What is a stroke in Adobe terms?
A stroke is an attribute applied to the path of an object - these can include width, colour, and style
What is a path in illustrator?
A path in Illustrator is an element between two anchor points
What is an anchor?
A key building block of Illustrator. An anchor is a point defined on an artboard using measurements based on the x and y coodinates from the zero-zero point (default top left hand corner)
How do i change my zero-zero point?
Hover your curser over the point on the scree where the two rulers intersect, Mouse down and drag to a new location. Objects will not change their position but the reference x and y coordinates will update.
(to reset to default - Double click in the intersection area.
What are Artboards?
Illustrator refers to its working/print area as Artbords. Anything not on an artboard is not shown when producing a .pdf or printing.
How do you mask objects and images in Illustrator?
To mask an item you must create a clipping path which must be above all the elements/image you want to mask.
Select all the elements/image and the top clipping path…then select
Object Menu > Clipping Mask > Make (cmd7 or cont7)
How can I create a resolution independent graphic?
Use only the vector tools in illustrator. This creates a graphic that can be scaled to any size.
What resolution must images be for print document in Illustrator?
The normal resolution is 300ppi at the size you want to use it, the same as InDesign.
Technically it depends on your output lpi (lines per inch) sometimes referred to as line screen frequency.
lpi x 2 = ppi for optimum quality at 100% on a given printing device.
Can i use Illustrator graphics in Photoshop?
Yes .ai files can be placed into Photoshop - because they are normally vectors they are place as smart objects.
Can i use .psd file in Illustrator?
You can place a psd file into illustrator - the file is linked to the original and can be updated in photoshop by clicking the edit button in the links panel. Any changes made in Photoshop will then be updated to the Illustrator file.
What measurement units should i use?
For print based artwork in the UK - centimetre or millimetres, For web/screen based artwork - pixels
What colour mode do i use for a print based document?
In the new dialogue box select from the print option and it will use CMYK as the colour mode as these are standard colour used by printing devices. it will used millimetres as the measurement unit.
What colour mode do i use for a web based document?
In the new dialogue box select from the any other option and it will use RGB as the colour mode and pixels as your measurement unit.
All the other document options use RGB as they will be displayed on devices nor printed
Can you trace pixel based images to turn them into Vector based graphics?
You can convert pixel based images into a variety of colour based options from Black and White through to Full Colour. Beware that there is a point that the vector paths generated can become to complex - so always consider is it best to keep in pixel based format?
Can i create custom guides?
Any object you draw can be converted to a guide - useful for creating custom guides and cutter guides for packaging
What format should i save illustrator files in?
the default format is .ai which can be read by Photoshop and InDesign
you can also save in .pdf which is an extension of the old .eps format