Adobe Illustrator CS5 - Illustrator Unit D:Creating Blends and Complex Artwork

Objectives Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:  Use the Divide pathfinder  Create compound paths  Create complex patterns with compound paths  Blend objects  Create a clockwise blend  Create a clipping mask

Objectives  Use the Draw Inside drawing mode  Apply arrowheads and dashes to strokes  Design complex layered strokes

Using the Divide Pathfinder Cuts objects where they overlap  Result is multiple objects that can be given individual fill and stroke colors Example –Divide two overlapping circles creates three objects  Object can also be overlapped with a line Then use Divide pathfinder to slice the object where the line overlaps the object

Using the Divide Pathfinder FIGURE D-1: Positioning the five lines with the points on the star

Using the Divide Pathfinder FIGURE D-2: Selecting a piece of the divided star

Using the Divide Pathfinder FIGURE D-3: Finished artwork

Creating Compound Paths Compound paths:  Occur when a single object is composed of two or more paths  Do not necessarily overlap However, the best example is when one path cuts a hole in another path  Object menu | Compound Path | Make

Creating Compound Paths Letter A is created with two paths:  Outer path  Triangle within outer path FIGURE D-4: Positioning the orange triangle

Creating Compound Paths FIGURE D-5: Creating a compound path with three objects

Creating Compound Paths FIGURE D-6: Overlapping half of the star

Creating Complex Patterns with Compound Paths Once objects are compounded:  Positive and negative spaces create interesting patterns Relationship of the compound paths is maintained Individual objects within can be moved to create additional complex patterns Useful when designing repetitive patterns

Creating Complex Patterns with Compound Paths FIGURE D-7: A simple pattern created with compound paths

Creating Complex Patterns with Compound Paths FIGURE D-8: A more interesting pattern FIGURE D-9: Final artwork

Blending Objects Blend:  Series of intermediate objects between two objects Every blend begins with a starting object and an ending object Blend tool:  Offers options for choosing the number of intermediate objects between the starting and ending objects

Blending Objects Using blends:  Both closed paths (e.g., a square) and open paths (e.g., a line) can be blended  Commonly used to create interesting shape patterns, color blends, or both  A great way to add dimension Spine:  Horizontal line between the two original objects

Blending Objects FIGURE D-10: Redrawing the seven-step blend FIGURE D-11: Original objects and spine FIGURE D-12: Expanding the blend

Blending Objects FIGURE D-13: Blending four stars

Creating a Clockwise Blend Blends can be created between simple paths:  Straight paths or curved paths Offers great flexibility Can create interesting color effects Clockwise blend:  Colors blend like the hands of a clock sweeping around a center point Can only be made with blends between paths

Creating a Clockwise Blend FIGURE D-14: Applying stroke colors

Creating a Clockwise Blend FIGURE D-16: Completed clockwise blend

Creating a Clipping Mask Clipping mask:  An object used to “clip” other objects Parts of the objects that are clipped are visible Parts that are not clipped are not visible  In a group of selected objects, the top object is always the clipping mask Object being used as a clipping mask must be a single object  Object menu | Clipping Mask | Make

Creating a Clipping Mask FIGURE D-17: Masking the blend with the starburst FIGURE D-18: Masking the blend with five compounded circles

Creating a Clipping Mask FIGURE D-19: Applying a stroke to the clipping mask

Using the Draw Inside Drawing Mode Inside drawing mode  Allows one object to be created inside (within the perimeter) of another object Essentially the same thing as creating a clipping mask  Objects behave the same way as in a clipping set Difference between Draw Inside drawing mode and making a clipping mask: draw inside option can involve only two objects

Using the Draw Inside Drawing Mode FIGURE D-20: Drawing the yellow ellipse inside the blue square FIGURE D-21: Pasting the pink ellipse inside the outlines

Changing the Appearance of Strokes Stroke panel – End Caps  End caps determine the appearance at the ends of the path  Three end caps to choose from: Butt Cap (default): blunt cap that ends at the anchor points Round Cap: creates an oval at the ends of the path Projecting Cap: extends the stroke past the anchor points to a distance equal to one-half the point size of the stroke itself

Apply Arrowheads and Dashes to Strokes FIGURE D-23: Dotted stroke with round caps

Changing the Appearance of Strokes Stroke panel – Dashed Strokes  Dashes/Dots can be placed onto a path Length of 1 st Dash Stroke Space after 1 st Dash Stroke

Changing the Appearance of Strokes Stroke Panel - Arrowheads  Stroke panel also offers 39 arrowheads that you can apply to the endpoints of a path  Scale option can be used to specify the size of the arrowhead

Changing the Appearance of Strokes FIGURE D-22: Stroke with arrowheads

Designing Complex Layered Strokes Layered strokes:  Produce some of the best illusions  A number of different dashed effects can be created using a single dashed stroke Position of dashed and non-dashed strokes on top of one another can create cool and eye-popping effects Complex layered strokes:  Very useful for borders on artwork and for repeating patterns

Designing Complex Layered Strokes FIGURE D-24: “Bull’s-eye” stroke with three layered strokes FIGURE D-25: “Film strip” stroke with three layered strokes