Tag: Illustrator

Chapter 32. Resizing Tricks 5:51

  • Won’t be resizing keycaps or symbols on them
    • Probably just font sizes
    • Might skips to chapter on text
  • Preferences → General → Scale Strokes & Effects
    • When you make something bigger the strokes and effects will get bigger
  • We tend to be creatures of comfort when it comes to workflow configuration
    • Every once in a while go into a pulldown and explore something new
      • Go to Help and type it in
      • It is possible that you need to know that
    • Get to know these program!
  • Select an entire groups
    • Command-Click it to select it all showing the bounding box
    • Keep holding Command
    • Resize it however you want
    • Hold Command-Shift to keep it in proportion
    • Hold Command-Option-Shift to resize it in proportion staying centered
      • Remove the Shift key and it will still remain centered
    • Holding Shift on rotation gives you 45° and 90° shifts
  • If you either have the bounding box of or want more precision you can do the same thing with the Scale Tool
    • Select the object (or group)
    • Select Scale Tool S
    • Click the point where you want to lock the object and a crosshairs will appear there
      • Hold Alt and click to show the Scale modifier panel with detailed options
    • Select the object/group with no modifier and now you will resize it relative to that point
      • Unsure how to rotate it
    • X, Y, and W in the top-middle section also bring up the Transform panel
  • The transform panel is where you would do precise transformations like
    • Change the width and hide by specific percentages
    • Rotate it by specific degrees

Chapter 30. Selection Via Attributes 3:57

  • Say that you have the same logo color in everything
    • You gotta change it
    • Select it everywhere
    • By some criteria
    • And change it
  • Multiple selection lets you do bulk changes by some criteria
  • Also lets you search for and discover things
  • Tons of features
    • Layer
  • Select → Objects → Stray Points
    • You can accidentally leave stray objects in places
    • This shows them
    • Then you can delete them
  • Select → Objects → Not Aligned To Pixel Grid
    • Means it will look bad rasterized
      • Doesn’t show fix yet
  • Selection by attribute lets you make global modifications

Chapter 27. Group And Direct Selection Tips 6:48

  • Will cover
    • Selection Tool
    • Group Selection Tool
    • Magic Wand Tool
    • Lasso Tool
  • Select multiple objects with the Selection Tool
    • Object → Group
    • Make them into a group
    • Can un-group them
  • Group Selection Tool
    • Get into a group and select a piece of the group without un-grouping it
      • Key cap configure perhaps is made of groups?
      • How to deal with each logical keycap layer having it’s own font?
    • Lets you move individual objects keeping them in their group
  • A group of groups of objects is a nest
  • Select one group, shift-click another group, now you can group those two groups
  • This seems to be one way to keep everything positioned correctly
  • Each time you click a nest it cycles through selecting all of the groups
    • Group logically related features as their own groups so that you can dig deeper and deeper as you would expect
  • Double-clicking objects in a nest access isolation groups which cycles through the nested groups
  • Either way when you are in a particular group, the edit menu operates on the objects in that group. So Edit → Select All selects everything in that group. Obvious but news to me.
  • Just noticed in the top area that it also shows the groups including the one that you are in right now
  • How long do groups live?

Chapter 26. Controlling Selection With Preferences 5:49

  • A whole chapter on selection, got my attention!
  • Andy says that it is one of most important skills
    • Vector programs are called object-oriented
  • This lesson is all about the Selection Tool (V)
  • You can hide the bounding box of an object
    • How do you reshape the object?
      • Use the tools from the toolbar
  • Preferences → Selection & Anchor Display
    • Tolerance
      • How close you are to an anchor point before AI informs you that you are there
      • Nice to set it to one so that you are operating precisely
  • Shift-Click to select multiple objects
  • Command-Drag on an object to move all of them

Chapter 23. New Tricks With Guides 3:42

  • When you set the origin point you are setting that position on the ruler to 0,0
  • When you snap the origin to an object you can use the ruler to position a guide exactly N units away from that object
    • Double click the genesis point to reset it to the default position
    • You are left with a guide so you know where to place the new object
  • When you hold shift to work with a guide it always snaps to the whole location
  • Command-rag from origin brings two guides
  • Guides are indispensable

Chapter 22. Resizing An Art-Board From Center 3:56

  • You can automatically resize an artboard by centering it and shrinking it on an object
  • You can also manually do it by
    • Selecting the object on which to center
    • Selecting the dropdown of the align tool to choose Align To Artboard
    • Manually selecting center vertical and horizontal
    • Shift-Option and resize on the corner of the artboard keeps the object centered
    • This will take some examples