Written for users of Illustrator 7 for Macintosh, Windows 95, and Windows NT, Fundamental Illustrator 7 features advice on every component of this package. Author Steve Bain starts off by explaining the basics, highlighting the improvements in this new version, and giving tips on managing Illustrator files and understanding the elements of the interface. Then he teaches you how to add type and type effects; create and edit drawings; create special effects, fills, and strokes; create masks; work with and add effects to bitmap images; import and export files; print your work; and output images for the Web. Especially useful is the chapter titled "Getting the Most Out of Illustrator," which advises you on saving, backing up, viewing, and linking your files, as well as on optimizing Illustrator for better performance. A 32-page section shows you full-color illustrations of various projects in the book. Appendices include a glossary of digital-illustration terms and a summary of keyboard, toolbox, and palette shortcuts.
Book Description
The goal of this illustrator book is to really teach people the program the way it's used in actual practice. More so than Photoshop (image-editing product) or Quark (page layout product), Illustrator has a reputation for being a hard program to learn and many illustrator users who encounter the program never really learn how to use it. The first two-thirds of Fundamental Illustrator will contain a series of progressive lessons, teaching the reader how to draw, edit shapes, use type, colors, and layers. Projects located at the end of each section integrate the materials learned, and further explain how the procedures are used within the context of the program. This will bring the reader to an intermediate-advanced level with Illustrator. The last one-third of Fundamental Illustrator will cover more technical issues: output considerations, Web usage, outside filters, helper applications (like Dimensions and Streamline), interfacing Illustrator and Photoshop, cross-platform problems (switching files between Corel and Illustrator and moving files between Mac and PC), and a troubleshooting guide.
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