Learn Adobe Illustrator with the Visual QuickStart Guide—the quick and easy way!

Visual QuickStart Guide is an easy, visual approach to learning. Concise steps and explanations guide you through Adobe Illustrator, getting you up and running in no time. In addition, the free Web Edition of the book includes more than 40 videos, enhancing and expanding the information in the book while providing an alternative method for learning. Whether you’re an experienced designer or an enthusiastic newcomer, Illustrator gives you all the tools you need to begin creating impressive vector artwork. Learn how to navigate the application and set up your documents to start drawing quickly, using a variety of tools and features. Then you’ll move on to applying appearance attributes and effects for adding visual interest to your artwork. Once your artwork is complete you’ll learn how to save and export it using best practices. This book provides you with:

• An easy visual approach that uses pictures to guide you through Adobe Illustrator features and shows you what to do.

• Concise steps and explanations that let you get up and running in no time.

• The best content and value around, page for page.

Lisa Fridsma has long loved the process of teaching others to use Adobe products, going back to her time on-staff at the company. She has produced and illustrated over thirty books in the Classroom in a Book series (including books for Photoshop, Acrobat, and After Effects). Lisa is the owner of Darlington Hill Productions, providing informational publishing and illustration services. She resides in northern Illinois with her two above average dogs.

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Basics

Chapter 2 Customizing the Application

Chapter 3 Working with Artboards

Chapter 4 Working with Color

Chapter 5 Navigating Documents

Chapter 6 Organizing Artwork

Chapter 7 Selecting Elements

Chapter 8 Customizing Strokes

Chapter 9 Drawing Lines, Curves, and Paths

Chapter 10 Creating Shapes and Symbols

Chapter 11 Adding and Customizing Text

Chapter 12 Working with Brushes and Sketch Tools

Chapter 13 Modifying Vector Objects and Paths

Chapter 14 Transforming Objects

Chapter 15 Adding Visual Effects

Chapter 16 Managing Appearance Attributes

Chapter 17 Importing Assets

Chapter 18 Saving and Exporting Files and Assets

Appendix A Illustrator Preferences

Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts