intro to Illustrator

Today in class we began with Illustrator. We spent a good while just learning the format of the program and the different windows and options that Illustrator provides. From the new tool bars to adjusting the view of the screen, we were learned the very basics of Illustrator. We also learned of the different types of documents that you can open in Illustrator and how to save them properly. 

But the most fun we had in class today was learning how to make vector shapes/lines and fills. While all of the images made in Illustrator are vector images, we played around with the pen tool to create different shapes and draw images of our own. I created a "happy Halloween" image using the fill color of orange and the outline of black (i set the stroke to a larger size, so the outline became more of visible) With the pen tool, you can draw straight lines, but also hold and pull to create curved lines to your liking (much like the pen tool in photoshop) So with that knowledge, i made a round pumpkin to add to my image. 

The pen tool is a little tricky at first, learning about how the line connect together in selection, but with a few tries, I was able to get the hang of it to create an image. I really like the vector image compared to the bitmap image, because with drawing on the computer, with pixels you can loose so much quality, but with the vector image, the quality is always the same (even if it takes more time to upload)

I'm excited to see what else we have to learn with Illustrator.