Adobe Illustrator CS/CS2: Getting your Feet Wet

This class is running for the last time in May 2008

This class replaces the Illustrator Basics class, and is the Level 1 class for Illustrator CS and CS2 (also known as Illustrator 8 and 9). In this course, you will become familiar with Illustrator’s interface and tools, and learn the difference between vector and raster images. You will learn to draw by combining shapes and by using the tools to edit anchor points. You will also learn to use color, gradients, and text in your documents, and we will cover the new 3D tool that was introduced in Illustrator CS. Note: There is a separate class for students using Illustrator 10. This class is only for Illustrator CS and CS2.

Prerequisites

1. Students must have Illustrator CS or CS2 installed.

2. Students must be familiar with their operating systems. This means you must know how to unzip and file and open the file in Illustrator, you must understand what a menu is, and basic commands like copying and pasting, as well as Save and Save As.

3. You will need some sort of web presence to post homework. You can post them to your own web site or utilize the Student Upload Area (SUA). Details are available in the classroom.

Enrollment

Classes are $25 each, and $20 for returning students. A returning student is one who has previously taken any LVS Online class. Sessions run throughout the year, and run for 6 weeks each. Lessons will be posted every Saturday during the session.

To enroll, please go to LVS Online.

Syllabus

Syllabus

Lesson 1: Getting Started: Vector vs. Raster, Getting Familiar with the Interface, Palettes, and Tools, Opening, Closing, and Saving Documents, Using Save for Web, Saving and Managing Workspaces (CS2 only), Strokes and Fills, Swatches, Modifier Keys, Undo, Getting Help, Color Basics, Resetting Preferences

Lesson 2: Setting Preferences, Creating Custom Keyboard Shortcuts, Using Color: Swatches Palette, Color Palette, and the Color Picker; Watermelon: Guides and Grids; Clipping Masks; Using the Gradient Palette; Making a Custom Scatter brush

Lesson 3: The Selection Tool, Direct Selection Tool, and the Lasso; Using the Pen tool; Anatomy of a Path; Editing Paths, Practicing with the pen tool; Drawing a heart; Drawing an orange; Filters vs. Effects; Using Undo; Drawing an apple, using brushes as strokes on your drawings.

Lesson 4: More about Paths, Compound Paths, Pathfinder, and Warp Tools, Arrange and Align, Lens Flare, Guitar, Sea Breeze, Wrinkle Flowers

Lesson 5: Anatomy of Type, Working with the type tools, text in a path, text on a path, Type on a circle, Create outlines, gradient text, pattern filled text, creating a text image

Lesson 6: More type: Leading, Kerning, Tracking,Paragraph alignment and justification; Using symbols, Symbolism tools, saving custom symbols, document cleanup, Using the 3D Filter