(Exercise) Vectors + Adobe Illustrator Intro

Introduction

Previously, we talked about Photoshop as a vehicle for manipulating pixels. An image made with pixels (bitmap, .png, .jpg, .webp, .heif, etc.) is what is referred to as a raster image. Today, we'll talk about Illustrator as a vehicle for manipulating something called vectors

What is a Vector?

A vector is a different way of creating images. The point of a vector is that is defined independent of its size. To do this we use points, and what are called bezier curves in order to define.

(Better yet) Why is a Vector?

The point of this is not to infuriate you with a new and potentially arcane piece of software, it is useful cases like creating typefaces or logos that can be scaled extremely small (say a business card or a Bible), or extremely large (a billboard). Although you still see typefaces with weights or variations

What We'll Cover

This is all you need to be functional within Adobe Illustrator. You will more than likely encounter other tools or methodologies to do what I describe, but this is meant, not unlike with Photoshop, to use what you need in order to be effective and to avoid overwhelming you.

This may still, however, feel like a lot, so don't hesitate to stop me or ask me to go over any topics again if you need.

  • Minor differences in layering in Illustrator vs Photoshop

  • my layer hygiene philosophy

  • Artboards

  • Using the shape tool

    • rectangle / rounded rectangle
    • ellipse
    • polygon
    • star

  • Grouping + Ungrouping

  • Strokes and Fills

  • Using the pen tool

  • Types of points

  • Changing anchor points

  • Selecting and changing things

  • Type Tool

  • Creating Outlines

  • Rotation Tool

  • Reflection Tool

  • Exporting (raster) images

  • If we have time (if not we'll cover next week)

    • Align & Distribute
    • Pathfinder
    • Compound Path
    • Clipping Masks

A Couple of Tutorials

Below are a couple of tutorial videos that can supplement your knowledge here, especially if something about how I convey the information doesn't work for you.