Adobe Illustrator CC - Print Design for Beginners

If you already have Adobe Illustrator CC installed on your computer, skip this video.

This video walks the user through obtaining and Adobe ID, downloading and installing Adobe Illustrator CC, and launching the application from the Creative Cloud access panel. Yay! You're on your way!

Jump into Adobe Illustrator CC and set up a new document using the Print profile and your choice of measurement units (inches, millimeters, points, etc.). Also, make sure you're working in CMYK mode with High (300 ppi) Raster Effects.

Let's take a quick look at the Adobe Illustrator CC User Interface. We'll look at the art board, the tools panel, and the other panels on the right-hand side.

An art board is the visible space for you project. When you export a project as a PDF, for example, only elements that are on the art board(s) will appear in the PDF. An art board can be virtually any size you desire. Typically you will set the dimensions of the dartboard based on the size of the finished product; your client, a vendor, or a printing service may provide you with specific instructions for sizing the art boards.

Make sure you enable the 'Scale Strokes & Effects' setting in the General Preferences dialogue window.

This lecture is just a really quick overview of the Tools panel.

The Selection Tool enables to you to select whole objects. You can click on individual objects to select them one at a time, or you can click and drag over multiple objects to select many at a time. The Direct Selection Tool enables you to select specific pieces of an object, typically anchor points that you can manipulate for fine-tuning your edits. You'll definitely use the Direct Selection Tool in conjunction with the Pen Tool (see the 'Pen Tool' and 'Pen Tool + & - Anchor Points' lectures).

The rectangle tool is the most basic object creation tool in Illustrator. Easily create perfect squares and rectangles.

The Rounded Rectangle Tool does just what you would imagine, it enables you to create squares and rectangles with rounded corners.

'Ellipse' is just the technical word for circles and/or ovals. The Ellipse Tool enables you to create both.

Easily create starts, triangles, and other multi-sided shapes with these two tools.

The Pen Tool is by far the most powerful tool in your Illustrator arsenal. Practice makes perfect when using the pen tool, so spend as much time as needed to master this amazing tool.

Adding and removing anchor points on paths is an essential method to ensure you have the cleanest artwork in your project. Use the least amount of anchor points as possible when tracing objects or creating objects from scratch.

Text in Illustrator is unlike anything you've seen before. Harness the power of the Type tool and set your text exactly where you want it.

Learn how to type on a path, type vertically, and others.

The line segment tool allows you to create perfectly straight lines. Hold down the shift key to constrain the lines to 45° angles. The other tools in this group make it easy to create arcs, spirals, rectangle grids, and polar grids.

Layers make your workflow incredibly more proficient. You'll learn how to hide and lock layers, edit their names, and change their colors. Understanding layers is essential for great organization.

When a colleague sends you a file he/she created, sometimes you don't have the same fonts installed on your computer. What do you do then?

We'll take a high-level look at the panels on the right-hand side of the interface to help guide you as we dive deeper into each panel in the following lectures.

The stroke panel is used to add outlines to your objects. Options in the stroke panel include the weight (how thick the outline is), end-caps (rounded or flat ends), corners (rounded, sharp, or beveled), and stroke alignment (inside / outside the perimeter, or riding the middle). The stroke panel also gives you options for dashed lines and arrows for the ends of line segments.

The gradient panel works in conjunction with the gradient tool. A gradient has at least two colors on opposite ends of a spectrum. The colors converge together to crate a fade. You can fade from one color to multiple colors and control the amount of fade easily with the panel settings and the gradient tool.

The Transform Panel enables you to specify the location of objects on the art board and edit the width and height for these objects. When operating this panel, pay close attention to the Reference Point map. The point that is selected on this map indicates the origin from which the edits will occur.

The Align Panel helps you precisely align objects to other objects on the art board, or to the art board itself. You can align objects based on the following reference points: left, horizontal middle, right, top, vertical middle, and bottom. The Align Panel also includes distribution tools that help you distribute object evenly on the art board or in a specified area.

The Pathfinder Panel allows you to join objects together, use one object to cut space out of another object, or cut out the area where multiple objects intersect.

Editing text in Adobe Illustrator is super powerful. The Character Panel has many settings that allow you to be as precise as needed when placing text on the art board. The Paragraph Panel has seven different options for you to select from when deciding how your text should flow.

The Swatches and Color Panels are integral to any design you'll do in Adobe Illustrator. Use the swatch panel select pre-defined colors, or swatches. Use the color panel to manually create custom colors.

The Transparency Panel allows you to edit the opacity of an object. 100% opacity is completely solid (opaque). 0% opacity is completely see-through (transparent). The Libraries Panel is a great place to store commonly used objects, like logos, mission statements, swatches, etc.

The Transform menu item has several options to help you manipulate an element. Rotate and Reflect are the most commonly used. Let's take a quick look.

• Object -> Transform -> Rotate
• Object -> Transform -> Reflect
• Or right-click directly on the element

Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward, and Send to Back are options found in the Arrange Menu item. They work much like layers, and they're super helpful! Let's take a quick look.

• Object -> Arrange
• Or right-click directly on the element

Compound Paths are used you when you want to remove a section of an object. Think of a doughnut with the center cut out. Without a compound path, you would have to change to color of the 'hole' to match the background that the doughnut rests on.

Adding images to Illustrator is very easy. Choose 'File' and then 'Place.' Select the image you want and then place it on the art board where you want. Pay close attention to the location of the image file in relation to your Illustrator. If you move the image file, you'll have to relink it in Illustrator, so that Illustrator knows where it is.

Tracing images is a very common task when you need to scale artwork, repair logos, or change the colors for illustrations. When tracing images, it is important to use the least amount of anchor as possible. I show you the proper techniques to ensure the greatest fidelity between your source file and your vector file.

When the left half is supposed to look identical to the right half, or the top half is supposed to look identical to the bottom half, you're better served to create only of the halves, copy it, reflect it, and then join the two halves to gather. I'll show you how to easily do this and save yourself a ton of time.

Automatic Tracing is often necessary to get quick results when tracing images; however, there are a few caveats to be aware of when using automatic tracing. We'll look at what works and what doesn't and how to clean up the artwork.

Clipping Masks are used when you want to remove a portion of a picture, but you don't want to actually edit the picture. It's kind of like cropping a picture, but you can be as specific as you want on what stays and what goes.

Backgrounds are essential, but it's important to not go crazy. Let's take a look at creating two simple backgrounds from scratch.

There are tons of resources available online. I'll show you how to search correctly for vector files that you can use in your projects. Beware, some files require payment, but so many are free. Chances are that you will always find something that you can use in your projects.

A Baby Announcement is a very popular way to share the news of a new arrival. We'll place four images, text, and some decorations against a pink background.

This is a party invitation that combines many of the elements we've already learned. I've also included the Alex-Brush font, which is a free open source font for you to install and use.

We'll look at creating a business card. There are severals things to take into consideration when designing a business card, but there is also a lot of leeway as you can be as creative as you want when creating business cards. I've provide the source file that includes my business logo. Please only use it for learning purposes. Thanks!

In this lecture, I'll show you have to use barcodes on coupons. You can create many different types of barcodes, but always grab the .eps file for the one you use. The website that I use to create barcodes is http://www.terryburton.co.uk/barcodewriter/generator/

Barcodes should be used in conjunction with some sort of method to track the use of them. Typically, your client will provide you with the number you will use to create a barcode.

In this lecture I show you how to create a poster with a QR Code. QR Codes are popular in getting instant interaction with people. They're also incredibly easily to incorporate into any of your artwork. I use the following website to create QR Codes: http://goqr.me

In this lecture, I show you the process of creating a '2up Flyer,' which is creating the same advertisement twice on one page to get twice as much out of your prints.

In this lecture, I show you the process of creating a '4up Flyer,' which is creating the same advertisement four times on one page.

Forms are everywhere, and too many of them are just terrible to look at, let alone actually fill out. I show you what to consider when creating forms, so that you can create your own that look terrific. Always keep the experience of the end user in mind when creating forms.

This lecture explores the three major options for exporting artwork: PDF, JPEG, and PNG. Pay close attention to a few of the 'gotchas' noted in the video.

Sometimes you can export your artwork as .jpg or .png file and send it to a printer. Other times, you'll have to send the original files (.ai or .eps files) and all of your assets to the printer. This latter method requires a little more work.

Some printers will ask you to include any special font files. Others will ask you to convert your text to outlines. Let's look at how to accomplish both of these tasks.

If your printer is asking for original files, and you have linked images in your work, you better send him those images as well!

Having your backgrounds fall off of the art board can actually be a good thing. When your sending source files to printer, they'll often print the portion of the canvas around the art board and then cut the print to the exact dimensions of the art board. this is so you don't have white edges. Bleeds are essential in these cases.

Some times it's better to be safe than sorry. Placement of objects on the art board is one of those times. A Safe Area is the area on the art board that the printer guarantees will be printed in whole, meaning when they cut it out, they don't cut into your artwork. Typically, you want to place all important artwork at least an 1/8th of inch inside the bounds of the art board.

Congratulations on finishing this course! I know that learning a new technology can be difficult and frustrating at times, but if you stick to it and practice, Illustrator will soon become second nature.

Look for opportunities that will give you exposure to Illustrator. Do you know somebody that will be graduating soon, or getting married, or having a baby? Offer to do their announcements, and create a truly memorable work of art for them. Feel free to refer back to these videos as often as you'd like.

Again, Congratulations! And THANK YOU!