Today I'm starting with a series of illustrator tutorials about the description of the Illustrator tools. To gain a better understanding of the tutorial, I include written and video part for this series. I'm planning to describe not the tools only, but techniques as well, both simple and complex ones, those that you are interested in and/or are hard to understand. So the content of this section depends on your wishes. Why did I begin with the Eraser Tool? It puzzles some of my students - why does not it want to erase. Let us figure this out, and where this tool is used and applied.
Tutorial Details
Program: Adobe Illustrator;
Difficulty: Beginner
Estimated Completion Time: 4 minutes
Step 1
Eraser Tool in Adobe Illustrator is located at the side of the tool bar in the same block with the Knife Tool and Scissors Tool (C).
Double click on the tool pops up the menu with lots of settings, in which apart from changing the shape of the eraser all sorts of functions are presented. What are they for? The fact is that many illustrators use the Eraser Tool as a brush for editing objects. But we will talk about that a little bit later.
Step 2
Now let's create an object that will be erased using the Eraser Tool. Let it be a circle. Take the Eraser Tool and drag it over the object, wiping a part of it. At the same time it does not matter whether the object is selected or not.
Object's path stays closed.
Step 3
If you're dealing with two objects or more, so the one that is (ones that are) selected will be erased, or both, if they are not selected.
Why we cannot erase an object? Because you forgot to deselect the other object you have just been working on or you have selected accidentally. And of course do not try to erase the bitmap objects, if such ones are present in your workspace. Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor, not the bitmap one. To solve these problems, go to Photoshop.
Step 4
You can wipe straight horizontally and vertically, to do this, hold down the Shift key while erasing with Eraser Tool.
Step 5
In order to create a rectangular selection and erase everything that is inside the selection, hold down the Opt / Alt button while erasing.
It is very convenient, isn't it?
Step 6
Professionals use Eraser Tool to edit the vector outlines with complex shape. You probably noticed that professional works have contour of different thickness and shape.
To create a complex path, different brushes are used, mostly Art Brushes, which can be edited using the Eraser Tool. Let's take a look at a simple example of how it is done.
Step 7
With the help of Pen Tool (P) will create a curved line and apply the Art Brush to it. Typically, these kind of brushes are created basing on the ellipse.
Thus, we have achieved a outline of tapered thickness. But it is impossible to edit it using the Eraser Tool, because it only has brush properties, but it stays as an open curve. If you cross the path with this tool, you will get two curves, which also possess the properties of the applied brush.
Step 8
To edit the path, it needs to be transformed into a closed vector object. Select the curve and go to Object> Expand Appearance.
Now this object can be edited.
The figure below shows the piece of the figure, where this technique was applied.
And now watch what was said above. Video was made in the same sequence.
