Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Drawing and Composing an Illustration

Objectives• Draw straight lines• Draw curved lines• Draw elements of an illustration• Apply attributes to objects• Assemble an illustration• Stroke objects for artistic effect• Use Image Trace • Use the Live Paint Bucket tool

Draw Straight Lines

• View Objects on the Artboard– Use the Zoom tool to enlarge areas of the artboard

for easier viewing.– Click and drag the Zoom tool over an area to

magnify it.– Use the New View command to save a view of the

artboard.

Draw Straight Lines

Draw straight segments with the Pen tool.• Use the Pen tool to make lines, called paths.• Click the artboard with the Pen tool to make anchor points.• Straight segments are automatically placed between every

two anchor points.• Corner points are where two endpoints of two straight

segments are united.

Draw Straight Lines

• You can move, reposition, add, and delete anchor points and segments.

• Once you have completed an object, use the Direct Selection tool to fix points and segments.

Draw Straight Lines

Line segment

Starting anchor point Corner anchor points

Ending anchor point

Corner anchor

Elements of a path composed of straight segments

Draw Straight Lines

Use the Average command to align two or more points on:

• Horizontal axis• Vertical axis• Both the horizontal and vertical axes

Draw Straight Lines

• Join command unites two anchor points.• Join command always creates a corner point.• Use the Average and Join commands in

tandem.

Draw Straight Lines

Two paths created by the Join command

Points to be joined

Points to be joined

Draw Curved Lines

Properties of curved lines• Click and drag the Pen tool to create anchor points

along a curved line.• “Draw” a curved path by clicking and dragging the

Pen tool to create points.• Anchor points created this way are called smooth

points.

Draw Curved Lines

• Direction lines are exposed when you use the Direct Selection tool.

• Click and drag direction points at the end of direction lines to reshape curves.

Draw Curved Lines

• Smooth points always have two direction lines that move as a unit.

• When you manipulate direction lines through a smooth point, a smooth transition is maintained.

Draw Curved LinesSmooth anchor point

Direction line

Direction point

Draw Curved Lines

• When two paths are joined at a corner point, they can be manipulated independently.

• Corner point can join:– two straight segments– one straight and one curved segment– two curved segments

Draw Curved Lines

A corner point joining two curved paths (note the direction lines)

A smooth point

A corner point joining one straight and one curved segment

A corner point joining two straight segments

Draw Curved Lines

• Convert Anchor Point tool changes corner points to smooth points, and smooth points to corner points.

• To convert a corner point to smooth, click and drag the Convert Anchor Point tool on anchor point to pull out direction lines.

Draw Curved Lines

• When you click directly on a smooth point with Convert Anchor Point tool, direction lines disappear.

• Smooth point is converted to a corner point that joins two straight segments.

Draw Curved Lines

Corner point converted to a smooth point

Corner point

Converting a corner point to a smooth point

Draw Curved Lines

• Toggle between the Pen tool and the selection tools using keyboard shortcuts for efficiency.

• When the Pen tool is selected press [Ctrl] (Win) or [Command] (Mac) to access the Selection tool or Direct Selection tool, depending on which tool you used last.

Draw Elements of an Illustration

• Drawing from scratch means you start with a new Illustrator document and create the illustration using only Illustrator tools.

Illustration created from scratch


• Illustrator’s shape tools combined with transformation tools make program powerful for creating geometric designs.

• Undo and Redo commands allow for easy experimentation.

• Use the Place command to import a scanned image into Illustrator.

• Trace the image in Illustrator.


Apply Attributes to Objects

• Attributes are effects you have applied to an object that affect its appearance.

• Typographic Attributes– Font, leading, horizontal scale

• Artistic Attributes – Fill color, stroke color, stroke weight


• The Eyedropper tool is handy for applying all of an object’s attributes to another object.

• Use the Eyedropper tool to copy formatting and effects between text elements.



• Avoid applying fills to open paths. • Open path’s primary role is to feature a stroke.• Any effect that you can create by filling an

open path is more effective by filling a closed path.

Apply Attributes to ObjectsYellow fill applied to open path

Endpoint of open path

Endpoint of open path

Assemble an Illustration

The sequence in which elements are drawn determines the stacking order


• Newer elements appear in front of older elements.

• Locking and hiding placed elements will help protect them when positioned correctly.

• Use stacking order commands to assemble various components of an illustration.


All elements in position

Stroke Objects for Artistic Effect

Use the Stroke panel to define stroke attributes:• Joins• Caps• Strokes

– solid – dashed


Dash width text box Gap width text box

Limittext box

Caps

Joins


• Caps are applied to the ends of stroke paths.• Stroke panel offers three choices:

– Butt Cap for square ends– Round Caps for rounded ends– Projecting Caps for square edges that extend

anchor point one-half weight of stroke.


Two segments with Butt caps

Two segments with Projecting caps

Stroke Objects for Artistic EffectJoins define appearance of corner.• Default is miter join, which produces

stroked lines with pointed corners. • Round join produces stroked lines with

rounded corners.• Beveled join produces stroked lines with

squared corners.


Miter joinRound joinBevel join


• Miter limit determines when a miter join will be squared off to beveled edge.

• Miter is length of point, from inside to outside.

• Default miter limit is 4 times the stroke weight.


• Dashed stroke is like any other stroked path except stroke has been broken into sequence of dashes separated by gaps.

• Customize dashed or dotted lines using the Stroke panel.


• Create a maximum of three different sizes of dashes and three different sizes of gaps.

• When creating dashed stroke, remain conscious of cap choice in Stroke panel.

• Rectangle uses Exact Dashes options

• Dashes distributed around the edge of the rectangle with exact measurements regardless of appearance.


• Rectangle uses Adjust Dashes option.

• Dashes and gaps automatically adjusted around corners for a balanced effect.



• Creating pseudo-stroke effects:– Sometimes the most effective stroke is no stroke

at all.– Place black-filled copy behind an illustration

element, then distort the black element with Direct Selection tool so it peeks out from behind.


Black copy pasted in back and distorted

The ‘pseudo-stroke’ effect

Original object

• Image Trace feature traces a bitmap image and converts it to a vector graphic.

Use Image Trace

Use Image Trace

• Once Image Trace has been executed, the Expand button becomes available on the Control panel.

• Expanding a traced image allows you to modify the paths and points that comprise the new vector graphic.

Expanded traced graphic in Outline mode

Use Image Trace

• You can use Image Trace to trace bitmap photo.

• Tracing Presets on the Control panel offers a variety of ways to trace an image.

• Settings in the Image Trace panel can be used to create interesting illustration effects.

Use Image Trace

Use Image Trace

Image Trace panel

Scanned photograph Photograph traced

Use Image Trace

Use Live Paint Bucket Tool

• In Live Paint mode the concepts of “objects” no longer applies.

• You can fill and stroke negative spaces.• Live Paint Bucket tool uses two object types:

– Regions– Edges

• Edges and regions are like fills and strokes but “live.”

• Where regions overlap a third region is created that can be painted a different color.


Edge

Region

Edge with new color applied

Region with new color applied


To paint objects with Live Paint Bucket tool:• Select object• Click Live Paint Bucket tool• Click a color in Swatches panel• Click a region to be filled


• When any object is moved, overlapping areas changes shape and fill accordingly.

• This is the “live” aspect.


Moving an object in a Live Paint group

Rectangle moved to the left


• Painting Virtual regions

Six paths Four regions Appearance of regions based on paths being moved


To insert new objects into a live paint group:• Switch to Selection tool.• Double-click inside any of the regions of the

group.


Gray rectangle indicates intersection mode

New object is added to the live paint group


• Use Expand command to release Live Paint group into its component regions.

• Select live paint group.• Click Expand button on Control panel.


• To use Live painting edges:• Double-click Live Paint Bucket tool.• Click Paint Strokes check box in Live Paint

Bucket Options dialog box.


Paint Strokes check box


Chapter 3

Documents

curved lines corner

curved segmenta corner

curved linessmooth points

direction points

curved paths

curved linesdirection

pen tool

straight segmentsone