Basic tools of Adobe Illustrator
After practicing the tools explained in Part 1 of the
article let’s move towards Part 2. (For Part 1 visit my previous article).
In this article you will learn about other remaining
basic tools of Adobe Illustrator.
So set yourself and get started…
1.
Shape
Builder Tool (Shift+M)
If you want to obtain a desired
shape by adding or subtracting two or more shapes then Shape Builder is the
tool for you.
With this tool you can either
add/combine two or more shapes by adding their paths or you can subtract two or
more paths to form another shape.
You will get a clear view of how to use this
tool by understanding the below image-
In the above image to get a desired
shape 2 overlapping circles are drawn with help of Ellipse tool. Select both
the circles with help of Selection Tool and click on Shape Builder Tool in the
tool panel. Move the pointer on the path you want to remove, there will be a
plus sign at the end of the pointer, click & hold alt key and a minus sign
will appear at the end of the pointer. Now the path which will be removed will
get highlighted by red color, click to remove the path.
You can even combine two or more
shapes with help of Shape builder tool. See the below image-
To combine both
the circles, first select them with help of selection tool and then click on
Shape Builder Tool. Move the pointer on the circles with a plus sign in the end
and with left click drag the pointer from one circle to another. The
highlighted path is the preview of the result of the tool. Click to combine the
shapes.
2.
Gradient
Tool (G)
This is a very useful tool as it
helps in giving different shades to your artwork, from solid to light fill. You
will enjoy using this tool as it is easy to use and helps in giving a new
effect to your artwork with use of different colors. You can find the gradient
tool in the tool panel.
When you double
click on gradient tool a gradient window will appear. To fill your artwork with
gradient, select your artwork first with the selection tool. Then click on
gradient tool. There are two types of gradient fill, linear and radial. Select
the type of gradient form the gradient window.
In the gradient window you will see a gradient
slider which helps in adjusting the colors. When you will open the gradient
window there will be only two colors on the gradient slider, white and black.
You can change the color by double clicking on the small pointer placed below
the slider. When you will move the cursor close to the gradient slider, a plus
sign will appear, click and this will help in adding a new pointer to the
slider. You can see in the above image that I have added color pointers and
even I have changed the color of the pointers.
After selecting the artwork, click on the gradient tool
and with a left click drag your cursor over the artwork. A gradient slider will
appear there. You can rotate the slider at any point of the artwork to adjust
the color.
Practice this tool and you will end up playing with
colors.
3.
Eyedropper
Tool (I)
This tool helps you in stealing.
Wait! By stealing I mean stealing color from anywhere on the artboard. Even you
can steal the color from image.
In other words, Eyedropper tool
helps in copying color from any object, image or artwork.
If you are wondering how I have got
this raster image in the illustrator then keep patience, I will explain this in
my forthcoming articles.
Now get back to the eyedropper
tool. With help of this tool I have copied these different shades from the
image. To copy any color, select the object or shape in which you need to copy
the color then click on the eyedropper tool and move the tool over the color to
be copied and then click. You can also copy color from and object to another.
With help of eyedropper tool you
can fill or change color of more than one object at the same time.
4.
Zoom
Tool (Z)
As the name suggest, this tool is
used to zoom in and out of the artboard. You will find this tool next to hand
tool in the tool panel.
“Ctrl” + “+”:
This will help you to Zoom In
“Ctrl” + “-”:
This will help you to Zoom Out
5.
Fill
& Stroke (X)
This tool helps is filling color,
gradient or pattern in the artwork. Fill is done in the inner area of the
object but it is not compulsory. It can be applied to both close ended and open
ended artwork.
On the other hand, stroke is the
outer line of the artwork or object.
6.
Erase
Tool (Shift +E)
You can easily identify from the
name itself that what is the function of this tool. Yes, this tool helps in
erasing but erasing what?
This tool helps in erasing the
path.
Right click on the erase tool on
the tool panel and you will find two more tools; Scissor Tool and Knife.
Scissor Tool is used to cut the
path and knife is used to cut an object or shape into two or more parts.
From the above image you can
understand the use of Scissor Tool. To cut a path from the object, select the
object with selection tool and then right click on the erase tool. Select the
Scissor Tool and move the scissor towards the object and click on the anchor
point of the path which you want to cut. The blue highlighted line will show
you the path which will get cut. If that is the path which is required to be
cut then click and the path will get removed from the object.
Now learn the use of Knife. Select
the object which you want to cut into different parts. Right click on Erase
Tool and select knife. Move the knife on the object and with left click drag
the knife over the object in the direction in which you want to cut the object.
Then click on the selection tool, the whole object will get selected, deselect
the object. Again click on selection tool and move the pointer on the object
this time only the part of the object will get selected. Drag the selected part
apart from the other part. This is how knife tool works.
7.
Blend
Tool (W)
We all know what blending means and
the same meaning applies here. Blend Tools help in blending colors.
In this image you can see a blend
option window; this will appear when you will double click on the blend tool.
In the above image, I have blended
two different shades of color. To do this, draw a circle with ellipse tool and
make a duplicate copy of it. (Select the circle, press and hold alt key and at
the same time with left click drag the circle. This will duplicate the object.)
Fill one circle with a color and another circle with another color. (For
Strokes click on No Fill. You can see in the above image strokes are not
filled) Now select both the circle and double click on blend tool. Blend option
window will appear. Select smooth color in spacing and click OK. Move the
pointer on the first circle, a plus sign will appear, then click to blend the
circles.
There are lot more things to do
with blend tool, just give it a try.
8.
Artboard
Tool (Shift+O)
Artboard is the place where you
draw or create your artwork. You can find this tool in the tool panel. This
tool is used to edit the artboard. With help of this tool you can change the
appearance of the artboard. From appearance panel also you can edit the
artboard.
See the below image to understand
more about Artboard Tool.
Now you have learned the basic tools of Adobe
Illustrator (including Part 1). In the next article you will learn about the
basic panels used in Adobe Illustrator.
For any query or suggestion write in the comment
section and don’t forget to share the article with others.
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