, Pencil tool, or basic shape tools. Do one of the following:

-Select the path, and then select a brush in a brush library, the Brushes panel, or the Control panel.

-Drag a brush onto the path. If the path already has brush strokes applied to it, then the new brush replaces the old brush.

• Understand the Gradient panel and how to make/manipulate gradients. 

Gradient colors are defined by a series of stops along the gradient slider. A stop marks the point at which a gradient changes from one color to the next, and is identified by a square below the gradient slider. The squares display the color currently assigned to each gradient stop. With a radial gradient, the leftmost gradient stop defines the center point’s color fill, which radiates outward to the color of the rightmost gradient stop. Using the options in the Gradient panel or with the Gradient tool, you can specify the number and location of stops, angle in which the colors display, aspect ratio of an elliptical gradient, and the opacity of each color.

• Know how to create a blend between objects. 

-Select the blend tool.

-To blend in sequential order with no rotation, click anywhere on each object, but avoid anchor points. To blend to a specific anchor point on an object, click the anchor point with the Blend tool. When the pointer is over an anchor point, the pointer changes from a white square to transparent with a black dot in its center. To blend open paths, select an endpoint on each path.

-When you are finished adding objects to the blend, click the Blend tool again.

• Know the different options for making a “blend.” 

You set blending options by double-clicking the Blend tool  or choosing Object > Blend > Blend Options. To change options for an existing blend, select the blended object first.

Spacing- determines how many steps are added to the blend.

Smooth Color- lets Illustrator auto-calculate the number of steps for the blends. If objects are filled or stroked with different colors, the steps are calculated to provide the optimum number of steps for a smooth color transition. If the objects contain identical colors, or if they contain gradients or patterns, the number of steps is based on the longest distance between the bounding box edges of the two objects.

Specified Steps- controls the number of steps between the start and end of the blend.

Specified Distance- controls the distance between the steps in the blend. The distance specified is measured from the edge of one object to the corresponding edge on the next object (for example, from the rightmost edge of one object to the rightmost edge of the next).

Orientation- determines the orientation of blended objects.

Align to Page- orients the blend perpendicular to the x axis of the page.

Align to Path- orients the blend perpendicular to the path.

• What are blending modes? How do they work?

Blending modes let you vary the ways that the colors of objects blend with the colors of underlying objects. When you apply a blending mode to an object, the effect of the blending mode is seen on any objects that lie beneath the object’s layer or group.

To change the blending mode of a fill or stroke, select the object, and then select the fill or stroke in the Appearance panel. In the Transparency panel, choose a blending mode from the pop‑up menu.