illustrator

**Topic:**

 * Adobe Illustrator **

**Description**
Adobe illustrator is the industry’s leading vector graphics editor. It is a full feature drawling program that is available on both windows and Macintosh operating systems. Illustrator allows the user to use tracing and text features to create images. The first operating illustrator was creates in 1987 for MAC users, and continued to be exclusive to them until version 7.0 where __#|windows__ was given illustrator compatibility.

[|http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html#nerolimedia_split_il-overview_708x398-1300.mp4]

**Applications:**
__ Layers __

The Layer feature of Adobe Illustrator allows the user to choose the order in which each shape they create appears. If you want the pink square to be the first layer shown you drag that path to the top of the Layer 1 list. Or if the designer wants the yellow square behind all the other shapes, that path should be dragged to the bottom of the list.

__ Swatches __

In Illustrator, Swatches is a pre-set color selecting option. This feature has popular shades of each color readily available to the designer for easy access. This is different from the color feature (shown as the tab to the left of swatches) because with color you would pick a shade and then could lighten or darken it to your preference. Most users like Swatches because it makes color cohesion throughout the piece very simple to accomplish.

__ Stroke __

Stroke refers to the width of the outer line of all shapes and the single line when the designers use either the line segment or paintbrush tool. This allows users to control the size and color of the outer rim of shapes and lines. The “Uniform” option is the shape of the line and the “Basic” pull down menu allows users to choose a fancy design for the outer shape or line.

__ Transparency __

After designing a shape the Transparency __#|application__ allows the designer to make that shape “see-through”. Opacity ranges from 0% to 100%. The higher the percent of opacity, the darker the shade of that selected shape. This is a great tool if the user wants to place shapes on top of each other but still wants the underlying shape to be seen.

__ Gradient __

The Gradient feature can most easily be explained as a design tool. When the designer choses to __#|apply__ a gradient to their shape, it creates a faded effect that continues from one end of the shape to the other. As shown in the screen shot, the gradient starts at the left as light and continues to the right as dark. The direction, color, and intervals can all be changed according to the designers preference.

Citation: http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html

**Advances in this technology:**
Within every version of the Adobe Illustrator there were multiple improvements and upgrades that were implemented over the years. rasterize, punk, bloat, free distort, layout grid, vertical text tool || gradient mesh, live brushes, links palette || feathering, opacity and layer mask, native __#|PDF__ support || palette, save for web, live distortion, warping __#|envelopes__ || effect, columns & rows, optical kerning, optical margins, every-line composer, custom tab leaders, WYSIWYG font menu, Japanese type support, path type option, save for Micro- soft Office || control palette, Adobe Bridge support, Wacom tablet support, SVG-t export, PDF/X export || previews, in-palette appearance editing || 15.0.2) || perspective drawing tools, variable-width strokes, control over opacity in points on gradient meshes, shape builder tool, bristle brush || on a stroke, pattern creator tool, Image Trace ||
 * **Version** || **Improvements and New Features** ||
 * 1.0 ||  ||
 * 1.1 ||  ||
 * 88 ||  ||
 * 2.0 ||  ||
 * 3 || graph creation ||
 * 3.5 ||  ||
 * 4 ||  ||
 * 5 || layers, live editing in preview mode ||
 * 5.5 || spell checker, find/replace text ||
 * 5.5.1 ||  ||
 * 5.1 ||  ||
 * 6 || gradients, eye dropper, paint bucket ||
 * 7 || tabbed dockable pallets, transform palette, align palette, Photoshop pixel filters,
 * 8 || pencil tool, bounding box handles, smart guides, actions palette, bitmap eyedropper,
 * 9 || Flash and SVG output, pixel preview, release to layers, drop shadows, transparency,
 * 10 || live pathfinder shapes, symbols, slicing, css layer support, ODBC, data link, variables
 * CS (11) || 3D effect, OpenType support, character & paragraph styles, template file format, scribble
 * CS2 (12,12.0.1) || live trace, live paint, colorized grayscale, Photoshop layer support, expanded stroke options,
 * CS3 (13) || live color, Flash integration, eraser tool, document profiles, crop area, isolation mode ||
 * CS4 (14) || multiple artboards, transparency in gradients, blob brush, live gradient editing, separations
 * CS5 (15, 15.0.1
 * CS6 (16) || Adobe Mercury Performance System, 64-bit memory support, new user interface, gradient

**Web Resources:**
Illustrator trial download [|here] 12 beginner tutorials for Illustrator [|here] 20 tips for Illustrator [|here] New update for retina display products [|here] The history of Illustrator [|here]

**Terminology:**

 * ** Terms ** || ** Definitions ** ||
 * ** Artboard ** || Work area where illustrations can be finished. ||
 * ** Bitmap Images ** || Images created using a grid of small squares called pixels. Also called raster images or pixel images. ||
 * ** Brush Library ** || A collection of brushes related to a particular theme or type of brush that you can add to the default Brushes panel. ||
 * ** Color Mode ** || Determines the color model used to display and print the Illustrator file. ||
 * ** Constrain ** || To manipulate an object to take a certain form. ||
 * ** Dock ** || A location in the application window where a panel or panels are secured so they do not float. ||
 * ** Layer ** || A single level in the stacking order that can hold any number of objects. ||
 * ** Outline view ** || Shows the skeleton of your work lines and curves. ||
 * ** Scaling ** || To change the size of an object horizontally, vertically, or proportionally in both directions to a percentage of its original size. ||
 * ** Sublayer ** || A layer within a layer that can have its own name and its own settings. ||
 * ** Thumbnail ** || A small illustration in a dialog box or panel displayed to help you choose an option. ||
 * ** Transform tools ** || Scale rotate and reflect tools are the fundamental. ||
 * ** Tools panel ** || Contains tools that let you create, select, and manipulate objects. ||

**Citations/ References:**

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Illustrator

**Graphics:**
An example of what Illustrator looks like when it is being used. Citation: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lxyu7vtEKfY/T6-mDeOt88I/AAAAAAAAAF8/OqkSOmNIRb4/s1600/adobe-illustrator-cs4-screenshot.jpg

This is the newest version of Illustrator Cs6

citation: http://0.tqn.com/d/graphicssoft/1/0/b/l/5/ai-CS6-boxshot.jpg