You're holding in your hands the biggest, most thorough, and most helpful guide to Adobe Illustrator you'll find anywhere.
The Illustrator CS4 Bible is the book I wrote because I couldn't find the book I wanted about Adobe Illustrator. Now I have it, and believe it or not, I'm constantly using my own book as a reference. I'd love to tell the world, "Sure, I know that," without putting them on hold while I search the index for the Reset Tracking to 0 shortcut for a Mac (
If you're at your local bookstore looking at the different Illustrator books, don't just pick this one because it weighs the most (sorry about that . . . I get more thank-you letters from chiropractors who've stayed in business because of this monstrosity) or because it works great as a booster seat for your two-year-old nephew. Instead, take a look-see through these pages, which are stuffed to overflowing with in-depth Illustrator information that you just won't find anywhere else.
Illustrator CS4 has added a variety of new features and has revamped some of the old standby tools. In this edition, you find complete coverage of the new functions and features as well as extensive explanations on how these new features work. For a complete listing of new features and enhancements, see Chapter 1.
I've been to bookstores and seen the other Illustrator books out there. Some of them are quite good. Some of them are fairly awful. But none of them can match the Illustrator CS4 Bible for thoroughness, usefulness, or completeness. I've left no vector-based stone unturned.
Here are more reasons why the Illustrator CS4 Bible is the best overall book on Illustrator:
The most complete coverage of Illustrator: This book isn't big because I wanted to hog all the retail book space for myself (of course, that's not a bad idea), but it's because I tried to include every possible thing you'd ever want to know about Illustrator. From learning the basics of drawing to creating outstanding special effects with vectors and rasters, it's all here.
Fun, original, different artwork to illustrate the techniques and capabilities of Illustrator: When I say different, I'm not talking about performance art. Instead, I mean that each technique is created with a different piece of artwork. Some of it is simple, and some of it is complex — with each piece showing not only a particular feature but also other Illustrator capabilities.
Clean artwork without those annoying jaggies: This is vector software. When you think of vectors, you probably think of smooth, flowing paths that don't look like someone filled in a bunch of squares on a sheet of graph paper. So, instead of using screenshots for paths shown in this book, each path was painstakingly drawn in Illustrator. I think you'll appreciate the difference.
Top-notch technical prowess: Again, the Illustrator CS4 Bible has gotten the best possible people to do a technical review of the book. Previous editions were technically reviewed by Eric Gibson, the lead technical support engineer for Illustrator; Andrei Herasimchuk, who designed and implemented the Illustrator interface; and Sandra Alves, a user interface designer for Adobe Photoshop. This current edition has been technically reviewed by Dennis R. Cohen, technical editor of the last four editions of the Illustrator Bible as well as a contributor to and technical reviewer of numerous Illustrator and Photoshop titles.
Perfect for teaching: If you know Illustrator inside and out, you'll find that the Illustrator CS4 Bible is the best teaching tool available for Illustrator, with examples and explanations that perfectly complement a teaching environment. Many computer-training companies teaching Illustrator use this book, as do schools and universities.
Real-world examples and advice: Illustrator doesn't exist in a vacuum. Instead, it's often used in conjunction with other programs and in a variety of different environments and situations. Some people use Illustrator to create logos, others create full-page advertisements, and still others create entire billboards with Illustrator. Throughout this book, I present various real-world situations and examples that add to your understanding of each topic.
You don't need to be an artist or a computer geek to learn Illustrator with this book. No matter what your level of Illustrator experience is, you can undoubtedly find new things to try and will learn more about Illustrator along the way.
You may want to be aware of a few matters before you dive too deeply into the mysteries of vector-based graphics, Adobe-style:
Versions: When you see the word Illustrator, it refers to all versions of Illustrator. When I stick a number after the word Illustrator, it's relevant to that version only. When Adobe releases the next major upgrade, look for a new version of this book to help you through it.
Menu and keyboard commands: To indicate that you need to choose a command from a menu, I write something like MenuName
This is not a novel: As much as I'd like you to discover plot intricacies, subtle characterizations, and moral fabric woven into the story, none of those things exist in this book. You can use this book in two ways:
Look up what interests you in the Contents or the Index and then refer to that section. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Slowly, calmly work your way through the entire book, trying out examples (the funky steps that are almost everywhere) and techniques as you run across them. The book is designed to be read this way, with each chapter building on the previous chapter.
Mac and Windows versions used when writing this book: I shuffled between a Mac and a Windows computer when writing this book: The Mac uses OS X 10.5 Leopard, while the Windows computer uses XP SP2. Few items, if any, should be different on Vista, Tiger, and other operating systems supported by Illustrator CS4, but there could be a few minor differences between the platforms.
Nonexistent, for the most part. I've included several icons throughout this edition that may make reading this book a little more enjoyable and helpful:
Warning
Danger, Will Robinson!!! Caution icons let you know about all the nasty things that can happen and how to avoid them.
Note
These icons point you to other places in the book where you can find more information on a given topic.
Note
These icons indicate what's new in Illustrator CS4. Kind of like finding a prize in your cereal box.
Note
This icon notes interesting tidbits. It's sort of like having Cliff from Cheers rambling on about something every few pages — interesting but not essential. Just something I thought you might want to know.
Tip
These icons indicate some sort of power-user secret that you absolutely need to know to be able to illustrate with the big kids.
Here's a brief rundown on what to expect in this Illustrator CS4 Bible:
Part I: Illustrator Basics: This section introduces the new features you find in Illustrator CS4. It also points out all the funky elements of the cool Illustrator interface and how to work with documents. It also covers the basics of drawing, painting, and working with objects. You learn how to color things, how to uncolor things, and how to delete those things when you don't like their colors.
Part II: Putting Illustrator to Work: This section puts you to work by learning about type and how to fine-tune those paths and objects you drew in Part I. It also gives you a chance to bend and distort paths. Part II also contains a healthy dose of the hard stuff — such as compound paths, masks, blends, patterns, and type.
Part III: Mastering Illustrator: This is the section that contains the nitty-gritty — and I don't mean the dirt band. Hot topics such as using Illustrator styles, effects, and techniques for creating fantastic graphics are presented. I even show you how to customize Illustrator to work better and faster.
Part IV: Getting Art Out of Illustrator: This section describes the ways to get stuff out of Illustrator. Artwork can go to the print world, or on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Web, or into all the other great Adobe Creative Suite applications.
Appendix: The appendix contains information on Illustrator CS4 shortcuts.