Chapter 12 Drawing with Symbols

Creating Symbols You can create symbols from any Illustrator artwork, including text, compound paths, and grouped paths. Symbols may also include: –Blends –Effects –Brush strokes –Gradients –Other symbols

Creating Symbols The Symbols panel is a great place to store artwork that you plan to use again.

Creating Symbols Symbol Libraries Menu Place Symbol Instance Break Link to Symbol Symbol Options New Symbol Delete Symbol Symbols panel with the default Illustrator CC symbols

Creating Symbols When you use symbol artwork, you can modify the symbol instance on the artboard, without affecting its original appearance on the panel. In this way, you can think of the Symbols panel as a database of your original art.

Placing Symbol Instances If a symbol is artwork stored on the Symbols panel, then the artwork, when put to use in the document, is called a symbol instance. Symbol instances are “linked” to their corresponding symbols on the panel.

Placing Symbol Instances Symbol instance placed on artboard Selected symbol Place Symbol Instance button Placing a symbol instance

Modifying Symbols and Symbol Instances You can transform symbol instances by using commands on the Object menu or by using any of the transform tools. You can: –Cut –Copy –Drag and drop copies of symbol instances

Modifying Symbols and Symbol Instances Symbols are most often composed of multiple objects, such as you would expect to find in a drawing of a butterfly or a flower. When you select a symbol instance on the artboard, its selection marks show only a simple bounding box.

When you select a symbol instance, the individual elements of the artwork are not selected Modifying Symbols and Symbol Instances

You can, however, select the individual components of a symbol instance by using the Expand command on the Object menu. The bounding box disappears, and the individual elements of the artwork are available to be selected (and modified).

Modifying Symbols and Symbol Instances The Expand command allows you to select the individual elements of the artwork

Modifying Symbols and Symbol Instances You can also modify a symbol instance on the artboard and use it to create a new symbol without affecting the original symbol on which it is based.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets Use the Symbol Sprayer tool to create multiple symbol instances quickly. Symbol instances created with the Symbol Sprayer tool are called symbol instance sets.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets When you create a symbol instance set with the Symbol Sprayer tool, the entire set of symbols is identified within a bounding box.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets A symbol instance set created with the Symbol Sprayer tool

Creating Symbol Instance Sets If the set is selected and you begin dragging the Symbol Sprayer tool again, the new symbol instances will be added to the selected set—even if the new symbol instances are outside of the existing set’s bounding box. (The bounding box will expand to encompass the new symbol instances.)

Creating Symbol Instance Sets You can also create mixed symbol instance sets. Mixed symbol instance sets include symbol instances based on more than one symbol.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets The Symbol Sprayer tool has many options to help you control the dispersion of symbol instances. You can access these options in the Symbolism Tools Options dialog box by double-clicking the Symbol Sprayer tool on the Tools panel.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets The Diameter setting determines the brush size of the tool. Use a larger brush size to disperse symbol instances over a greater area of the artboard. The Intensity setting determines the number of times symbol instances will be dispersed in a given time. The Symbol Set Density setting determines how closely the symbol instances will be to each other.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets Symbol instance set with a high symbol set density A symbol instance set with a low symbol set density

Creating Symbol Instance Sets Despite the many options available with the Symbol Sprayer tool, it is often difficult to position multiple symbols exactly where you want them. For this reason alone, it is best to think of the Symbol Sprayer tool as a means to quickly disperse symbol instances but not as a tool to position symbols precisely.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets Once you have created a symbol instance set that contains roughly the number of symbol instances with which you want to work and have positioned them roughly where you want them to be on the artboard, you can then apply the Expand command to release the set into individual symbol instances.

Creating Symbol Instance Sets A symbol instance set expanded into individual symbol instances

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets Illustrator offers eight symbolism tools that you can use to modify symbol instances or sets of symbol instances.

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets Table 1: Symbolism Tools

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets You will most often use the symbolism tools to affect symbol instances within a set, since individual symbol instances are easy to select and modify directly with transform tools and menu commands.

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets When you apply symbolism tools to mixed symbol instance sets, each corresponding symbol must be selected on the Symbols panel in order for each type of symbol instance to be modified by the tool.

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets The following figure shows an illustration of a symbol instance set with each tool applied to the set.

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets Applying the Symbol Shifter tool Applying the Symbol Sizer tool Applying the Symbol Spinner tool Applying the symbolism tools

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets When you apply symbolism tools to mixed symbol instance sets, each corresponding symbol must be selected in the Symbols panel. When working with symbolism tools, it is also important that you set realistic goals. The symbolism tools are particularly useful if you have created a symbol set that is intended to appear random.

Modifying Symbol Instance Sets However, if your goal is to position symbol instances precisely in your artwork, you should expand the symbol set and use the selection tools and transform tools to modify each instance directly.