Adobe Illustrator Core Skills: Level 1

Target Student
This course is appropriate for beginners and for anyone who is self taught on the basics of Illustrator. Quite often even experienced users find they benefit from a Core Skills: Level 1 class to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.

Prerequisites
Basic computer and file management skills are required for Core Skills level Adobe courses. Students should know how to - locate, copy and open files; create folders; arrange, re-size, minimize and maximize application windows; start and exit programs; manage use of multiple programs simultaneously; and switch between open programs.

Course Outline

Getting to Know the Work Area
Introducing Adobe Illustrator
Starting Illustrator and opening a file
Exploring the workspace
Getting to know the Tools panel
Working with the Properties panel
Working with panels
Docking panels
Switching workspaces
Saving a workspace
Using panel and context menus
Changing the view of artwork
Using view commands
Using the Zoom tool
Scrolling through a document
Viewing artwork
Navigating artboards
Using the Artboards panel
Arranging multiple documents
Finding resources for using Illustrator

Techniques for Selecting Artwork
Starting the lesson
Selecting objects
Using the Selection tool
Using the Direct Selection tool
Creating selections with a marquee
Hiding and locking objects
Selecting similar objects
Selecting in Outline mode
Aligning objects
Aligning objects to each other
Aligning to a key object
Aligning anchor points
Distributing objects
Aligning to the artboard
Working with groups
Grouping items
Editing a group in Isolation mode
Creating a nested group
Exploring object arrangement
Arranging objects
Selecting objects behind

Using Shapes to Create Artwork for a Postcard
Starting the lesson
Creating a new document
Working with basic shapes
Creating and editing rectangles
Rounding corners
Working with the Rounded Rectangle tool
Creating and editing ellipses
Changing stroke width and alignment
Creating and editing a circle
Creating polygons
Editing the polygons
Creating a star
Drawing lines
Working with drawing modes
Using the Draw Inside mode
Working with Draw Behind mode
Finishing up

Editing and Combining Shapes and Paths
Starting the lesson
Editing paths and shapes
Cutting with the Scissors tool
Joining paths
Cutting with the Knife tool
Outlining strokes
Using the Eraser tool

Transforming Artwork
Starting the lesson
Working with artboards
Adding artboards to a document
Editing artboards
Aligning artboards
Renaming artboards
Reordering artboards
Working with rulers and guides
Creating guides
Editing the ruler origin
Transforming content
Working with the Bounding Box
Positioning artwork using the Properties panel
Scaling objects
Reflecting objects
Rotating objects
Distorting objects with effects
Transforming with the Free Transform tool
Shearing objects

Creating an Illustration with the Drawing Tools
Starting the lesson
An intro to drawing with the Pen tool
Selecting paths
Drawing straight lines with the Pen tool
Introducing curved paths
Drawing a curve with the Pen tool
Drawing a series of curves with the Pen tool
Converting smooth points to corner points
Rounding corner points
Editing paths and points
Deleting and adding anchor points
Converting between smooth points and corner points
Working with the Anchor Point tool
Creating a dashed line
Adding arrowheads to a path
Working with the Pencil tool
Drawing freeform paths with the Pencil tool
Drawing straight segments with the Pencil tool
Joining with the Join tool

Using Color to Enhance Signage
Starting the lesson
Exploring color modes
Working with color
Applying an existing color
Creating a custom color
Saving a color as a swatch
Creating a copy of a swatch
Editing a global swatch
Editing a non-global swatch
Using the Color Picker to create color
Using Illustrator swatch libraries
Adding a spot color

Adding Type to a Poster
Starting the lesson
Adding type to the poster
Adding text at a point
Adding area type
Working with Auto Sizing
Converting between area type and point type
Importing a plain-text file
Threading text
Formatting type
Changing font family and font style
Fixing missing fonts
Changing font size
Changing font color
Changing additional character formatting
Changing paragraph formatting
Working with Glyphs
Modifying text with the Touch Type tool
Resizing and reshaping type objects
Sampling text formatting
Wrapping text
Working with type on a path
Creating type on a path
Creating type on a closed path
Creating text outlines
Finishing up

Organizing Your Artwork with Layers
Starting the lesson
Understanding layers
Creating layers and sublayers
Creating new layers
Creating sublayers
Editing layers and objects
Locating layers
Moving content between layers
Viewing layers
Reordering layers
Changing layer order

Exporting Assets
Exporting artboards and assets
Exporting artboards