Comprehensive Illustrator CS4 Training (5 days)

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Overview

This comprehensive Adobe Illustrator training course will take students new to Illustrator CS3 through the basics of getting to know the work area and creating basic illustrations up through applying styles, working with symbols and managing colors for print.

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Goals

• Get to know the Adobe Illustrator CS3 workarea.
• Learn to use the selection and shape tools in Illustrator CS3
• Learn to transform objects
• Learn to effectively use the pen tool
• Learn to work with colors and painting
• Learn about type in Illustrator CS3
• Learn to work with layers
• Learn to blend shapes
• Learn to work with the brush tool
• Learn to apply effects, appearance attributes, and graphic styles
• Learn to work with symbols
• Learn to combine Illustrator graphics with other CS3 tools
• Learn to produce color separations for printing

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Prerequisites

Experience in the following areas is required:

• Experience with basic software programs such as Microsoft Word

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Outline

1. Getting to Know the Work Area in Illustrator CS3
   1. Viewing artwork
   2. Using the Illustrator tools
   3. Changing the view of artwork
2. Selecting and Aligning in Illustrator CS3
   1. Using the Selection tool
   2. Using the Direct Selection tool
3. Creating Shapes in Illustrator CS3
   1. Creating basic shapes
   2. Using basic shape tools
   3. Drawing the pencil shape
   4. Using the Pencil tool
   5. Drawing the pencil can
   6. Using Live Trace to create shapes
   7. Tips for drawing polygons, spirals, and stars
4. Transforming Objects in Illustrator CS3
   1. Scaling objects
   2. Reflecting objects
   3. Rotating objects
   4. Distorting objects
   5. Shearing objects
   6. Positioning objects precisely
   7. Changing the perspective
   8. Using the Free Transform tool
   9. Making multiple transformations
5. Drawing with the Pen tool in Illustrator CS3
   1. Creating straight lines
   2. Creating curved paths
   3. Building a curve
   4. Curves and corner anchor points
   5. Creating the pear illustration
   6. Drawing curves
   7. Finishing the pear illustration
6. Color and Painting in Illustrator CS3
   1. Color Mode
   2. Using the Appearance panel for fills and strokes
   3. Building and saving your own custom color
   4. Using Illustrator swatch libraries
   5. Creating color groups
   6. Editing color with Live Color
   7. Painting with gradients and patterns
   8. Create a PDF from your artwork
7. Working with type in Illustrator CS3
   1. Understanding text flow
   2. Saving and using styles
   3. Wrapping text around a graphic
8. Working with Layers in Illustrator CS3
   1. Creating layers
   2. Locking layers
   3. Viewing layers
   4. Pasting layers
   5. Creating clipping masks
   6. Merging layers
   7. Applying appearance attributes to layers
9. Blending Shapes and Colors in Illustrator CS3
   1. Creating a gradient fill
   2. Adjusting the direction of the gradient blend
   3. Adding colors to a gradient
   4. Creating smooth-color blends
   5. Blending intermediate steps
   6. Modifying the blend
   7. Combining blends with gradients
10. Working with Brushes in Illustrator CS3
    1. Using Art brushes
    2. Using Scatter brushes
    3. Applying a Scatter brush to paths
    4. Changing the color attributes of brushes
    5. Using a fill color with brushes
    6. Using Calligraphic brushes
    7. Using Pattern brushes
    8. Creating brushes
    9. Applying the Scribble Effect
11. Applying Effects in Illustrator CS3
    1. Creating a banner logo with the Warp effect
    2. Creating the 3D cylinder
    3. Using the 3D Extrude effect
12. Applying Appearance Attributes and Graphic Styles in Illustrator CS3
    1. Document Startup Profiles
    2. Using appearance attributes
    3. Copying, applying, and removing Graphic Styles
13. Working with Symbols in Illustrator CS3
    1. Working with symbols
    2. Editing Symbols
    3. Creating Symbols
    4. Applying a symbol instance
    5. Using the symbolism tools
    6. Editing symbols
    7. Updating a symbol
    8. Breaking a link to a symbol
    9. Storing and retrieving artwork in the Symbols panel
    10. Mapping a symbol to 3D artwork
    11. Symbols and Flash integration
    12. Review answers
14. Combining Illustrator CS3 Graphics with the Creative Suite
    1. Combining artwork
    2. Vector versus bitmap graphics
    3. Creating a crop area
    4. Placing an Adobe Photoshop file
    5. Duplicating a placed image
    6. Applying Color Edits to a placed image
    7. Masking an image
    8. Sampling colors in placed images
    9. Replacing a placed image
    10. Exporting a layered file to Photoshop
15. Printing Artwork and Producing Color Separations in Illustrator CS3
    1. Printing: An overview
    2. About printing devices
    3. About color
    4. What is color management?
    5. Printing black-and-white proofs
    6. Soft-proofing colors
    7. Using the Document Info command
    8. Creating color separations
    9. Separating colors
    10. Working with two-color illustrations
    11. Creating a trap
    12. Overprinting objects
    13. Saving and printing files with transparency effects
    14. Exporting and importing flattening settings
    15. Saving as Adobe PDF

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Materials

Each student will receive a copy of Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book by the Adobe Creative Team, which will serve as a guide for the class.

Each student will also receive a one-year subscription to Webucator's online reference library, which contains hundreds of the most current electronic technology books - a $149.95 per student value.

Comprehensive Adobe Illustrator CS3 Training Course Technical Requirements and Setup Instructions

Click here for technical requirements and setup instructions