Vector Graphics are very different than the raster graphics that you typically create in Photoshop. It's true that Photoshop has some limited vector capabilities but no where near what you can achieve in illustrator. Instead of being comprised of static in individuals pixies vector graphics are mathematically drown by your computer and can therefore be drastically changed with absolutely. Zero loss in quality. The first thing that you are likely to notice when you start using Illustrator that there is a whole list of stuff going on when you select and edit something. This is something that lots of new users tend to hate right off the bat because it looks confusing, nut in reality all of the information and controls that illustrator thrown as you are externally helpful. *Bleed = Ink that is printed directly to the edge *Crop Marks = Corner marks for the printer to know where to trim the paper *Illustrator = Vector art making - Best program for logos, pen tool. etc *Photoshop = Pixel art making -Best Prog arm to alter photos
The Bounding Box...
For starters, whenever you select anything, you'll see it's bounding box. This is an intuitive feature that you should instantly understand, the part that's not intuitive is why it won't go away. In photo shop, you only see an object's bounding box when you're in the midst of a transform. In Illustrator, you see the bounding box whenever you have a complete object selected and the active tool is the Direct Selection Tool (V). If you have multiple objects selected, the bounding box will appear around all of them, allowing you to move or transform them together. The same rules apply as you're used to in Photoshop. hold shift to scale uniformly, throw in the Alt/Option key to scale from the center etc. One major difference here is that you can't grab and independently move a specific corner of the bounding box like you can in a Photoshop transform. This makes shearing and putting perspective objects a bit trickier as you have to use the dedicated tools for these types of transformations. Later we'll get a glimpse of how to use Free Transform, which will feel much more like you're used to in Photoshop. Smart Guides allow you to size objects on the fly using precise measurements and align whatever you have selected with points and lines from other objects around it. They make it really easy to create complex layouts very quickly and are much easier than "eyeballing" things.
C.R.A.P...
1. Contrast The idea behind contrast is to avoid elements on the page that are merely similar. If the elements (type, color, size, line thickness, shape, space, etc.) are not the same, then make them very different. Contrast is often the most important visual attraction on a page. 2. Repetition Repeat visual elements of the design throughout the piece. You can repeat color, shape, texture, spatial relationships, line thicknesses, sizes, etc. This helps develop the organization and strengthens the unity. 3. Alignment Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page. This creates a clean, sophisticated, fresh took, 4. Proximity Items relating to each other should be grouped close together. When several items are in close proximity to each other, they become one visual unit rather than several separate units. This helps organize information and reduces clutter.
Smart Guides...
You also of course have a full set of assignment tools for those types pf operation .
Effects Are Weird...
In place of 'filters' like in Photoshop, illustrator gives you various 'effects' that can be used to manipulate your art work and they take some getting used to. To see what I mean, let's use one. Below I have some text that is been converted to outline and I want to give it some perspectives. As I mentioned above, the bounding box does not give me this freedom so I went to Effects >Distort & Transform > free Distort.
Photoshop Notes...
Open each image (not place it ) drag with the selection arrow, one image into another
Lasso (3) Tool = making Selections - List what each one does
Image / Canvas size - you can change this, see it, etc. (72 = low resolution, 300+ = higher resoluton)
72dpi is normally what you get on web
Layers - each image you drag in, gets its own layer, lock it, turn on/off, change order- -layers on top are above.
History - let's you go back many steps in time.
Selections, Magic wand, marquee tool, Quick mask, etc.
Adjust scanned or digital camera images for better screen display or printing. Photoshop lets you easily change the file format of images to use as email attachments, on Web pages, or in printed documents such as brochures and newsletters. Edit photograph, especially those taken with a digital camera or digitized with a scanner, Photoshop becomes an electronic darkroom
Photoshop Elements is less expensive, consumer level graphics editing application. Elements is terrific for simple image editing, but does not have nearly the range of capabilities as the full Photoshop application. Project: (5 Images into 1 - Dreamscape Project) 1. Merge all into a new very creative image 2. Make sure all 5 are Jpegs 3. Use Layer mask and Adjustment Layer
File Formats 1. BMP is a standard Windows image format use on DOS and Windows computers. 2. EPS filers can contain both bitmap and Vector graphics. They are supported by almost all programs. 3. GIF commonly used on Web pates, is a compressed format designed to load quickly. 4.JPEG commonly used to show photos oh the web, supports many color modes, retains all color info in a RGB image, unlike a GIF format, Most cameras make JPEGs. 5. PDF is a flexible format for PC and Mac, PDF preserves fonts, layouts and graphics. 6. PSD format is default for Photoshop, is the only format that supports all features. 7. RAW format is flexible for transferring images no pixel of file restrictions in RAW 8. TIFF is a flexible bitmap image format supported by most applications.
Layers = One of the most powerful tools In photoshop, It is a section within a PSD that you can manipulate independent from the rest of the document. They can be stacked and the order is important. They can be deleted, displayed, hidden, merged, locked, grouped flattened. They can be images, patterns, text, shapes, colors or filters. You can use them to apply special effects. Correct/colorize photos, repair damaged photos or import text.
CORRECTING IMAGE TONALITY There is no reason to spend time removing dust, scratches, mold, or other artifacts from parts of an image you will later trim off. When you adjust an image's overall tone and color, artifacts become more or less obvious. If you wait until you have finalized the color and tone corrections before removing the artifacts, you only have to clean up artifacts once. 1.Get the digital image from: camera, phone, table, or scan it (be sure to scan with correct resolution for high quality print) 2. Open and SAVE AS. Do not alter the Original Version. 3.CROP the working copy to reduce unwanted pixels from it's perimeter and straighten the image if appropriate 4. Improve overall image tone and color as needed 5.Fix localized problems and make 'artistic' changes. 'sharpen' if needed
TONAL RANGE or Dynamic Range of an image as determined by the way its pixels are distributed throughout the image. - How many light, dark or medium level pixels are in it - How much contrast is in the image - If it is light or dark - If the image was captured with an incorrect exposure - Pixels range in brightness from 0 (black) to 225 (white) HIGHLIGHTS 205~255 MIDTONES 65~204 SHADOWS 0~64 -Properly balanced image has pixels in all three areas, but some images are meant to look mainly light or dark due to the lightening.
"Layers" Photoshop Notes 1. The Background Layer - When you open an image, the single layer you see is the background Made of pixels, it has special features. *it aways is the bottom level of the doc 2. Opacity - the percent to which a layer hides the pixels of those beneath it. The background is completely 100% opaque 3. The Move Tool - can be used to move any of the layers/ 4. Blend Modes - Determine how the visible pixels of each layer combine with layers beneath it.f 5. Altering any layer, such as erasing part of it, will show the layer underneath it. 6. Layers Panel - has create, hide, display, duplicate, group, link, lock, delete. The panel displays the "Stacking Order" from top to bottom. 7. CASA HOME SITE : 6 photos, school logo, multi-colored, 9 links, 3 paragraphs at the bottom, bottom address bar, Cal/News/Links (only have 3 layers; pics, elements & text group. Create and use Guides (margins) (Command+ ; ) 8. Eye icon - show /hide for each layer. You can change the name of any layer and lock them. 9. "Active Layer" - This one is shown by a highlight color, you can duplicate layers. 10. "Layer Groups" - are folders that help to organize and manage layers. The triangle expands the contents. 11. The bottom of Layers panel has many useful buttons. - Link Layers - Add Layer Style - Add Layer Mask - Fill or adjustment layers - Layer Group - New Layer -Delete Layer
Stop Steeling Sheep Notes 1. A Newspaper gets its look, its personality, from the typefaces uses and the ways in which they are arranged on the page 2. In North America something may look unacceptable, but would please a French Reader 3. Not every typeface is suited for every language, certain faces are popular in certain countries. 4. Newspapers require careful planning and are laid out with complex grids. 5. Design - In this case at least has to be visible. Typefaces have to look so normal that you don't even notice you're reading them. 6. Every PC user today knows what a font is, calls at least some of them by name: Helvetica, Verdana, Times new roman. What we see on screen are little unconnected square dots. 7. Roadsigns - letterforms on these were made from simple geometric patterns rather than from written or drawn letterforms. 8. In ancient Rome letters were drawn by brush on stone then chiseled out. 9. GD and typography are complicated, but even simple projects benefit from thinking about the problem forming a mental picture of the solution, and carefully planning the steps. 10. Thousands of variations of the letters have been created. Typefaces for reading are derived from handwriting. 11. As literacy spread, people began to care more about expressing their thoughts quickly, and less about style and legibility. 12. Quills, pens, pencils, etc. have all changed handwriting but the Roman alphabet has survived all of these remarkably intact. 13. Our view of things is still largely shaped by nature - Plants, animals, weather, scenery,. Most of what we perceive as harmonious and pleasing to the eye follows the rules of proportion that are derived from nature. 17. HEADLINES = have to be big and at the top 18. NEWSPAPER TYPE = has created some of the very worst typefaces, typesetting, and page layouts known to mankind. 19. BOOKS TYPE - hasn't changed much over the last 500 hundred years. 20. "classic" typefaces; Caslon, Baskerville, Garamond. 21. An overall impression is created in our minds before we even read the first word (magazine, newspaper, etc.) 22. Graphic designers, typesetters, editors, printers, etc. follow the rule that “it is best to follow the rules”, but at times they need to be broken. 23. Good designers learn all the rules before they start breaking them. 24. Type has practical uses - it can walk, run, skip, jump, climb and dance. It can express emotions… 25. Personality of type can be - light or heavy, round or square, slim or squat. 26. Dark emotions call for a black typeface with sharp edges, pleasant feelings are best evoke by informal & light. 27. The best casual typefaces have always had some spontaneity of handwritten letters into mechanical restrictions. 28. The more characters in a word, the more chances there are to find the right letterforms to express its meaning. 29. Type and graphic designers often choose typefaces for reasons of “beauty” “ugly” etc. 30. For more scientifically minded people there are measurements for type. 32. (components, details, proportions) to describe various parts of a letter. 33. x-height, descenders, cap height, etc. 34. metal letters can be made for any width and height, but digital type has to conform to pixels. 35. On screens 72 pixels = one inch 36. Typographic variety cannot be suppressed by technological restraints. 37. Picking typefaces for a design job is similar to what to clothes to pack for a trip. 38. Before you pick your font family, you need to look at the task ahead. Get a balance between practical and aesthetics - that is what design is all about. 39. "loose fit" is a typesetting term that means letters have a comfortable space between them. 40. Italic style came from many years ago when scribes had to write hundreds of pages every day. 41. We read best what we read most 42. Most type is used for business communication of one sort or another so it has to comform to rules of the corporate world 43. Text for business has to look fairly serious (like a person in a suit and tie) 44. Faces such as Time New Roman and Helvetica fit this bill perfectly, due to lacking individualism. 45. Technical professions use cooler and more rigid type (Univers for Architects) 46. Traditional trades use more classical type (Bodoni got bankers) 47. HARD WORKING TYPE HAS : (1) A good regular weight (2)At least one bold weight (3) very ligible numerals (4) economy - should be narrow to fit into small spaces. 48. There are typefaces that are only suitable for more occasional occasions 49. They may be too hip to be used for mainstream communication, or simply be too uncomfortable. (like wearing tight jeans rather than admitting that they don't fit us anymore) 50. FUN FONTS = more entertainment than corporate fonts, fun to work. 51. When you print on paper, your choice of typeface is covered first by the content of the message, then audience and then technical constraints. 52. CMYK = cyan, magenta, yellow, black 53. RGB = red, green blue (this is the color type used in screens) 54. Humans eyes do not like light coming out of screens while eating. 57. The computer has given us access to the design language that would have been far too complicated without the aid of sophisticated programs 58. Gradations of color, overlaid images, frames, lines, boxes, back/foregrounds, all add up to the appearance of the page as one image. 59. The waves may come and go, but G.D will always be about problem solving first, and style-making afterward..