About this Course

You have probably used Adobe® Illustrator® Level 1 to create simple illustrations and logos. If you are ready to go beyond the basics and create more complex and exciting illustrations for either print or the web, Adobe Illustra­tor Level 2 is for you.

Audience Profile

This course is intended for designers, publishers, pre-press professionals and marketing communications professionals. It is also for people switching to a design job or taking on new design responsibilities who have already completed the Level 1 offering or have equivalent experience.

At Course Completion

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will have covered the following topics:

• Working with Layers
• Perspective drawing
• Blending colors and shapes
• Work with gradients
• Working with brushes
  • Calligraphy brush
  • Paintbrush
  • Bristle brush
  • Art brush
  • Pattern brush
• Using Live Effects
• Working with 3D effects and mapping symbols to 3D objects
• Using Appearance Attributes and Graphic Styles
• Working with Symbols
• Importing, exporting and combining Illustrator files with other Adobe applications

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, you should complete the Adobe® Illustrator® Level 1 course, or have equivalent knowledge.

Course Outline

Lesson 1: Working with Perspective Drawing

• Understanding Perspective
• Understanding the Perspective Grid
• Working with the Perspective Grid
• Using the Preset Grid
• Using the Preset Grid
• Editing the Perspective Grid
• Drawing Objects in Perspective
• Selecting and Transforming Objects in Perspective
• Attaching Content to Perspective
• Editing Planes and Objects Together
• Adding and Editing Text in Perspective
• Working with Symbols in Perspective
• Adding Symbols to the Perspective Grid
• Transforming Symbols in Perspective
• Releasing Content from Perspective
• Working with the Horizontal Plane

Lesson 2: Blending Colors and Shapes

• Working with Gradients
• Creating and Applying a Linear Gradient to a Fill
• Adjusting the Direction and Angle of a Gradient Fill
• Applying a Gradient to a Stroke
• Editing a Gradient on a Stroke
• Creating and Applying a Radial Gradient
• Editing the Radial Gradient Colors
• Adjusting the Radial Gradient
• Applying Gradients to Multiple Objects
• Exploring Other Methods for Editing Gradient Colors
• Adding Transparency to Gradients
• Working with Blended Objects
• Creating a Blend with Specified Steps
• Modifying a Blend; Creating and Editing Smooth Color Blends

Lesson 3: Working with Brushes

• Using Calligraphic Brushes
• Editing a Brush; Using a Fill Color with Brushes
• Removing a Brush Stroke
• Using Art Brushes
• Drawing with the Paintbrush Tool
• Editing Paths with the Paintbrush Tool
• Creating an Art Brush; Editing an Art Brush
• Using Bristle Brushes; Changing Bristle Brush Options
• Painting with a Bristle Brush
• Using Pattern Brushes; Creating a Pattern Brush
• Applying a Pattern Brush
• Changing the Color Attributes of Brushes
• Changing a Brush Color Using Tints Colorization
• Changing the Brush Color Using Hue Shift Colorization
• Working with the Blob Brush Tool
• Drawing with the Blob Brush Tool
• Merging Paths with the Blob Brush Tool
• Editing with the Eraser Tool

Lesson 4: Applying Effects

• Using Live Effects
• Applying an Effect
• Editing an Effect; Styling text with Effects
• Editing Shapes with a Pathfinder Effect
• Applying the Offset Path Effect
• Working with a 3D Effect
• Creating a Revolved Object
• Changing the Lighting of a 3D object
• Mapping a Symbol to the 3D Artwork

Lesson 5: Applying Appearance Attributes and Graphic Styles

• Using Appearance Attributes
• Editing and Adding Appearance Attributes
• Adding Another Stroke
• Adding Another Fill
• Reordering Appearance Attributes
• Applying an Appearance to a Layer
• using Graphic Styles
• Creating and Saving a Graphic Style
• Applying a Graphic Style to an Object
• Replacing Graphic Style Attributes
• Applying a Graphic Style to a Layer
• Editing a Graphic Style applied to a Layer
• Applying an Existing Graphic Style
• Applying Multiple Graphic Styles
• Applying a Graphic Style to Text
• Copying and Removing Graphic Styles
• Creating Web Graphics
• Aligning Content to the Pixel Grid
• Slicing Content
• Selecting and Editing Slices
• Using the Save For Web Command

Lesson 6: Working with Symbols

• Working with Symbols
• Using Existing Illustrator Symbol Libraries
• Creating Symbols; Editing a Symbol
• Replacing a Symbol
• Breaking a Link to a Symbol
• Editing Symbol Options
• Working with the Symbolism Tools
• Spraying Symbol Instances
• Editing Symbols with the Symbolism Tools
• Copying and Editing Symbol sets
• Storing and Retrieving Artwork in the Symbols Panel
• Mapping a Symbol to 3D artwork
• Working with Symbols and Flash Integration

Lesson 7: Combining Illustrator CS6 Graphics with Other Adobe Applications

• Working with Adobe Bridge
• Combining Artwork
• Vector Versus Bitmap Graphics
• Placing Photoshop Files
• Placing a Photoshop File
• Transforming a Placed Image
• Embedding a Photoshop Image with Layer Comps
• Applying Color Edits to a Placed Image
• Masking an Image
• Applying a Simple Clipping Mask to an Image
• Editing a Mask
• Masking an Object with a Shape
• Masking an Object with Multiple Shapes
• Creating an Opacity Mask
• Editing an Opacity Mask
• Sampling Colors in Placed Images
• Working with Image Links
• Finding Link Information
• Replacing a Linked Image
• Exporting a Layered File to Photoshop
• Illustrator and Adobe InDesign, Adobe Muse, Adobe Fireworks, and Adobe Flash