Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 2)

posted by: Natalie Ulrich, in Illustrator Tips / Basix/ Comments: 2

Today Natalie Ulrich will share with us some very interesting tricks. In this part we will consider tricks connected with selection, scaling and alignment of objects. You will know how to cut the objects in a straight line with the Knife Tool and how to distort the text and leave it editable. Personally, I found a lot of new and useful information in these articles. Learn more at the jump!

The Selection of the Hidden Object

To select the object which is hidden behind the other object select the visible object and press the shortcuts Cmd / Ctrl + Opt / Alt + [. As a result, you select the object which is situated below the visible object. If you press this combination of the buttons a couple of times, you will move lower and lower. The shortcuts Cmd / Ctrl + Opt / Alt + ] on the contrary select the overlying object.

Scale Strokes & Effects

While changing the size and the shape of the objects you can choose if you want to change the thickness of the stroke and applied effects. The Scale Strokes & Effects option in the dialog box Preference (Edit > Preference > General… (Cmd / Ctrl + K)) is used for this purposes. However, there is another, faster way to change this setting. Double click on the Scale tool on the toolbar on the dialog box and choose the right option. The selected option not only changes the selected object but also other objects, which should be scaled in future.

Inaccurate Values

You’ve probably noticed that sometimes when you enter the value into the Transform panel after pressing the Enter button you get not a whole number. For example, you enter number 3, but after pressing Enter in the numeric field there appear to be 3,01. This mistake is connected with the Snap to Point mode. Turn this mode off in the View menu or press shortcuts Cmd / Ctrl + Opt / Alt + ", and then you get the entered value.

Cutting in a Straight Line

The special feature of the Knife tool is that, unlike other tools, which cut a straight line, you should use the Opt/Alt instead of the Shift button. To cut in a straight line in horizontal or vertical direction use the Opt / Alt + Shift shortcuts.

Transform Again

The Cmd / Ctrl + D shortcuts after the transformation of the object do the same transformation. The same action should be applied towards one or a couple of the points of the path. Take the Direct Selection Tool and move the point. Now you can select the other point of any other object and move it into the same distance with the Cmd / Ctrl + D shortcuts.

Alignment on the specified object

The Align panel allows aligning the objects on their sides or centers. In this case the position of the objects is average. To align the object toward one specified object select all the objects, then click on the object to which the alignment should be performed (in the last versions of Adobe Illustrator this object will be underlined with a bold line). And now use the necessary button in the Align panel.

The Duplication by Dragging from One Document to Another

To duplicate one object into the other open document simply drag object to the other document. But there is one problem. If you duplicate the objects which are situated in different layers, they appear to be in one and the same layer in duplicated document. To prevent this set the Paste Remembers Layers option on the Layers menu. Only then the layer structure will be saved .

Distorting of the text

There is an interesting way of distorting the text without creating outlines. Select the text and go to the Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Mesh and on the dialog box set the option of one column and one row.

Now with the Gradient Mesh Tool (U) or Direct Selection Tool (A) drag the nodes of the mesh and manage their handles. You can change the shape of the text as you like. To edit the text go to the Object > Envelope Distort > Edit Content.

You can read first part here

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 1)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 3)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 4)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 5)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 6)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 7)

Effective Methods of Working in Adobe Illustrator (Part 8)

Natalia is a successful illustrator and photographer who works with micro stock sites. If you want to become financially independent and get a good source of passive income, register on micro stocks at the following links and start making money right now.

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