Working with Tools _ Illustrator _ Part 4

 Working with Tools:

When you start Illustrator, a toolbar appears at the left of the screen that includes various tools you need to use while working on your document. The tools in the toolbar let you perform various tasks, such as create, select, and manipulate objects and select, type, paint, draw, sample, edit, and move images.

Category of tools in the toolbar 

1.Select

2. Draw

3.Type

4.Paint

5. Modify

6. Navigate

1.Select Tools :

Selection Tool:

You Can select the object or group of objects by clicking or dragging over them. 

 

 

 

Direct selection Tool:

You Can edit or modify the shape of the object. We can change the angle by changing the tangent handles.

 

Group selection Tool:

You Can Select an object with in a group, a single group within multiple groups or a set of groups in the artwork. each click adds all objects from the next group.

 

 

 

-    Isolation mode 

You Can quickly isolate a layer, sublayer, path, or group of objects, from all other art in your document. When in isolation mode, all non-isolated objects in the document appear dimmed and are not selectable or editable.

-    Layers panel

You Can quickly and precisely select individual or multiple objects. You can select a single object (even if it’s in a group), all objects within a layer, and entire groups.

Perspective Selection tool

You Can bring objects and text in perspective, switch active planes, move objects in perspective, and move objects in perpendicular direction.

Lasso tool

You Can select objects, anchor points, or path segments by dragging around all or part of the object.

 Magic Wand tool

You Can select objects of the same color, stroke weight, stroke color, opacity, or blending mode by clicking the object.

●     Tolerance

Specifies the pixel range for selecting anchor points. Higher values increase the width of the area around an anchor point that you can click to select it.

 Live Paint Selection tool

You can select faces (areas enclosed by paths) and edges (portions of paths between intersections) of Live Paint groups

Art Board tool  

The Artboard tool is used to both create and edit artboards. Another way to enter this Artboard Editing mode is to simply select the Artboard tool. click and drag to the far right of the artboards. 

Draw Tools

Pen Tool:

You can create lines and curves or paths. We can  handle of the smooth curve by clicking on the anchor point.

Add Anchor Point, Delete anchor point tools

This is used to add / remove anchor points to/from an existing selected path.

Convert Anchor Point:

This is used to convert anchor points from curve to corner, and corner to curve vice versa.

   

 line tool 

You can create lines and can be joined together to create shapes.

Arc 

This tool used to create curves and can control the angle slope with arrow keys while creating it.

Rectangle grid

This tool used to create a grid with horizontal and vertical lines. it can increase or decrease the lines while creating it using arrow keys.  X C V F keys are used to control the bias of lines.

Polar grid

This tool similar to rectangle grid but the shape in circle.

Spiral Tool 

Do one of the following: Drag until the spiral is the desired size. Drag the pointer in an arc to rotate the spiral.

Rectangle

This tool used to draw a square, hold down the Shift key while you drag diagonally until the square is the desired size.

Rounded Rectangle

This tool similar to a rectangle with rounded corners. Use arrow keys to control the roundness while creating it. 

Ellipse

This is create a circle or ellipse shapes.

Polygon

It is create a shape with more sides or segments. using with  arrow keys to increase or decrease the segments while creating it.

Star

It's creates a star shape. Using with arrow keys to control the sides. CTRL key to lock the inner radius while creating it. if you are using with SPACE BAR to move or re-position the object while creating it.

Flare Tool

This is the default tool to create lens flare effects on your art work.

Pencil Tool

This tool  is a free hand drawing tool. it creates a path as you draw. we can control the smoothness and fidelity for the path by double click on that tool.

Smooth tool

It's smoothness the selected path by shifting its anchor points. Click to select your Path, release Command, and then smooth away. Hold Option to toggle between the Pencil Tool and the Smooth Tool.

Path Eraser Tool

This tool used to erase part of the selected path. we can break at some part, or erase from anchor point to another anchor point.

Brush Tool

This tool draw brush type paths with a brush tool. You also can apply to paths that are created by other tools.

We have Calligraphic, Scatter, Artistic, Bristle, Pattern brushes. Illustrator has many predefined brushes in its Library. We also can create our own brushes that can be applied to paths.

Blob Brush Tool

This tool similar to brush, but works with fill color. the shapes are added into a single object.

Slice Tool

This too can used to slice the content for a web purpose. We need to slice the template into pieces to link them or to download easily when we save as a web page.

 

Slice Selection Tool

this tool using for selecting slice area.

Symbol Sprayer Tool

Select the symbol instance in the Symbols panel and create your own symbol or use one of the default symbols supplied in the panel. Drag with the Symbol Sprayer tool, spraying the symbol on the artboard. we can increase or reduce the area affected by the Symbol Sprayer tool by pressing the bracket keys.

Graph Tools:

In Illustrator, you can create different types of graphs and customize them to suit your needs. Click and hold the Graph tool in the Tools panel to see all different types of graphs you can create. 9types of graphs in illustrator. 

Perspective Grid Tool

This is used to create 1 point, 2 point, 3 point perspective designs. Its shows left grid, right grid, horizontal grid area.

1.Plane switching widget 

2. Left Vanishing Point

3. Vertical Grid Extent

4. Perspective Grid Ruler 

5. Right Vanishing Point

6. Horizon Line 

7. Horizon Height 

8. Ground Level

9. Horizon Level 

10. Extent of Grid 

11. Grid Cell Size 

12. Ground Level 

13. Extent of Grid

14. Right Grid Plane Control 

15. Horizontal Grid Plane Control 

16. Left Grid Plane Control 

17. Origin

Type Tools

Type Tool

This will insert text objects in our artwork. We can type.

There are Two orientations in text: 

- Horizontal Type

- Vertical Type

Type tool are normal text, area text, path text in these two orientations.

Artistic text:     single line text.

Paragraph text:     Multi line text as note.

Area type :     It is also called paragraph type uses the boundaries of an object to control the flow of characters.

Type on a path:     Path type effects let you distort the orientation of characters on a path.

Paint Tools

Gradient Tool :

This tool used to transform the gradient (Multiple) colors that are applied to objects.

two types of gradients :     

-    Linear Gradient

-    Radial Gradient

A gradient is a smooth blending of applied colors. We can adjust gradient colors and their positions in the gradient panel.

Shape Builder Tool

This can you add shapes into a single shape. First you have to select all shapes and then drag over them to connect one by one. Create several overlapping shapes. Select the shapes that you want to combine. Use this tool it will be merge.

Live paint Bucket Tool

This will add all the selected shapes into a grouped object. we can fill individual colors.

Live paint selection

this tool select the paint inside the live paint object. 

Modify Tools

Free Transom Tool

This tool used to  Scale in / out  and rotate the selected objects.  

Rotate Tool

we can  rotate selected objects and change the pivot point of the selection to control the rotation center.

Scale Tool

we can scale selected objects.

Reflect Tool:

This tool can mirror the selection objects  and  reflect horizontal, vertical, or arbitrary angles.

Eraser Tool

This tool  erase the selected shape that makes it into separate objects too. It is automatically close the path.

Scissors tool

This will cut an object from one end to another end on its path. it leaves the path open.

Knife tool

This tool used to cut the object even in an irregular shape. it also closes the path.

 

Width tool

This tool used to simulate an effect to stroke without expanding or outlines it.

Wrap tool

select the object and you need to click and hold to get a pop-out menu of the seven Liquefy tools

Twirl tool

select the object and clicking down on the mouse first and then instantly holding the Alt/Option key straight after.

Pucker tool

An object by moving control points towards the cursor.

Bloat Tool

An object by moving control points away from the cursor.

Crystallize tool

This  tool adds random spiked details to the outline of an object.

Wrinkle Tools

The  tool adds wrinkle-like details to the outline of an object.

Wrap tool, Twirl tool ,Pucker tool, Bloat Tool, Crystallize tool, Wrinkle Tool  are used to roughen the path edges with adding more anchor points to it. we can create irregular shape objects with these tools.

Blend Tool

This tool can blend objects to create and distribute shapes evenly between two objects.and also blend between two open paths to create a smooth transition between objects, or we can combine blends of colors and objects to create color transitions in the shape of a particular object.

Sub options are: 

-    Smooth Color

-    Specified Steps

-    Specified Distance

-    Orientation

-    Align to Page

-    Align to Path

    

Mesh tool

This tool  make vector illustrations looks more 3D /  photorealistic. It works by adding a 'mesh' over a closed shape, the lines of the mesh intersecting at points onto which different color swatches can be applied to create a vectorized image.

Navigate Tools

Hand Tool

Illustrator provides the following tools for moving around in and controlling the view of the artboar. this tool moves the Illustrator artboard within the illustration window.

Zoom Tool

Magnified the selection area in artboard

Print Tiling Tool

The Print Tiling tool adjusts the page grid to control where artwork appears on the printed page.