7/1: Pen Tool/Exercise, Illustrator Projects due THURSDAY
Illustrator Logo/Business Card project & Pen Tool Exercise
Due beginning of class Thursday for Student Presentation.
1. Logo/Business Card: should contain 3 Artboards: Logo design #1 , Logo design #2 , Selected logo in a Business Card.
2. Delete/make invisible all your Scratchpad ideas.
3.Name it: “yourname_logo.ai”.
4. Make a copy of the file and place it in the class Dropbox by 3pm.
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The Pen Tool-
Unlike the Brush or Pencil Tool which are freehand, the Pen Tool creates paths, points, and bezier curves through careful manipulation of “handles”. Imagine a complex “connect the dots”. It takes some getting used to, but with practice the Pen Tool will give you more control over your vector objects.
Use with:
• Direct Selection Tool
• Convert Anchor Points Tool (nested in Pen Tool)
Get Started:
Draw a Straight Line-
The simplest path you can draw with the Pen tool is a straight line, made by clicking the Pen tool to create two anchor points. By continuing to click, you create a path made of straight line segments connected by corner points.
Draw Curves-
1. Select the Pen tool with a Stroke color, no Fill.
2. Position the Pen tool where you want the curve to begin and click your mouse. The first anchor point appears.
3. Move your mouse to another spot, click and drag to set the slope of the curve segment you’re creating (you will see the “handles”).
4. Release the mouse button.
5. Use the Direct Selection Tool and Convert Anchor Points Tool to modify the handles.
• Add additional Points by using the Add Anchor Point Tool (looks like a Pen with a Plus sign, nested in Pen Tool)
• Subtract Points by using the Delete Anchor Point Tool (looks like a Pen with a Minus sign, nested in Pen Tool)
In-Class Exercise #3: Pen Tool
1. Go to the class server and find the Pen Tool Exercise: “pen_tool_exercise.ai“
2. Move a copy (click and drag) to your >Illustrator >Assignments folder.
3. Open the file in Illustrator.
4. Open the Layers Palette.
5. Create/name a new Layer for each item (“Arc”, “Flower”, “Rabbit”, “Sheep”). Keep the Background Layer Locked.
6. Use the Pen Tool and Direct Selection Tool to “trace” each item. Use a different Stroke color for each.
7. Save as “yourname_pentool.ai“
8. When you are done, place a copy in the class Dropbox. Due beginning of class tomorrow.
Links:
Pen Tool Curves cheatsheet:
http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Illustrator/13.0/help.html?content=WS3C6154BD…
Fun Illustrator Project tutorials:
http://www.ndesign-studio.com/resources/tutorials/
Illustrator Classes at CCSF
GRPH 100A – “Beginning Adobe Illustrator”
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