Adobe Illustrator CS2 [OLD VERSION]

Other products by Adobe

Product Features

• Live Trace and Live Paint convert bitmap images into vector paths, while applying color with overlapping paths, instantly detecting and correcting gaps
• Create custom workspaces with the palettes you need for a specific task - Save, share, or access any workspace at any time or use workspace templates
• Expanded stroke options - choose a centered, inside, or outside stroke
• Optimize mobile content creation by saving artwork in any SVG format, including SVG-t
• Colorized grayscale assigns a spot color to a linked, embedded, or opened grayscale image - for proper color separations when printing

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00081G3V6
• Item model number: 26001500
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 4, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,211 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Software > Business & Office > Document Management > Document Creation
  #54 in	Software > Graphics > Illustration

Product Description

From Amazon.com
Adobe Illustrator CS2 is the latest (April 2005) release of Adobe Illustrator, the industry-standard vector graphics software. Illustrator CS2 gives designers new creative freedom so they can realize ideas quickly and powerfully. Users can instantly convert bitmaps to vector artwork with Live Trace, paint intuitively with Live Paint and save time with the new context-sensitive Control Palette and optimized workspaces. Plus, tight integration with other software, both within the new Adobe Creative Suite 2 and with other applications, lets designers produce extraordinary graphics for print, video, the Web, and mobile devices.

What's New with CS2?

	Live Trace Quickly and accurately convert photos, scans, or other bitmap images to editable and scalable vector paths with the Live Trace feature.		Live Paint Apply color to any area of your artwork and use overlapping paths to create new shapes with the Live Paint tool, which intuitively colors artwork and automatically detects and corrects gaps.
	Control Palette Discover new features and find existing features faster in the context-sensitive Control palette. Accessing selection-based tools from a single location eliminates the need for multiple palettes.		Custom Workspaces Work more efficiently and optimize your screen area using custom workspaces that display only the palettes you need for a specific task. Save, share, or access any workspace at any time or use workspace templates.
	Adobe Photoshop Layer Comp Support Control the visibility of layer comps in linked, embedded, or opened Photoshop files from within Illustrator CS2.		Adobe Bridge Use Adobe Bridge to efficiently browse and preview your creative assets, run automation scripts, access Adobe Stock Photos, and more.
	Mobile Content Creation Optimize rich graphical content for mobile wireless devices by saving artwork in any SVG format, including SVG-t, with improved export options, previewing, and more.		Colorized Grayscale Assign a spot color to a linked, embedded, or opened grayscale image, or even apply a spot color to a drop shadow and be confident that artwork will separate properly when printing.

More About Adobe Illustrator CS2

• 3D Effects
  Turn 2D shapes into fully editable 3D objects by extruding and revolving paths. Add lighting and wrap images around 3D shapes to easily create objects such as packaging mock-ups.

• Advanced Typography
  Easily create and control type with over 100 OpenType fonts, paragraph and character styles, paragraph composition, underline and strikethrough, transparent effects, and more.

• Envelopes and Live Distortion
  Easily warp, liquefy, and distort artwork any way imaginable with envelopes and live distortion tools.

• Professionally Designed Content
  Jump-start your projects with more than 270 professionally designed templates and over 100 OpenType fonts, all included with Illustrator CS2.

• Production Automation
  Work at peak efficiency with timesaving tools like dynamic, data-driven graphics, robust scripting, action sets, and automated processing in Adobe Bridge.

• Integration with Your Favorite Applications
  Keep your work flowing with easy integration of your designs into other Adobe applications, as well as into Macromedia Flash (SWF), QuarkXPress, and Microsoft Office products.

• Enhanced Adobe PDF File Creation
  Create native Adobe PDF files, including multipage PDF files, so clients and others can easily review your artwork using Adobe Acrobat or free Adobe Reader software.

• Superior Web Graphics
  Easily create for the Web using vector-based slicing tools, expanded SVG import and export, Pixel Preview mode, expanded Adobe Photoshop export options, simplified SWF file export options, and more.

• Nearly Universal Graphic File Format Support
  Work with almost any type of graphic file--including PDF, EPS, SVG, Photoshop (PSD), TIFF, GIF, JPEG, SWF, and more.

• Superior Print Capabilities
  Get fast, consistent results with an intuitive interface that includes advanced control over separations, transparency flattening, Fit to Page, and new support for printing page tile overlaps.

• Gradient Mesh
  Simulate airbrush and watercolor effects by adding multiple colors and precisely controlling the transitions between colors.

• Symbolism Tools
  Enhance your artwork with additional design elements by spraying, scaling, colorizing, and adjusting the transparency of repeated symbols while keeping file sizes small.

• Flexible Brushes
  Add flair to paths with customized brushes. Choose from calligraphic, scatter, art, and pattern brushes.

• Live Effects
  Apply live effects, including the hand-drawn Scribble Effect, without affecting the underlying artwork, so you can edit at any time without starting over.

• Unlimited Transparency
  Expand your design options with blending modes and transparency effects similar to those in Adobe Photoshop software.

• Envelopes and Live Distortion
  Easily warp, liquefy, and distort artwork any way imaginable with envelopes and live distortion tools.

• 3D Effects
  Turn 2D shapes into fully editable 3D objects by extruding and revolving paths. Add lighting and wrap images around 3D shapes to easily create objects such as packaging mock-ups.

• Adobe Photoshop Filters
  Achieve a wide variety of effects by applying Adobe Photoshop filters as nondestructive live effects, included with the Photoshop Filter Gallery.

• Pen Tool
  Draw with precision using the Pen tool for complete control over anchor points and Bézier curves.

• Pencil Tool
  Draw onscreen as you would on paper with the Pencil tool. Edit paths by simply drawing a new line near the path you want to alter.

• Expanded Stroke Options
  Control the position of a stroke on a path by choosing centered, inside, or outside.

• Smooth and Erase Tools
  Quickly smooth unwanted bumps in a path or erase part of a path with the Smooth and Erase tools.

• Advanced Typography: Character and Paragraph Styles
  Apply formatting to individual characters, lines of type, or entire paragraphs with a single click using Character and Paragraph Styles.

• Paragraph Composition
  Optimize line breaks throughout an entire paragraph with minimal hyphenation and better word and letter spacing using the Every-Line Composer.

• Text Underline and Strikethrough
  Easily apply underlining and strikethroughs to any line of text, section of text, or text element.

• Transparent Text Efects
  Expand your typographic options using ghosted text, transparent drop shadows with soft edges, and other effects for transparent text.

• OpenType Fonts
  Simplify cross-platform font management and take advantage of alternate glyphs and extended character sets with more than 100 OpenType fonts, included free.

• Automatic Kerning and Optical Alignment
  Adjust the space between letters using automatic kerning, and hang punctuation outside the edges of a text box using optical alignment.

• Smart Quotes and Ligatures
  Add polish to your designs with automatic smart quotes and proper ligatures.

• Alternate Glyphs Palette
  Access a font's extended character set from the Alternate Glyphs palette.

Product Description
Adobe Illustrator CS2 lets you realize your ideas quickly and powerfully. Instantly convert bitmaps to vector artwork and paint more intuitively. Save time with intelligent palettes and optimized workspaces. Take your graphics to the printed page, Web sites, video, mobile devices, and virtually everywhere you want to go. See for yourself how vector graphics have been reinvented -- and rediscover what you love about illustration. Use Adobe Bridge to browse and preview your creative assets, run automation scripts, access Adobe Stock Photos, and more Adobe Photoshop layer comp support - control open Photoshop files within Illustrator CS2 PDF/X support creates reliable, press-ready layouts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adobe's new Illustrator CS2 version is faster and feature-packed, December 10, 2005

By	D-MAG.org Reviewer (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews

If you're one of those people like me, who hang on to an older version of the application waiting for the right time, now is the time to upgrade. You won't be disappointed. Just ask the editors of both PC Magazine and C|Net which awarded this version their Editor's Choice Award.

Once again Adobe has listened to its loyal customer base. The proof is in the new version of Illustrator. Many of our requests were answered with the latest version including some that we didn't even think of. I was happy to find out that even with the new features, Adobe has not altered Illustrator's previous palettes or keyboard commands. There's nothing worse than having a shortcut or command memorized for years and then it gets changed with a new version. No fear here!

First of all, I want to say that I am really impressed with the Live Trace and Live Paint features, especially when used together. We all know that sometimes ideas hit us when we least expect it and are away from our beloved computer. We end up drawing it out on a napkin, paper towel or the unused envelope from our glove compartment. Normally, once you get back to your computer you have to try to redraw your graphic using Illustrator which takes both time and effort---not any more.

Take your napkin masterpiece to your scanner and scan it in. Once the image has been scanned, then the fun begins. Once the image has been scanned in and brought into Illustrator CS2, use the Live Trace feature to actually trace your drawing. This feature actually turns to drawing into a Live Trace object for easy manipulation. After applying some blurring as needed, your traced image is cleared up. Then, convert your Live Trace object into a Live Paint object using the new Control Palette. I like the Live Paint tool also because it reminds me of working in Photoshop.

Once you've converted to the Live Paint object, you can easily use the pen and other tools to modify any points to your liking. Live Paint also has a feature called Gap Detector which can prevents paint from going over into other sections because of a break in a line. This is a handy feature that keeps you from having to fix overspill later. When the object outlines are finalized, use the Live Paint feature to easily fill any region with color. Voila! You are done. Go from napkin to art in a matter of minutes.

A concern of many of us for years was the fact that while Illustrator keep getting better and newer features, it also mean more and more palettes. Sometimes it became a little unmanageable. However, the pros at Adobe recognized this problem and applied a solution - the Control palette. This new palette sits at the top of the screen. First, it acts as a an object inspector providing information. Secondly, (and more importantly), the Control palette provides easy access to fill and stroke dropdown menus, brush shape, opacity, and style. No longer do you have to fumble through your palette to get at these frequently used features. If you are fans of Adobe's other Creative Suite 2 software, you will be pleased to learn that the Control Palette is apart of their new makeover too.

Here are some more new additions and changes to Illustrator:

* Like Photoshop, Illustrator CS2 now supports custom workspaces. You can display only the palettes you need at any time. You are also able to access or save any workspace at any time or use workspace templates.
* Adobe has improved the Swatch and color integration. Now, working with the other Creative Suite 2 programs is seamless.
* Isolation Mode is a feature that allows you to double-click a group move and edit internal objects without having to search through the Layers Palette.
* CS2 now supports all of the latest Wacom tablets. It now provides brush support for the new Wacom 6D Art Pen and adds a new dimension Illustrator's Calligraphic and Scatter brushes
* Adobe Bridge integration is now a part of Illustrator CS2. Bridge allows you to easily manage images through thumbnails for better workflow.
* Macromedia Flash exports are now available. You can export both text and objects as Flash files which result in smaller file size and easier incorporation into web projects.
* You can now open Photoshop files with layer comps within Illustrator. This new feature allows you to view many versions of a layout at one time, just as you do in Photoshop
* Custom stroke placement is a new addition to Illustrator. You can now place strokes on the outside, inside or center of a path.
* Underline and Strikethrough are two of over 170 new type enhancements.
* These are a few of the new features!

The $169 upgrade cost is well worth the money, just for the Live Trace and Live Paint features alone. However, you get so much more in the new Illustrator CS2. Upgrade now and be completely satisfied. If you haven't purchased a vector graphics program, get Illustrator, especially if you are already an owner of a version of Photoshop. This new version of Illustrator even looks more like the familiar Photoshop layout.

Loren Elks
Group Manager, D-MAG.org

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sooo much better for novices than Illustrator 9, October 18, 2006

By	imvho - See all my reviews

Nobody, and I mean NObody, could be more of an Illustrator novice & ignoramus than I. Several months ago I was given a licensed copy of Illustrator 9 that a departing coworker had used. Wanting a chance to design the departmental logo that otherwise would've gone to an agency, I raised my figurative hand and volunteered blindly for duty. Having taught myself everything from MS-DOS to TurboCAD, to Photoshop Elements, not to mention Word, Excel, and Powerpoint (don't get me started on that latter program, argh), I figured I could tackle at least the basics of Illustrator 9. Loaded it on my laptop, took it home for a weekend....and just about lost my sanity -- and several fingernails -- trying to learn that confounding program. I managed to produce a few logos, one of which was chosen. But egads, what a big, stinky bear Illustrator 9 was to wrestle.

When I saw that CS2 had this Live Trace feature, I pleaded with my workplace Santa to get it for me, and WOW! What an overall improvement!!

Illustrator will still not be as intuitive to pick up as an MS Office product, but this comes darn close. With CS2, they've given us "hot tips" -- little clues about what some of the tools do, that pop up when you mouse over the tool. The intuitive menus are nice too. Also cool is that all the text & paragraph and fill & stroke features, which used to be huge boxes taking up valuable real estate on the screen, are now condensed up on a small horizontal toolbar, like in the Office products ... and when you mouse over them, the screen tips tell you how to expand them. Aaaahh! Finally some help for dunces like me.

Live Trace and Live Paint are unbelieveably cool. The very first thing I did after loading CS2 was to grab a .jpg photo of a soccer ball off Google Images, and within 20 minutes, without consulting any book or online Help, I'd converted it into a simple graphic image painted into the 2 colors I wanted.

But as for a great guidebook, the reviewer who suggested Illustrator Visual Quickstart guide by Elaine Weinmann was dead-on. I've bought several other "highly rated" books to try to help me through the confounding quagmire of Adobe products, so I've seen them all. The Visual Quickstart book doesn't have any of that insufferable "wanna-be-a-comic-novel-author" writing, and focuses just on the basics. And it's very literal, with step-by-step instructions. Still there's no substitute for the utterly excruciating process of learning Illustrator through experience. But the Weinmann book's better than any I've seen yet.

The only reason I haven't given this product a 5 is because it still doesn't have the intuitiveness that it needs. In that way it's still "snobby" -- aimed at pros, not folks like me who need to do occasional design stuff but not for a living. But this is a far, far, far cry better than Illustrator 9. Absolutely worth the money, just for Live Trace and Live Paint alone.

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beginners proceed with Caution!, December 20, 2005

By	Encise (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

Im computer literate and regularly use a number of varying programs from Visio to Logic Audio to MS Office. After picking up Illustrator however, Im frustrated by the lack of intuition and steep learning curve the software offers. Ive been told that the world revolves around 2 types of people: those who "get" vector graphic programs, and those who errrr...dont. Unfortunately, after 10 hours use and much manual reading, I fall into the later category. I dont plan to give up however and plan to enroll in a course. This decision was supported by friends proficient in its use - but who had difficulty demonstrating the complex concepts to me. (Indeed, defining the direction of a drawn curve was as intuitive as metaphsyics or nuclear science!)
So my advice is this: Be extremely carefull if youve never used Illustrator before. It may be a breeze to those well versed in its use, but to an absoloute beginner its an extremely difficult program to grasp and you may be dissapointed to find this out after youve forked out your hard earned dollars for it.