Illustrator Question

[thich]

I know it's a photoshop section, but I was fiddling around with illustrator and it's definitely a different program than to what i'm used to on photoshop. the tools are so different (granted it IS a drawing program vs. a painting program....)

does anyone else use it?
particularly for what purposes? (I used it for my marketing class to design a vector image of a logo)...
are there any good tutorials out there to read on how to use it?

[lam-boy]

Originally posted by thich
I know it's a photoshop section, but I was fiddling around with illustrator and it's definitely a different program than to what i'm used to on photoshop. the tools are so different (granted it IS a drawing program vs. a painting program....)

does anyone else use it?
particularly for what purposes? (I used it for my marketing class to design a vector image of a logo)...
are there any good tutorials out there to read on how to use it?

i've learned how to use it in grade 10.

i like illustrator..but i have never gotten around to actually improving my skills with it.

but in my grade 10 classes, my teachers students from the past have made posters for disney and other things. she ahs them hung around class. its neat.

[Superesc]

illustrator is good for print work, poster work, developing logos (vectors), typography and illustrations. There are many uses for it depending on what you want to do???

[thich]

the drawing space is very different as well as i noticed.... what affect does this have on the final product?

for example, i set hte image to be something like 1024x728 (or wutever it is) and the drawing space set... but i could draw outside of that. i guess it's just b/c it's a vector image?

[Superesc]

Illustrator's canvas is not base on pixels per say.. Because its made more toward teh Print side, its base on inches (the actual printing size).

The good thing about Illustrator is that because it is in vector you can scale things to whatever size and the graphics/type etc won't degrade (compare to scaling photos and such in PS...).

The prefer method depending on what you do (let say screen base.. website..) You can draw things in Illustrator (in whatever size/dimension), save it, then Open it in PS and scale it to the proper size for screen without losing quality.

[van]

Originally posted by thich
the drawing space is very different as well as i noticed.... what affect does this have on the final product?

for example, i set hte image to be something like 1024x728 (or wutever it is) and the drawing space set... but i could draw outside of that. i guess it's just b/c it's a vector image?

Think of the space around the window as a sort of scrap place. Anything outside of the rectangular/square box will not be seen when published. I tend to use the outside space just to place pictures that I haven't used yet or text.

Illustrator is a good program, I've used it numerous amount of times as well as Macromedia Freehand. I only use these programs when I need to do something for publishing/printing.

The main tools I think I use within Illustrator/Freehand would be the pen tool to make logos as well as vector-based graphics. For example, tooning cars - probably better to use Illustrator for something like that. It is easier to use the pen tool in Illustrator as to using the pen tool in Photoshop. In Illustrator there are a lot more options and tools to play around with.

Like Superesc said, it is a lot easier scaling up and down vector objects versus pixel objects.

I made this a year ago.. when I first started getting into vector stuff.

[ckruzel]

i've used illustrator for years, the nice thing is when you make and image it does not matter what size it will be for publication, also i make all of my vinyl plotter artwork in illustrator then just open the .ai files in flexi-sign pro for cutting

[thich]

are there any good tutorials out there to learn from?
i want to get into this vector imaging now too so i can have both skills to play with

[ckruzel]

there are a few good tutorial sites out there, not as many as photoshop, check out some book stores for illustrator tips and tricks books

[silentrage]

just fool around w/ it. import pics and try to "trace them".

[thich]

i guess i might as well try that lol
looks like a mighty fun program.

[3g4me]

I like how you can use rulers. I personally use illustrator for setting up pictures/posters, and i use it at work for marketing. Been using it for about 3.5 years. Nice little program

[audipardner]

try this site for tutorials...pretty awesome!
www.thewebmachine.com

for more, try the adobe tutorial site.... even more, try searching for ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIALS on google...
cheers
AP

[thich]

thanx!

[ckruzel]

i use it to design files for my vinyl cutter, if you do have to trace something, place the file (tiff's work best it seems, although jpgs work ok also) make a new layer over your image, and work on that layer