Part 1: Image Types, File Formatting and Photoshop

IMAGE TYPESThere are two primary types of images – raster and vector. We will deal with both types of images in this class. Raster images are also known as Bitmap images. These graphics are made up of pixels - tiny dots of individual color that make up what you see on your screen; resolution dependent. Raster images are commonly edited and manipulated using Adobe Photoshop.

Vector images are images made up of many individual, scalable objects, defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels. Vector images always render at the highest quality and may consist of lines, curves, and shapes and are not resolution dependent.

DIGITAL IMAGESWhat is a digital image? A digital image is a raster image that results from an electronic snapshot taken of a scene or scanned from documents, such as photographs, manuscripts, printed texts, and artwork. Digital images are made up of pixels, or information stored for a single grid point in the image.

Each image will have a specific resolution – or the number of pixels that describe an image and establish each image’s details, measured in dots (or pixels) per inch. The number of pixels per inch, determines how concentrated the color and detail of an image will be. Images with higher resolution result in higher quality prints, while lower resolution images, result in lower quality prints.

Resolution is extremely important – the resolution of the image will directly affect the final piece, it’s quality and how it displays in the final piece. Screen resolution is 72 dpi. Higher resolutions are desirable for printed pieces – normally 300 dpi or higher.

Part 2: Recreating Your Drawings in Illustrator

REQUIREMENTSYou must complete parts A, B, C & D, before starting this next section. You should have 3 isolated drawings, refined and scanned for use in this assignment.

OBJECTIVESPlace your 3 most successful abstraction scans, and use the drawing tools found in Illustrator to recreate them. Frame each drawing so that the final piece, with border is 5 by 5 inches.

TERMS AND CONCEPTS

There are a number of terms and concepts you should be familiar with to complete this project.

Simplification The method of abstracting an object by eliminating some visual information to focus attention on the essential qualities of an object.

Background The canvas area behind your image, that can either be positive or negative in nature; often, the background is considered negative space.

Visual Cues The necessary shapes to establish recognition of an object.Cropping Frames

L-shaped templates that when overlayed, allow us to isolate an area of a drawing and gather new information about form, shape and relationships.

Scanner Device used to create a digital copy of original artwork. Preview A quick scan of your image, before the final scan is processed

and saved.Resolution # of pixels that describe an image and it’s details, measured in

ppi/dpi.Artboard The area or canvas available in Illustrator for drawing & creating

artwork.Tracing Image A Raster file placed in a Vector program intended for tracing

using various vector tools and methods. Rectangle Tool Found in the toolbar, a tool that will draw rectangles and squares

shapes.Ellipse Tool Found in the toolbar, a tool that will create circular or oval

shapes. Polygon Tool Found in the toolbar, a tool that will create multisided shapes. Hand Tool Found in the toolbar, a tool that lets you “pan” the window area.Fill Color or pattern within an object or drawn shape. Stroke Visible line of a path or object; the outline of a shape.Pathfinder Palette in Illustrator that is used to create complex shapes, by

merging, cropping, adding and subtracting different areas from each other.

Shape Mode Option in the Pathfinder, where shapes are combined to create a new object from shared areas.

Pathfinder Mode

Option in the Pathfinder, that alters the integrity of the shapes selected, creating new paths (both incomplete and complete).

Clipping Masks Method that allows you to use shapes as a mask to reveal areas of the image that overlaps.

Bezeir Curves Curve consisting of at least 3 points – 2 end points and an intermediate point with handles that define the curve.

PRACTICE – TUTORIAL AND REVIEW OF ILLUSTRATORWork through the tutorial below, using shapes to build a sample drawing. Use the sample phone_study.JPG file in the exercise below.

Setting Up Your Document

1. Launch Adobe Illustrator2. Create a new document by selecting File > New and set the artboard

to Letter, Inches and Portrait3. Make sure your rulers are showing by selecting View > Show Rulers4. Save your document by selecting File > Save and name it proj1-

tutorial.AI

Placing an Image in Illustrator

1. If you have not done so already, download the phone_study.JPG file2. In your Illustrator document, choose File > Place to open the Place dialog box3. Locate the phone_study.JPG file, select it and click PLACE4. Make sure the Link option is checked – this will link to your scanned sample

image, rather than embedding it. 5. Your sample scan is now placed in the document on Layer 1 in the Layers

panel

Adjusting Layer Options

1. Open your Layers palette by selectiong Window > Layers; the palette will normally display on the right side of the workspace

2. Double-click on the Layer 1 icon to open the Layer Options for this layer3. Change the name to “Tracing Image” in the Layer Options dialog box4. Check the “Dim Images to” box and change the setting to 50% - this will dim

the placed scan on the artboard. 5. Choose the “Lock” checkbox to lock the content and keep it from moving. 6. Click OK to accept the changes you’ve made and close out of Layer Options.

Creating New Layers

1. Create a new layer by clicking on the New Layer icon in the Layers palette

2. Name the layer “Tracings” by double-clicking on the icon in the palette or double-clicking the words “Layer 2” and typing.

3. On this layer we will use the basic drawing tools to recreate the sample scanned image as vector artwork.

Using Basic Shapes to Create the Design

1. Select the Rectangle tool from the Tool bar2. Click on the artboard to open the Rectangle dialog box3. Set the width to 6 inches and the height to 3.5 inches and click OK4. Remove the fill from the new shape by clicking on the None button while the

Fill button is forward in the toolbar. 5. In the Tool bar, select the Selection tool (black arrow) and place the cursor

just outside the upper-right corner of the rectangle. 6. The cursor changes to a curve with an arrow on both sides, indicating it is now

the Rotation tool. Click and hold wil moving the rectangle counterclockwise until the angle of the top line of the rectangle matches the angle of the drawing.

7. Release the mouse – use your arrow keys to nudge or move the rectangle.

Using the Pathfinder and Shape Tools

1. Choose the Ellipse tool (under the Rectangle tool – in the hiddent subset) from the Tool bar.

2. Open the Pathfinder palette by selecting Window > Pathfinder. The Pathfinder palette allows you to use tools in Shape Mode and Pathfinder mode, to combine, subtract, average, exclude, divide, merge, trim, and much more.

3. Create the sliver shape for the button using two overlapping circles – start by clicking on the Artboard to open the Ellipse dialog box.

4. Enter 0.6 in both fields and click OK – a circle will display on the Artboard.

5. Using the Selection tool, move the circle to sit over one of the half-moon sliver shapes shown in the placed scan (Figure A).

6. Change the fill of the shape to white, by clicking on the Color button found under the Fill / Stroke buttons in the Tool bar.

7. With the circle selected, choose Edit > Copy to copy the circle. Choose Edit > Paste in Front to paste a copy of the circle on top of the original.

8. Select the Selection tool in the toolbar. Using your arrow keys, nudge the placed circle down and over so it overlaps the original one as shown (Figure B).

9. Select both circles by holding down the SHIFT key.10. In the Pathfinder, click the Subtract from Shape Area button to create a sliver /

halfmoon shape from the two circles!11. Click the EXPAND button to make the compound shape a single shape.12. Copy and paste your sliver shape creating new halfmoons for each one noted

in the original placed scan.

Figure A

Figure B

Creating Compound Paths with Circles and Rectangles

1. Use the Ellipse tool to create the two circles shown below. Select both circles and copy them.

2. Use the Rectangle tool to create the rectangle shape shown below. 3. Select all three shapes, and use the Add to Shape Area button in the

Pathfinder.

4. Choose Edit > Paste in Front to paste the copies of the circles in front of the originals you just combined.

5. Click on each circle, and use the handle bars to resize each one to the appropriate size as shown in the original scan. Hold down the SHIFT key to keep your circle perfect.

Using the Polygon Tool

1. Choose the Polygon tool from the Rectangle tool subset (hold down on the black arrow).

2. Click once on the Artboard to open the Polygon dialog box.

3. Enter 0.15 into the Radius field, and 3 in Sides, to create a triangle. Click OK.

4. Select the triangle with the Selection tool, and set the Fill and Stroke to the default, by clicking the “Default Fill and Stroke” icon at the bottom of the Tool bar (Figure A).

5. Move the triangle to the lower left corner of the scanned image, placing it over the first top triangle area.

6. Using the selection tool, rotate the triangle to fit the drawing (Figure B).

7. Copy and paste 2 more triangles, rotating them to fit the 2 remaining triangle areas in the scanned drawing.

Figure A

Figure B

USING THE LINE SEGMENT TOOL

1. The Line Segment tool can be used to draw straight lines.2. Select the Line Segment tool from the Tool bar, and draw a line segment by

placing the cursor over the line on the scanned image (above the halfmoons).3. Hold down and drag up to the end of the line on the scanned image. 4. Release and set the line. You can change the properties of the line by

selecting it with the Selection tool.

SETTING FILLS AND STROKES

1. To set the Fill and strokes of all shapes, start by selecting all of the vector artwork on the Artboard, by choosing Select > All. This selects everything that is not locked (ie, the scanned image).

2. Click on the Default Fill and Stroke icon to reset the fills and strokes to white and 1 pt. black, respectively.

3. Deselect the selected items by clicking anywhere on the Artboard. 4. Select just the large angled rectangle, and swap the fill and stroke colors by

clicking the Swap Fill and Stroke icon on the toolbar. (see above)5. Carefully select the line segment, and swap the fill and stroke so the line is

white. Select the fill box in the toolbar, and set it to None. 6. Open the Stroke palette by choosing Window > Stroke, and change the

stroke to 6 points.

CLIPPING MASKS

1. Clipping Masks allow you to use drawn shapes as masks –showing only the area below, beneath the shape.

2. Select the Rectangle tool, and click once on the Artboard – make a squar that is 4x4 inches in size and click OK.

3. Place this square over the top of the shapes, so that it fits in the area of the drawing (as shown to the right).

4. With the rectangle selected, choose Edit > Copy to copy the rectangle.

5. Select everything on the Artboard (Ctrl-A or Cmd-A) by choosing Select > All.

6. Choose Object > Clipping Mask > Make; the white box disappears, allowing only the artwork that sits below the box to show. The artwork is still there, it’s just been masked.

7. To group the items in the mask together, select Object > Group. 8. Choose Edit > Paste in Front, to paste the copied square in front of the

masked items. Select the Fill chip in the toolbar, and set it to None. 9. Save your file.

CREATING YOUR DRAWINGS IN ILLUSTRATOR

Once you’ve completed the tutorial assignment above, you can start on creating your own files in Illustrator based on the 3 drawings you selected from your 4x4” templates. To start out, you will create a new Illustrator file, and place your scanned artwork in Illustrator as a Tracing Image.

Review the Adobe Design Center videos from class or the tutorial above if you need a refresher on how to create a new document, scan, or create vector artwork using various shapes, the Pathfinder, or clipping masks.

Your goal is to create your placed drawing using only drawn Shapes (using the Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Rounded Rectangle, Star, etc.) and the Line tool (do NOT use the pen tool).

Use the Direct Selection tool to move or reposition shapes, or to pull / drag the handles of the shape, to resize the shape. Use the Pathfinder Palette to combine original shapes into more organic, non-traditional shapes. You can use the Divide, Trim, Merge, etc., options to accomplish this task.

Start by setting your fill to nothing / empty and your stroke to black. Then, begin with a basic shape, rotating it to outline the perimeter of your design. Add other shapes, and use the Pathfinder to combine shapes as needed. Adjust your fills and fill selected paths with white or black. Layer your shapes, overlap them, and use clipping or compound paths to mask out various areas of your design.

Follow this process for each one of your selected drawings. In the end, you should end up with 3 separate Illustrator files – save each as an AI file in the file format window. Your files should be named Proj01_A_yourname.ai, Proj01_B_yourname.ai, and Proj01_C_yourname.ai, where “yourname” is your actual last name – for example, Proj01_A_miller.ai, and so on.

ASSIGNMENT:Complete the Tutorial assignment and bring your file to class.

Then, place one of your selected drawings in Illustrator as noted above, and using Shapes, Pathfinder and Masking options create your drawing as Vector artwork. Continue working on your 2nd and 3rd drawings.

Save your completed AI fileS and bring them to class for critique.