Illustrator CS4 For Dummies [Paperback]

Ted Alspach (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470396563 | ISBN-13: 978-0470396568 | Publication Date: November 10, 2008

Adobe Illustrator is the gold standard for creating exciting, color-rich artwork for print, the Web, or even mobile devices. Whether you’re stepping up to Illustrator CS4 or tackling Illustrator for the first time, you’ll find Illustrator CS4 For Dummies is the perfect partner.

This full-color guide gives you the scoop on the newest tools, tips on color control and path editing, ways to organize graphics, and how to get your work into print or on the Web. You’ve heard Illustrator is a bit complicated? That’s why you need this friendly For Dummies book! It shows you how to:

• Manage Illustrator CS4’s many tools, commands, and palettes
• Decide when to choose RGB over CMYK and how to get perfect color when printing
• Compare path and pixel documents, adjust points on a path, and learn to use the versatile Pen and Pencil tools
• Use the Character and Paragraph palettes and get creative with type on a path
• Work in pixel preview mode, create Web-specific vector graphics, and use Flash with Illustrator
• Set up your pages for printing and work with separations, or save files in Web-friendly formats
• Create basic shapes, straight lines, and precise curves, then bring it all together into eye-popping artwork
• Organize with the Layers palette, tweak color, and make the most of styles and effects
• Use Illustrator together with other elements of the Adobe Creative Suite

With plain-English instructions and colorful examples of what you can achieve, Illustrator CS4 For Dummies will make you an Illustrator pro in no time.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Have more fun and get more done with Illustrator — here's how to free your creativity!

Illustrator is the artist's choice for creating spectacular graphics, and here's the fast and easy way to get up to speed on all the coolest features. This full-color guide gives you the scoop on the newest tools; tips on color control and path editing; ways to organize graphics; and how to create for print, the Web, or mobile devices.

• Colorful choices — learn when to choose RGB instead of CMYK and how to get perfect color when printing

• Follow the path — compare path and pixel documents, adjust points on a path, and learn to use the versatile Pen and Pencil tools

• Just your type — use the Character and Paragraph panels and get creative with type on a path

• The artistic Web — work in pixel preview mode, create Web-specific vector graphics, and use Flash® with Illustrator

• Get it out there — set up your pages for printing and work with separations, or save files in Web-friendly formats

Open the book and find:

• How to work with Illustrator's panels and menus

• The newest tools and how to use them

• Ways to create basic shapes and bring them together

• Simple steps for tweaking color

• How to create straight lines and precise curves

• What to do with styles and effects

• How to organize with the Layers panel

• How Illustrator works with the rest of Adobe's Creative Suite

About the Author

Ted Alspach is considered a leading authority on the history, use, and functionality of Adobe® Illustrator. He has written more than 30 books on graphics, design, and desktop publishing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470396563
• ISBN-13: 978-0470396568
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent for beginners, April 14, 2010

By 

Dusan Durdovic (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Illustrator CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

I am a beginner without any previous knowledge of adobe illustrator. I have read the book from cover to cover, trying out and practicing the concepts on my laptop in illustrator after each chapter. I found the book clear and concise and conceptually fairly easy to digest, and the knowledge easy to apply when working in the actual program. I am now on my second book on cs4 illustrator which is more detailed and expansive, but I would not have understood it have I not read the illustrator for dummies first. So, to summarize, this is an excellent book for beginners who have no previous experience in illustrator, and need the basics before moving on to a more intermediate material.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! Love it! How did I live without it?, February 28, 2011

By 

S. Buchanan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Illustrator CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

I wish that this was the FIRST place I had turned to learn Illustrator 2 years ago when I bought the program! WOWWWWWW!!!! This book is so helpful, I am finally starting to love Illustrator. Yes, I have let it sit unlearned and unused all this time, frustrated, hating it, wanting to know how to use it but feeling so lost, despite other books and tutorials I had tried. Get this book first, the minute you install your Illustrator program, open this book up, you will save yourself so much heartache/headache!

4.0 out of 5 stars good for starters, September 18, 2011

By 

spacecadet - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Illustrator CS4 For Dummies (Paperback)

As a long time photoshop user and possessed of zero artistic ability the prospect of learning a new graphics program was daunting. However having used several for dummies books I purchased this one with high hopes. In some ways the book is almost not basic enough in others it accelerates a little fast, but for the home user this book will get you started and allow you to get creative.
For my fellow scientists I still haven't worked out why journals will accept illustrator files and not powerpoint files but this book will certainly help you create figures that do the job.
So for anyone starting out I would recommend this book and like good dummies books it doesn't use a lot of jargon and the index operates on both the descriptive and key word system so you can find what you are looking for. If sure beats online help!!!