AI Lesson 05
Graphic Design and Illustration with Adobe Illustrator
Graphic Design and Illustration with Adobe Illustrator
Already in the fifth week, it's remarkable how quickly time has passed! Now is the opportunity to evaluate your achievements in the Adobe Illustrator challenge. Consider what skills you have already honed and pinpoint areas that could benefit from additional attention. Best wishes as you undertake the test!
The test will be shared by the SOFT2 teacher during the first class through a Microsoft Teams assignment. Next week, we will review the answers together with the Illustrator students.
Brush Panel and Libraries
Adobe illustrator Brushes are vector based brushes. Illustrator provides a wide variety of preset brushes, ranging from charcoal strokes to calligraphic strokes to arrows to patterns. In Illustrator CC you can also create brushes from pixel based imaged In the Brush Panel you will find 5 brush categories:
Calligraphy brushes
Scatter Brushes
Art Brushes
Bristle Brushes
Border Brushes.
Pixel based brushes (can be scatter, art or border)
Brushes have the advantages of being easily editable, scalable vectors.
You can apply them to existing paths – created with the Pen or Pencil tool, shapes, and so on.
You can draw with a brush using the Paintbrush tool.
All brushes are vector-based, however in Illustrator you can use raster-based images to create a brush.
To apply a brush to an existing path:
Select a path, and click a brush on the Brushes panel or on the Brush Definition menu on the Control panel OR drag a brush from the Brushes panel onto a path.
Calligraphic brush strokes vary in thickness as you draw, simulating calligraphy.
To create a calligraphic brush:
Click the New Brush button in the Brushes panel.
In the New Brush dialog box, click Calligraphic Brush, and then click OK.
Enter a name in the Calligraphic Brush Options dialog box.
Define brush parameters – angle, roundness, and diameter.
Click OK, then apply the new brush to a path or draw with the Paintbrush tool.
Angle: An angle of 0º produces a stroke that is thin when drawn horizontally and thick when drawn vertically; an angle of 90º produces the opposite result.
Roundness: Lower is less round.
Diameter: Size.
Drop-down menus:
Fixed keeps the value constant.
Random randomizes the value.
Other options are available depending on whether you have a drawing tablet, and what kind. Preview your stroke in the dialog box, adjust settings, and click OK.
Bristle brushes
Bristle brushes act like traditional art brushes, bristles included.
Bristle brushes are pressure sensitive. Working with a pressure sensitive tablet and pen such as Wacom will make the experience of drawing more accurate.
There are ten presets in the Bristle Brushes library:
The round tip brushes have a white tip symbol:
Round Fan.
Round Point.
Round Blunt.
Round Curve.
Round Angle.
The flat tip brushes have a dark tip symbol:
Flat Fan.
Flat Point.
Flat Blunt.
Flat Curve.
Flat Angle.
Bristle brush options
Bristle brush settings will mimic traditional brushes and will enable you to choose the amount of bristle and density.
Shape: select from ten different brush models.
Size: The diameter of the brush. Choose the brush size before you start drawing or after you draw while selecting the path.
Shortcuts for brush size:
Click on the right bracket on your keyboard to increase the brush size.
Click on the left bracket to decrease the brush size.
Bristle Length: defines the length of the bristle by dragging the Bristle Length slider.
Bristle Density: defines the number of bristles in a specified area of the brush.
Bristle Thickness: defines the thickness of the bristles.
Paint Opacity: lets you set the opacity of the paint being used.
Stiffness: implies the rigidness of the bristles.
Creating art brushes
Art brushes are based on selected artwork, which is then converted into a brush.
As the brush is applied, the artwork stretches to fill the applied stroke.
To create an art brush:
1. Select the artwork that will become the brush stroke.
2. Choose New Brush from the Brushes panel menu or drag it to the Brush panel.
3. Select Art Brush in the New Brush dialog box.
4. Adjust the brush options in the Art Brush Options dialog box, name it, and click OK to add the brush to the Brushes panel.
Art brush options
Width: adjusts the width of the art relative to its original width. The default art brush width is 100%.
Scale: preserves proportions in scaled art. The options available are: Scale Proportionately, Stretch to Fit Stroke Length, Stretch Between Guides.
Direction: determines the direction of the artwork in relation to the line.
Flip Along or Flip Across: change the orientation of the art in relation to the line.
Colorization: pick a color for the stroke and method of colorization.
Overlap: to avoid joins and folds of an object’s edges to overlap, you can select the Overlap adjustment button.
Segmented Art brush: the ability to define a non-stretchable portion at the ends of an art brush.
Scatter brushes are similar to art brushes as they are based on selected artwork.
Instead of stretching that artwork to fit a path, they scatter the artwork along the path to which they are applied.
1. Select the artwork on which you are basing the brush, and choose New Brush from the Brushes panel menu.
2. In the New Brush dialog box, select Scatter Brush, and click OK.
3. In the Scatter Brush Options dialog box, enter a name, then define brush options, and click OK.
4. Use the scatter brush to populate a scene with multiple images across a path.
Size: controls the size of the objects.
Spacing: controls the amount of space between objects.
Scatter: controls the scattering of the brush along the path.
Rotation: controls the angle of rotation of the objects.
Choosing control from the submenu:
Fixed: creates a brush with a fixed size, spacing, scattering, and rotation.
Random: creates a brush with random variations in size, spacing, scattering, and rotation.
Pressure: creates a brush that varies in angle, roundness, or diameter based on the pressure of a drawing stylus.
Stylus Wheel: creates a brush that varies in diameter based on manipulation of the stylus wheel.
Tilt: creates a brush that varies in angle, roundness, or diameter.
Bearing: creates a brush that varies in angle, roundness, or diameter.
Rotation: creates a brush that varies in angle, roundness, or diameter.
Creating brushes from patterns
Pattern brushes
Pattern brushes are useful for drawing borders and can include up to five tiles:
Side Tile.
Outer Corner Tile.
Inner Corner Tile.
Start Tile.
End Tile.
Pattern Brushes are more complex to create.
Easy method: Drag one of the
Preset pattern brushes into the Brushes panel, and then double-click it to edit it.
You can replace any of the preset tiles with objects in your document’s Swatches panel.
Pattern brushes options
Pattern brushes are defined from Pattern swatches that you load into the Pattern brushes preset dialog box. Before creating the brushes it is recommended to test the pattern to make sure it is seamless.
Scale: adjusts the size of tiles relative to their original size.
Spacing: adjusts the space between tiles.
Tile buttons: let you apply different patterns to different parts of the path. Click a tile button for the tile you want to define, and select a pattern swatch from the scroll list.
Flip Along or Flip Across: changes the orientation of the pattern in relation to the line.
Fit: determines how the pattern fits on the path.
Colorization: pick a color for the stroke and method of colorization from the methods using the drop-down list.
When dealing with complex paths in Adobe Illustrator, it's common for stray anchor points to apear.
Now, what exactly are these stray anchor points?
Figure out what they are.
Generate a couple as an example
Discover the simplest method to remove it!
Once you've grasped the concept and completed the task, inform your teacher.
Create a new blank document (print A4).
Follow the steps in the video and try to understand what you are doing. Know the theory behind it.
Create a document with in there a variety of brushes. Try to use them all.
Place your image on your Spark page and describe briefly what you have done.
LinkedIn Learning
As a GLR student, you can continue to develop yourself 24/7. The online platform LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of video tutorials and online training sessions, to which you have free access with your GLR email address.
Once you have completed the virtual training, LinkedIn Learning grants you access to a certification. You can then showcase your success on your LinkedIn newsfeed.
Hurry and visit LINKEDIN LEARNING, log in with your GLR email address, and get started.
Watch the videos from "Cert Prep: Adobe Certified Associate - Illustrator" chapter 5.
Note: At the end of SOFT2C, you need to submit the certificate you received from LinkedIn Learning to your teacher. Watch the assigned chapters every week.