IllustratorCS4 Filters & Effects

Illustrator C12CS4DPD Blitz Reference

Applying an effect

• Create a new document, choose any color mode, and draw a path in the document
• In the Control panel at the top of the Illustrator document, change the stroke to 3-pt and make sure that fill is set to None
• Choose Effect->Stylize->Add Arrowheads
• Choose the top Stylize menu item
• Add an arrowhead to both the start and the end of the path by using the arrow keys to scroll through the selections
• Choose the size of the arrowhead by typing a number in the Scale text field

Effects are linked dynamically to the object that they’re applied to
They can be scaled, modified, and even deleted with no harm done to the original object - click on the Effect in the Appearance Panel to edit

Adding a Drop Shadow effect

• Select the object(s) that’s to have the drop shadow applied
• Choose Effect->Stylize->Drop Shadow
• In the Drop Shadow dialog box that appears, select the Preview check box in the upper-right corner

Choose from the following options :

• Mode: Select a blending mode from this drop-down list; the default is Multiply, which works well — the effect is similar to coloring with a magic marker
• Opacity: Enter a value or use the drop-down list to determine how opaque or transparent the drop shadow should be - when too strong, choose a lower amount
• Offset: Enter a value to determine how close the shadow is to the object - with text or small artwork, smaller values (and shorter shadow) look best; otherwise, the drop shadow may look like one big indefinable glob
• The X Offset shifts the shadow from left to right, and the Y Offset shifts it up or down - may enter negative or positive numbers
• Blur: Use Blur to control how fuzzy the edges of the shadow are; a lower value makes the edge of the shadow more defined
• Color and Darkness: Select the Color radio button to choose a custom color for the drop shadow
• Select the Darkness radio button to add more black to the drop shadow - zero percent is the lowest amount of black, and 100 percent is the highest
• As a default, the color of the shadow is based upon the color of the object, sort of . . . the Darkness option has a play in this, also
• As a default, the shadow is made up of the color in the object when it’s solid
• Multicolored objects have a gray shadow

Saving Graphic Styles

• Choose Window->Graphic Styles; in the panel that appears are thumbnails of many different styles that Adobe provides as a default
• Look at the Appearance panel while clicking different styles to see applied combinations of attributes, including effects, fills, and strokes
• Find more styles by choosing the Graphic Styles panel menu (click the arrow in the upper-right corner of the panel) and selecting Open Graphic Style Library
• With the object selected, Alt+click the New Graphic Style button at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel
• Alt+clicking allows naming the style when it’s added
• Alternatively, drag the selected object right into the Graphic Styles panel
• The panel stores its attributes, but have to double-click the new style to name it
• After storing a graphic style, simply select the object and then click the saved style in the Graphic Styles panel to apply the style

Creating 3D Artwork

• Add dimension by using the 3D effect, also map artwork (that is, wrap artwork around a 3D object) and apply lighting to the 3D object
• This means the facility to design a label for a jelly jar and actually adhere it to the jar to show the client

Three choices for the 3D effect:

• Extrude & Bevel: This uses the z-axis to extrude an object; for example, a square becomes a cube
• Revolve: Uses the z-axis and revolves a shape around it; can use this to change an arc into a ball
• Rotate: Rotates a 3D object created with the Extrude & Bevel or Revolve effects, or rotate a 2D object in 3D space
• Also may adjust a 3D or 2D object’s perspective

To apply a 3D effect, create an object appropriate for the 3D effect
The Extrude & Bevel feature works great with shapes and text
To edit an object that already has a 3D effect applied to it, double-click the 3D effect in the Appearance panel

To apply a 3D effect, follow these steps:

• Select the object to apply the 3D effect to
• Choose Effect->3D->Extrude & Bevel
• Select the Preview check box to see results while experimenting the settings
• Click the Preview pane (which shows a cube) and drag to rotate the object in space
• It makes selecting the right angle fun, or choose the angle from the Position drop-down list above the preview - this is called positioning the object in space
• Never rotate a 3D object with the Rotate tool, unless the purpose is for some very funky results; use the Preview pane in the Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box instead
• (Optional) Use the Perspective drop-down list to add additional perspective to the object
• In the Extrude & Bevel section of the dialog box, choose a depth for the object and a cap
• The cap determines whether the shape has a solid cap on it or whether it’s hollow
• Choose a bevel (edge shape) from the Bevel drop-down list and set the height using the Height drop-down list

Choice of two ways to apply the bevel:

• Bevel Extent Out: The bevel is added to the object
• Bevel Extent In: The bevel is subtracted from the object

Choose a rendering style from the Surface drop-down list or click the More Options button for in-depth lighting options, such as changing the direction or adding additional lighting
Click the Map Art button
The Map Art dialog box opens
Use this dialog box to apply artwork to a 3D object
With the Surface arrow buttons, select which surface to have the artwork applied to and then choose a symbol from the Symbol dropdown list

Keep the following points in mind when mapping artwork:

• An object must be a symbol to be used as mapped artwork
• Simply need to select and drag the artwork to be mapped to the Symbols panel to make it a selectable item in the Map

Art dialog box

• The light gray areas in the Preview pane are the visible areas based upon the object’s present position
• Drag and scale the artwork in this pane to position the artwork
• Shaded artwork (enabled by selecting the Shaded Artwork check box at the bottom of the Map Art dialog box) looks good but can take longer to render

Note: All 3D effects are rendered at 72 dpi (dots per inch; low resolution) so as not to slow down processing speed
Determine the resolution by choosing Effect->Document Raster Effects Settings, or when saving or exporting the file
May also select the object and choose Object->Rasterize
After the object is rasterized, it can no longer be used as an Illustrator 3D object, so save the original

Adding Multiple Fills and Strokes

• The panel menu in the Appearance panel allows to add more fills and strokes
• With this feature, different colored fills can be placed on top of each other and individually apply effects to each one, creating really interesting and creative results

Create a star shape

• It doesn’t matter how many points it has, or how large it is, just make it large enough to work with
• Use the Swatches panel (choose Window->Swatches) to fill it with yellow and give it a black stroke
• Choose Window->Stroke to use the Stroke panel to make the stroke 1 pt; alternatively, choose 1 from the Stroke drop-down list in the Control panel
• Notice that in the Appearance panel, the present fill and stroke are listed
• Even in the simplest form, the Appearance panel helps track basic attributes
• Easily take advantage of the tracking to apply effects to just a fill or a stroke
• Click Stroke in the Appearance panel
• When the Appearance panel isn’t visible, choose Window->Appearance
• Choose Effect->Path->Offset Path
• In the Offset Path dialog box that appears, enter –5pt in the Offset text box and select the Preview check box
• Notice that the stroke moves into the fill instead of on the edge
• Change the offset to something that works with the star shape and click OK
• Depending on the size of the star, one may want to adjust the amount of offset up or down
• From the panel menu of the Appearance panel, add an additional fill to the star shape
• This may sound ridiculous, but allows for creating some super effects with multiple fills
• Click Fill in the Appearance panel (the top one) and choose Effect->Distort and Transform->Twist
• In the Twist dialog box that appears, type 45 into the Angle text field and select the Preview check box
• Notice how only the second fill is twisted? Pretty neat, right?
• Click OK to exit the Twist dialog box
• Select the top fill from the Appearance panel again
• Always have to be sure to select the right fill or stroke before doing anything that’s meant to change just that specific fill or stroke
• In the Transparency panel (choose Window->Transparency), choose 50% from the Opacity slider or simply type 50% in the Opacity text field
• Now see the original shape through the new fill!
• With that top fill still selected, change the color or choose a pattern in the Swatches panel for a really different appearance
• Can go on for hours playing around with combination of fills and strokes