Illustrator: Expert Guides and Resources

Many of the most dramatic changes in how Illustrator is being used are taking place in the realm of translating vector images to the web, and the underrated SVG format is the key link in that process. SVG files maintain the treasured scalability features of vector artwork and are supported nearly universally in websites and web development environments.

SVG type provides the same valuable features found in all aspects of SVG graphics created in Adobe Illustrator CC: scalability, editability in Illustrator, and native support in all browsers. Those features in and of themselves argue for exporting your graphic content that contains type in SVG format when it's targeted for digital development.

In Illustrator, place refers to bringing files into an existing document. Placed files can be embedded in a document or linked from an external source and included in an Adobe Illustrator CC document. Before you learn how to crop in Illustrator, you need to first place images.When files are linked, changes to the original file are reflected in the Illustrator document.

SVG graphics from Adobe Illustrator CC are rarely handed off to digital designers with backgrounds. Normally the graphics float above whatever background exists in the website, app, animation, or interactive context.Before discussing what’s involved in knocking out the background behind SVG artwork, focus on applying transparency to SVG graphics.

You can export, save, and print several kinds of objects in Adobe Illustrator CC: an entire document; one, some, or all artboards in a document; selected objects; and assets. You share Illustrator files for a wide range of print and screen output options by exporting them to one of a long list of file formats.

Within the canvas of Adobe Illustrator CC, artboards are discrete, sized spaces that make it easy to export, share, or print sections of the canvas. The canvas is the area of the Illustrator workspace where you create graphics. The canvas is basically everything you see on the screen except the interface (such as the menu, Control panel, and other panels).

Effects, like the ubiquitous drop shadow, are an essential element in every designer’s toolkit. You may have noticed that Adobe Illustrator CC’s Effect menu includes a substantial submenu for SVG filters. The available set of filters is expanding as Illustrator evolves to provide more support for SVG.By the way, if you’ve used Illustrator for years, you might remember that the Effect menu used to list effects and filters.

Ideally, Illustrator CC graphics intended for SVG output will have been created with a minimum of anchors and effects and with a minimum of raster objects. As you develop your own Illustrator-to-SVG workflow and habits, you’ll begin to internalize some of the demands of SVG files, and integrate those requirements more seamlessly into the design process.

What if you need some help choosing colors in Adobe Illustrator CC? Illustrator has a couple of panels that can assist you in how to add color to images: the Color Guide panel and the Color Themes panel. Getting color advice The Color Guide panel generates a set of color swatches that go well with a base color that you define.