Class 4: Bézier Paths
Note to everybody:
Set Illustrator's Workspace to “Classic Essentials” (not “Essentials”)
Menu > Window > Workspace > Classic Essentials
Change in Assignments start dates, due dates, and length of time
Making An Ellipse With The Path Tool
It's an interesting exercise to make an ellipse with the path tool. It may help in getting a "feel" for how anchor points and direction handles work.
Start fresh
Make a new artboard or a new file, make sure Grid is on
Menu >
New >
New Document Dialog >
Size:Letter >
Click:OK
Menu >
View >
Show Grid
Draw a 2 inch circle with the ellipse tool, then another ellipse that 2 inches tall and 3 inches wide
Tool Panel >
Click/Hold Rectangle Toll until popup menu >
Drag to Ellipse Tool>
Release
Shift/Hold >
Click/Drag 2in left + 2in down >
Release
Shift/Hold >
Click/Drag 3in left + 2in down >
Release
Select both ellipses
Tool Panel >
Click/Release Selection Tool >
Shift/Hold >
Click/Release first circle/ Release Shift
Add some guides:
Menu >
View >
Guides >
Make Guides
Select them both and use Menu >
View >
Guides >
Make Guides to turn the ellipses into guides
Use the Path Tool to re-create the four anchor points and distance handles of Illustrator's Ellipse Basic Shape Tool
Start on the left side, drag up about 1/2 inch
Click on the top side, drag right about the same
Zoom in. Turn Snap to Grid off. Use the Direct Selection tool to tweak the handles until the curve matches the circle as closely as possible.
Choose Menu >
View >
Show Rulers.
Click on the top ruler and drag the cursor down. A horizontal line appears with the cursor. Drag down until you intersect the line with the end of the left-side anchor point's handle's top. Release.
Re-select the path so the handles show. Do the same from the left ruler and drag the cursor to the right. A vertical line appears, etc.
Use these new horizontal and vertical guides (and two additional guides) to align the other handles as you complete the circle.
NOTE: To continue a path, choose the path tool and bring the cursor to the end-anchor of the path you want to continue. You'll see this icon:
Use the same techniques to create the 2x3 ellipse
How Long To Make The Handle & How Many Anchor Points?
The "distance handle" controls the shape of the curve along with the anchor point. Let's examine how the length and angle of the handles affect the curve, and how the number of anchor points also affects it.
A basic rule of thumb:
The fewer anchor points, the smoother the curve
Make a new document or add a new artboard to the current doc
With Snap to Grid on, create a simple curve with 45º handles, 6 inches wide
Select it, then use Menu >
Object >
Transform >
Move...
And use the dialog to make a copy of it 1 inch down
The result
Repeat the move with Transform Again, or better yet, Control/Command-D, 3 times
Now select the 4 lower curves and convert them to Guides with
Menu >
View >
Guides >
Make Guides
Zoom into the top guide. Let's define a curve with three anchor points that fits the guide
Compare the original curve's two anchor points and handles to the new three anchor pointed curve's. Note that the two point curve has longer handles
Try with the next two curves with handles that are too long and too short
Try the last curve with a bunch of anchor points. Notice how much tweaking is required to make the curve look smooth.
Here (Again) Is The Example File "Paths-Symmetry.Ai.zip" With All The Curves In It So Far.
Types of Anchor Points
End Anchor |
Every line has at least two anchors
|
 |
Corner Anchor Point |
Has no handles
Created with click-release |
 |
Smooth Anchor Point |
Has two handles, equidistant from the anchor, in alignment with each other
Created with click-drag-release |
 |
Combination Smooth Anchor Point
|
Smooth on both sides, with two handles, but handles are not aligned
Created with click-drag-option/alt-drag-release |
 |
Combination Anchor Point
|
Curved on one side, smooth on the other, with one handle for the smooth side
Created by click-drag-release then click again on anchor |
 |
Some Important Pen Tool Keyboard/Mouse Gestures To Remember:
| Gesture |
Result |
|
| Click-release |
Corner point |
 |
| Click-drag-release |
Smooth point |
 |
| Click-spacebar or click-drag-spacebar followed by release |
Moves point while spacebar is down, then fixes point on release |
 |
| Click-drag then hold Alt/Option |
De-couple handle from other handle |
 |
| Click-drag-release then click-release on anchor point |
Change leading handle to straight-line corner anchor |
 |
| Click-drag-release then click-drag-release on anchor point |
Change leading handle to straight-line corner anchor |
 |
Truth is, I almost never can remember all of these. Instead, I just rough out the curves I want and go back in and edit them until I get the effect I want.
A collection of good articles here
Homework 2: Bezier Curves
Due from one week from when we get to this point, or Class 5, September 21st.
The description.
If Time: Typography
The Art Of Type
Font Aspects Reviewed
The Anatomy of a Character
The most important properties:
- Cap Height
- X-Height
- Ascender
- Descender
Anatomy of a Character @ ITCfonts
Anatomy Of A Line Of Characters
- Cap-height
- X-height
- Ascender
- Descender
- Baseline
- Media
Type Classifications
Font's can be broken down into various categories or classifications. Many individual fonts can overlap classifications, like Sans Serif and Decorative, but by and large, most fonts can be classified based on their history.
For more information on typographic history as applied to classifications, here is an excellent website on the subject.
Oldstyle/Humanist/Garalde
Transitional
Other examples: ITC Century,
ITC Zapf International
18th Century, transitioning from Old Style to Modern. More pure geometric form, conforming to the ideals of the Enlightenment.
Modern/Didone
Other examples:
Didot,
Walbaum,
Century Schoolbook
Advances in printing technology in the late 18th and early 19th centuries make it possible to have thinner elements.
Blackletter
Oddly, there's a resurgence of interest in Blackletter in Hawaiian surf-oriented design.
Other examples: Old English,
Schwabacher,
Gotisch
Based on 13th century medieval manuscript letter-forms. Sometimes called Gothic.
Despite being really hard to read, the Nazi's loved it because it harkened back to their supposed Arian roots.
Display
Other examples: Aachen,
Blackoak,
Ironwood,
ITC Machine
Designed for use in larger sizes. Used primarily for headlines and titles. Avoid for use a body copy (text type)
Font Properties
Family
Example font: Helvetica Family
Size
1pt
2pt
3pt
4pt
5pt
6pt
7pt
8pt
9pt
10pt
11pt
12pt
13pt
14pt
15pt
16pt
17pt
18pt
19pt
20pt
21pt
22pt
23pt
24pt
25pt
26pt
27pt
28pt
29pt
30pt
31pt
32pt
33pt
34pt
35pt
36pt
37pt
38pt
39pt
40pt
41pt
42pt
43pt
44pt
45pt
46pt
47pt
48pt
49pt
50pt
51pt
52pt
53pt
54pt
55pt
56pt
57pt
58pt
59pt
60pt
61pt
62pt
63pt
64pt
65pt
66pt
67pt
68pt
69pt
70pt
71pt
72pt
- Measured in points
- 72 points = 1 inch
Weight
- In order from lightest weight to heaviest:
- Thin, Extra Light, LIght, Semi-light
- Normal, Book, Regular, Roman
- Semi-Bold, Bold, Extra Bold, Black
Width
- In order from narrowest to widest:
- Compressed Ultra, Compressed, Ultra Condensed, Condensed
- No modifier in name
- Extended
Style
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
abcdefg
- Normal
- Italic (has custom 'glyph' shapes)
- Oblique (has no custom glyphs)
Spacing
This is normal spacing
AB - Two letters with wide kerning
AB - Two letters with negative kerning
Sentence with wide tracking
Sentence with negative tracking
- The spacing between letters, aka kerning
- In Illustrator, you can kern individual spaces between letters or kern more than one space with 'tracking'
Leading
This is 12pt leading for a 12pt block of type. A little too tight, I think. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod.
This is normal leading for a 12pt block of type, which is usually about 14.4pts. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod.
This is 16pt leading for a 12pt block of type. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod.
This is 18pt leading for a 12pt block of type. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod.
- The name comes from the thin pieces of lead which would be placed between lines of type in a metal type shop
- Get "lorem ipusm" here
Alignment
This paragraph is aligned left. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod. Fusce pharetra. Aliquam non ante. Ut porta, neque at porta viverra, eros nulla sollicitudin sapien, sed tempus tellus risus, vivamus sed.
This paragraph is aligned right. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod. Fusce pharetra. Aliquam non ante. Ut porta, neque at porta viverra, eros nulla sollicitudin sapien, sed tempus tellus risus, vivamus sed.
This paragraph is aligned center. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod. Fusce pharetra. Aliquam non ante. Ut porta, neque at porta viverra, eros nulla sollicitudin sapien, sed tempus tellus risus, vivamus sed.
This paragraph is aligned justified. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Suspendisse eget diam. Morbi in risus. Morbi nibh. Sed cursus urna. Nunc vitae nisl eu arcu vulputate pharetra. Nullam euismod. Fusce pharetra. Aliquam non ante. Ut porta, neque at porta viverra, eros nulla sollicitudin sapien, sed tempus tellus risus, vivamus sed.
Watch Out For...
Rivers
Orphans
Widows
Working with Type as Outlines
Menu > Type > Create Outlines
Creating Logo Ligatures
Developing the Digital Art & Animation logo
Sample files
Misc.
A bit more on Guides in Illustrator: demo...
- You can make any outline into a guide
- Drag guides from Rulers
- Hold shift to snap to ruler marks
- To drag to one artboard to use on only that artboard, switch to Artboard mode and drag and release on the target artboard
- Help reference
Making Sketches
Let's talk about Sketching for design and illustration!
Always sketch out the bounding rectangle of your design!
Scanning a Letterform
Create Source
- Create source artwork with whatever tools you want, but best results are with tools that give interesting lines
- Sharpies
- Wide Felt-tips
- Sumi Brushes
- Croquil pens
- Make sure you use black or a very dark ink
- You can also get interesting results on different surfaces
- Paper towels
- Newsprint
- Watercolor paper
- Rice paper
- You're trying to capture a "hand made" or "hand drawn" feel
Scan or Photograph It
- Scan in Black & White or Grayscale between 150 and 600 dpi (the smaller the original, the higher the dpi should be)
- Save scan as .png
- Or photograph it in bright, even light
Photoshop It
- Bring the scan into Photoshop
- Cut out the bits you want and paste them into a new document and save them as .psd or .png
Place It In Illustrator
- Switch to Illustrator
- Menu > File > Place...
- Select scanned and edited letterform
- With the letterform selected, open the Image Trace window (Menu > Windows > Image Trace)
- Choose Preset: Black and White logo
- Open the Advanced section of the Image Trace window
- VERY IMPORTANT: Check Ignore White
- Threshold Sets the image contrast, or where it creates the edge between black and white. Extend it to 255 and the whole thing is likely to go black.
- Paths High paths = more detail, rougher and more complex shapes. Low Paths = less detail, smoother and simpler shapes .
- Corners Less = smoother overall appearance. More = more corners.
- Noise
Number reflects the size of objects in pixels that will be ignored. Smaller numbers reveal more bits and pieces
- Method
Abutting or Overlapping. Keep Abutting (default) - it's the only one that works with Ignore White.
- Create
Fills Strokes. Check only Fills. This is the same way fonts are set
- Options: Snape Curves to Lines
Off, creates bumpier edges
- Options: Ignore White
Very important setting (should be the default)
- Preview
Leave on
- Trace
Use it if it becomes available, or the first time you set an Image Trace on a placed bitmap
Turn the Image Trace object into an editable vector object
- Select the Image Trace object
- Choose Menu > Object > Image Trace > Expand
- Before
Creating Type on and in a Path or Shape
Two ways:
Type Tool with gesture:
Normal text cursor
- Click-release to create one continuous line of type
- Drag-release to create a rect to fill with text
Text cursor over a closed shape
- Hover near the edge of a shape
- Click when cursor changes to fill the shape with text
Text cursor over an open path
- Hover near edge of path
- Click when cursor changes to place text on the path from the location you clicked on on the path
Specialized Type Tools:
Area Type Tool
Path Type Tool
Type On Path Editing Gestures
Demo...
example file
Uses very small and hard to see cursors to indicate editing mode:
Adjust Type on Path: Left Margin
Adjust Type on Path: Right Margin
Adjust Type on Path: Center Align and Flip Sides
Adding Strokes To Type
Demo... example file
NOTE: There is a bug in Illustrator CC that will sometimes cause this to fail. I'm still working on figuring out how to reproduce this bug
reliably, and in the meantime if you run into it, convert your text to outlines instead of using this technique.
After youv'e created the text object, select it with the Selection tool.
Open the Appearance Panel (Menu > Window > Appearance). Note that the layer 'Characters' is highlightd in the panel.
This will add a stroke (and an empty fill) above the Characters layer.
From the Stroke layer, pick a color...
Then set the stroke to twice as wide as you want it to be.
Click on the Stroke layer and drag it down to below the Characters layer.
Release and the stroke is now behind the text. And, the text is still editable!
Here's some variations on what you can do with adding strokes to text through the appearance panel...(strokes02.ai)
Assignment 1 Assigned
Personal ID
Specs
