© The Author(s), under exclusive license to APress Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022
J. HarderPerspective Warps and Distorts with Adobe Tools: Volume 2https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8829-0_1

1. Introduction to Warps in Illustrator

Jennifer Harder1  
(1)
Delta, BC, Canada
 

Chapter Goal: Set up your workspace. Begin the process of discovering what a true warp and a distort are when working in Illustrator, with its many panels and menus. With Illustrator vector shapes, the concept of a distort is more wide-ranging.

Illustrator Warps and Distorts

In this book, Perspective Warps and Distorts with Adobe Tools: Volume 2, we will focus on the application Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator has tools similar to those in Photoshop, such as the Pen, Path Selection, and Direct Selection tools, which we will review in Chapter 2 and look at how they can work to distort various vector shapes. Distortion in some ways is easier to control in Illustrator than in Photoshop, as you are dealing with points and paths only.

Pixilated or raster images like (.psd), (.jpeg), and (.tiff) files can be added to Illustrator from Photoshop; however, I would not recommend doing any major warping or distorting of photos in this application. It’s better to create those distorts in Photoshop first and save the file. Then, go to File ➤ Place and locate the file. Upon clicking on the Illustrator artboard, this linked or embedded image will become a kind of background image on a separate layer below the other Illustrator artwork. Refer to Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1

The Layers panel thumbnail in Illustrator with a linked photo placed on a separate locked layer. One can tell the photo is linked or embedded because it appears in the Links panel

You can find which images are linked or embedded via Window ➤ Links panel.

In this book we will not be looking in any detail at linked or embedded images; however, if you would like more detail on this topic, you can look at the Photoshop Selections book mentioned in the Resources section of this chapter. It is not required to complete these projects.

Figure 1-2 gives a brief review of some of the steps to bring your Illustrator graphics into Photoshop as Illustrator Smart Objects. You can then complete your final distortion in Photoshop. In the next section we will look at resources available.
Figure 1-2

Illustrator shapes and paths can be pasted as Vector Smart Object layers into Photoshop

In this book, however, we will focus mostly on Illustrator. In Chapters 4 and 6–11 we will be either briefly returning to Photoshop or discussing tools or effects that are similar to ones in Photoshop for comparison.

Nevertheless, Illustrator is ideal for warping not just vector shapes and type, as will be seen in Chapters 9–10, but also basic 3D object paths, as you will see later, in Chapter 13.

Resources

Before we get started, however, let’s make sure that you have your Illustrator workspace set up. We’ll just be working with Illustrator, but, as mentioned, you can copy and paste selected items over to Photoshop as Smart Objects Layers. Refer to Figure 1-2.

Though Smart Objects are not required to complete the projects in this book, supplemental books that I have written can be found in the “Introduction” of this book.

Some other Adobe resources I will mention throughout the book can be found in the following Adobe help link:

https://helpx.adobe.com

Note

This chapter does not contain any project files.

System Requirements

Make sure when working in Photoshop that you have the most up-to-date version of your Creative Cloud desktop and that the latest version of the application meets your system’s requirements. Currently I am using Illustrator CC 2023 Version 27.1 on my Windows 10 computer.

However, you may be using a newer version of Windows or MacOS, so review your system requirements here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/system-requirements.html

Note

Some features for Windows 11 computers may not be supported at the time of this writing.

With your Creative Cloud desktop application Apps tab and subscription active, make sure that you have downloaded Illustrator. From the panel, choose All Apps, and then to the right of the application click Open to launch it. Refer to Figure 1-3.
Figure 1-3

Use the Creative Cloud desktop All Apps tab to locate and launch the Illustrator app

Set Up the Workspace and Review the Main Panels and Tools

To set up your workspace, from the main menu choose File ➤ New.

You will for now just practice. Click on the Print tab and select the Letter preset blank document. Refer to Figure 1-4.
Figure 1-4

Illustrator New Document dialog box and blank document presets

You will notice on the right in the Preset Details area that the name will currently be Untitled -1.

Change the increments drop-down from Points to Inches; there are other measurement options available. Refer to Figure 1-5.
Figure 1-5

New Document dialog box with various increment settings

Now the width is 8.5, the height is 11, and the increment is in inches. The orientation is portrait, but it can be switched to landscape by clicking on the icon. I can add additional artboards, but I will leave that set to 1 for now. Refer to Figure 1-6.
Figure 1-6

New Document settings for orientation and number of artboards

Leave the bleed settings for top, bottom, left, and right at the default of 0 inches and with link enabled. In this case, we do not need to add any additional space around the artboard. Refer to Figure 1-7.
Figure 1-7

New Document dialog box current bleed settings

At this point, click the Advanced Options arrow (➤) to open see all the options if it is collapsed, and you will have the option of changing the color mode from CMYK Color to RGB Color. I will leave it at CMYK for now for print work, but if you are planning on using the file in your RGB Photoshop file then set it to RGB Color. Likewise, you can change the color mode of a copy of your file later on if you realize that you want to use it in that color mode. This will be discussed at the end of the chapter. Refer to Figure 1-8.
Figure 1-8

New Document dialog box, Advanced Options and Color Mode

The Raster Effects drop-down is set to High (300ppi) (pixels per inch), which is a good resolution for working with graphics that will have filters or 3D effects applied to them. I prefer to keep my Illustrator files on the highest settings. Refer to Figure 1-9.
Figure 1-9

New Document dialog box, Raster Effects

I’ll leave Preview Mode set to Default. Similar settings can later be accessed in Illustrator’s View menu. Refer to Figure 1-10.
Figure 1-10

New Document dialog box, Preview Mode; also seen in the View menu

The More Settings button brings up the same settings but also allows you to access Templates; you can skip that button for now. Refer to Figure 1-11.
Figure 1-11

New Document dialog box, More Settings button

Click the Create button to commit the preset. Refer to Figure 1-12.
Figure 1-12

New Document dialog box, Create and Close buttons

The new blank document will open, and you will see the current Illustrator workspace. Refer to Figure 1-13.
Figure 1-13

Adobe Illustrator app current workspace

You can then begin to set up your workspace, either using the main menu Window ➤ Workspace or from the Workspace button found on the far right of the main menu area. Refer to Figure 1-14.
Figure 1-14

Set up your workspace, using one of the menus to select Essentials Classic

For my work I generally like to choose Essentials Classic, as this gives me all the tools that I need in the Toolbars panel as well as other essential panels. Many of the following panels I discuss in my book Accurate Layer Selections Using Photoshop’s Selection Tools, but I will present an overview of them here. Refer to Figure 1-14.

Illustrator Panels

Panels can be opened, collapsed, and undocked by dragging them around in the application so that they are closer to your artwork as you work on your project. Refer to Figure 1-15.
Figure 1-15

Color panel collapsed and open and its menu, and then undocked from the Color Guide panel

Most panels have their own menu, which gives you other options while working with the panel. You can find these panels again, as well as additional panels, in the Window drop-down menu. Refer to Figures 1-14 and 1-15.

However, I will do a basic overview of the key panels that are useful in this workspace. You can reset your Essentials workspace by choosing Reset Essentials Classic from the Workspace menu. Refer to Figure 1-14.

Toolbars

The Toolbars panel contains all the tools that you need to work on your Illustrator projects. As you can see in Figure 1-16, there are many.
Figure 1-16

Toolbars panel and its many tools

Some of these tools, after working in Photoshop, will already be familiar to you, and some are very unusual. However, for the moment the main tools that you need to know about in this chapter are the Selection tool, Direct Selection tool, Zoom tool, and Hand tool. We will explore some of the others in later chapters in regard to warps and distorts.

Selection Tool (V): The black arrow allows you to select and move objects around on layers with your mouse. Refer to Figure 1-17 for a comparison to the similar tool in Photoshop.
Figure 1-17

The Selection tool next to the Direct Selection tool in Illustrator, and Photoshop’s Move, Path Selection, and Direct Selection tools; a rectangle selected with the Selection tool in Illustrator

The Selection tool is similar to the Photoshop Move tool as well as the Photoshop Path Selection tool, which is used for moving and scaling vector shape layers. Refer to Figure 1-17.

Direct Selection Tool (A): The white arrow is basically identical to the Photoshop Direct Selection tool and is used to move and edit individual points on a path. Refer to Figure 1-18.
Figure 1-18

A point on a rectangle in Illustrator has been altered with the Direct Selection tool, which is similar to Photoshop’s Direct Selection tool

We’ll review these tools further in Chapter 2. However, these two tools work best with Illustrator’s Layers panel.

Zoom Tool (Z): This allows you to zoom in and out of an image. To zoom in, click once with the tool; to zoom out, Alt/Option + Click with the tool, or you can use your key commands of Ctrl/CMD + +, Ctrl/CMD+ -, or Ctrl/CMD +0 to zoom in or out. Refer to Figure 1-19.
Figure 1-19

Zoom tool

Hand Tool (H): This is great to use when you are zoomed in. You can drag your hand tool and navigate about the canvas without moving or disrupting the layers or points on a shape while drawing it. If you hold down the spacebar key while using the Selection tool or another tool you can access this Hand tool. Refer to Figure 1-20.
Figure 1-20

Hand tool

Note

If you find that a tool is missing from the Toolbar, it might be accessed via the Edit Toolbar button in the pop-out panel. You may need to drag it back to the main Toolbars panel. In this workspace, however, all tools should be in the Toolbar. Make sure, using the Window menu, that it is set to the Toolbars setting of Advanced. Refer to Figure 1-21.

Figure 1-21

Use the Edit Toolbar button in the Toolbars panel to locate missing tools, and use the Window menu to make sure that the Toolbars is set to Advanced

Because we are using the Essentials Classic workspace, no tools should be missing.

Note

Recently a Window ➤ History panel has been added to Illustrator that is very similar to the one found in Photoshop; you can learn more about it at the end of this chapter. For now, make sure to use Edit ➤ Undo (Ctrl/CMD + Z) if you make a mistake.

Control

The Control panel does have some similarities to the Options panel in Photoshop and works with some of the tools in the Toolbars panel. However, this is usually done once the object has been selected with, for example, the Selection tool; many of its options are found in the Properties panel as well, which we will look at later. Refer to Figure 1-22.
Figure 1-22

How the Control panel appears when a rectangle is selected with the Selection tool

Color

The Color panel allows you to select colors for select paths, using its palette without having to double-click on a stroke or a fill in the color picker in the Toolbar. However, this new color is added to whichever is in front—the stroke or the fill—in the Toolbars panel. Refer to Figure 1-23 and Figure 1-24.
Figure 1-23

Color panel collapsed and open with its menu

Note

If you need to reset the colors in the Toolbars panel, press the D key, which is a white fill and black stroke. To switch what is in the foreground, or the currently selected color—the fill or the stroke—press the X key on your keyboard. Shift + X will swap fill and stroke colors. Refer to Figure 1-24.

Figure 1-24

Toolbars panel with stroke editable with color picker default color, stroke editable with color picker (X), fill and stroke swapped (Shift+ X), and the Color Picker dialog box

The Color panel menu also offers various ways to view and alter the color. For now, we’ll keep it on the CMYK setting, but select Show Options if you cannot see all the settings. Refer to Figure 1-25.
Figure 1-25

Color panel with its menu for show and hide options

Color Guide

The Color Guide panel, while not a main topic of this book, is great for altering colors on selected shapes. Refer to Figure 1-26.
Figure 1-26

Color Guide panel collapsed and open with its menu

You can discover more information on this topic in my Accurate Layers Selections book mentioned earlier.

However, I will be going over the essentials of this panel again in Chapter 7 when we recolor a custom pattern.

Swatches

The Swatches panel allows you to store the color swatches, gradients, and patterns you create that are in the Toolbars panel so that you can later share them with others. Refer to Figure 1-27.
Figure 1-27

Swatches panel collapsed and open with its menu

Its menu and the icon on the lower left corner of the panel have a link to additional swatch libraries.

Swatches can be accessed from the Control panel for stroke and fill of selected vector shapes and paths. Refer to Figure 1-28.
Figure 1-28

Control panel for path with access to the fill and stroke

These swatches can also be added to the Libraries panel for further collaboration.

We will be using the Swatches panel throughout Chapters 1–13.

Brushes

The Brushes panel and its library can store a variety of unique vector brushes, which we will look at in more detail in Chapters 5, 7, and 8; they can be applied to selected strokes. Refer to Figure 1-29.
Figure 1-29

Brushes panel collapsed and open with its menu

Its menu and the icon on the bottom left corner of the panel have a link to additional brush libraries.

Symbols

The Symbols panel can be used to store graphics as symbols that you can use many times in your artwork. We will be looking at how it can be used in Chapter 6 for blends, Chapter 8 to enhance illustrations, to apply effects in Chapter 11, with a collection of symbolism tools in Chapter 12, and later with perspective in Chapter 13. The menu and the lower left area of the panel also contain a link to additional symbol libraries that you can use for practice. Refer to Figure 1-30.
Figure 1-30

Symbols panel collapsed and open with its menu

Stroke

The Stroke panel, as well as the Control panel and Properties panel, can be used to modify the weight of a stroke. We will be exploring more stroke options in Chapter 2, and the Width tool in Chapter 5. Refer to Figure 1-31.
Figure 1-31

Stroke panel collapsed and open with Show and Hide options, and the Control panel with stroke options

Note

If you cannot see all the stroke options, make sure to use the panel’s menu and choose Show Options. Refer to Figure 1-31.

Gradients

The Gradients panel creates gradients. However, they are stored in the Swatches panel and then accessed and altered using the Gradient tool in combination with the Gradients panel. You can easily create your own gradients, which can later be applied to a fill or stroke of an object. You will see this in Chapter 8 when used with the Gradient tool. Refer to Figure 1-32.
Figure 1-32

Gradient panel collapsed and open with its Show and Hide options

Note

If you cannot see all of your gradient options, make sure to use the panel’s menu and choose Show Options. Refer to Figure 1-32.

Transparency

The Transparency panel allows you to set the opacity and blending mode of a selected shape, as well as an opacity mask, as seen in Chapter 8. Refer to Figure 1-33.
Figure 1-33

Transparency panel collapsed and open with its Show and Hide and other options

This is a bit different than working in Photoshop, where you would set the layer’s opacity by using the Layers panel. However, in Chapter 8 you will see that many of the blending modes found in Illustrator are very similar in function when applied to a shape or path rather than a layer.

Appearance

The Appearance panel allows you to add multiple strokes and fills with varying opacities and effects. We will look at this more closely in Chapters 7, 8, and 10–13. Refer to Figure 1-34.
Figure 1-34

Appearance panel collapsed and open with its menu

Graphic Styles

With the Graphic Styles panel, once you have created an appearance, it can be turned into a graphic style. Graphic styles are like the layer styles in Photoshop, but they do have some slight differences in the way they are created. Refer to Figure 1-35.
Figure 1-35

Graphic Styles panel collapsed and open with its menu

We will look at this panel more closely in Chapters 11–13. The menu and the lower left corner of the panel also have a link to various Graphic Style libraries that you can modify.

Layers

The Layers, Toolbars, Control, and Properties panels are probably the most important panels in Illustrator. The Layers panel stores all the shapes, objects, and symbols that you can apply graphic styles or live effects to when they are stored on separate layers or sub-layers. These layers can be organized and do have some similarities to Photoshop layers, but there are differences as well. We will see how layers work in the Layers panel in Chapters 2–13. Refer to Figure 1-36.
Figure 1-36

Layers panel collapsed and open with its menu and the Layer Options dialog box

Asset Export

The Asset Export panel, while not a topic of this book, is useful for later exporting your design creations in a variety of file formats for the web. We’ll talk about those options briefly in Chapter 14. Refer to Figure 1-37.
Figure 1-37

Asset Export panel collapsed and open with its menu

Artboards

While working with your Artboard tool, you can use the Artboard panel to create and easily find other artboards on which to store your graphics. In this book, we will be using a single artboard, and using multiple artboards is not a topic of this book. Refer to Figure 1-38.
Figure 1-38

Artboard tool and Artboards panel collapsed and open with its menu

Working with the Artboard tool will be shown in Chapter 2.

Comments

The Comments panel, while not important to this book, may be useful if you are sharing comments with other collaborators on your current project. They can be saved as you work in the Creative Cloud for others in your group to view. In this book we are working alone, so you do not need to work with this panel in any chapter. Refer to Figure 1-39.
Figure 1-39

Comments panel collapsed and open

Properties

The Properties panel is in some ways very similar to the Controls panel in that it can help you while you are working with a tool, as well as with transforming the scale and size of the object, shape, or path. As you will see starting in Chapter 2, the Properties panel, just like in Photoshop, can also advise you with Quick Actions rather than having to remember where in the main menu that command is located. Refer to Figure 1-40.
Figure 1-40

Properties panel collapsed and open; it changes based on what kind of path or tool is selected

Libraries

The Libraries panel in Photoshop can be used to share your colors, text, patterns, and graphics between Photoshop and Illustrator. Though it is not required for this book to build patterns in Photoshop, as you will be working with supplied patterns, use Perspective Warps and Distorts with Adobe Tools: Volume 1 as a resource if you are interested in pattern creation using the panel. You will do this in Chapter 7; you can reuse those patterns that you or I have captured earlier in Photoshop. Refer to Figure 1-41.
Figure 1-41

Libraries panel collapsed and open with its menu; it has access to patterns created in Photoshop

Other panels found in the Window menu that we will look at later include the following:

  • 3D and Materials (refer to Chapters 13 and 14)

  • Align (refer to Chapter 2)

  • Image Trace (refer to Chapter 7)

  • Links (refer to Chapter 11)

  • Pathfinder (refer to Chapter 2)

  • Pattern Options (refer to Chapter 7)

  • Transform (refer to Chapter 2)

  • Type ➤ Character (refer to Chapter 10)

  • Type ➤ Glyphs (refer to Chapter 10)

  • Type ➤ OpenType (refer to Chapter 10)

  • Type ➤ Paragraph (refer to Chapter 10)

If you like, you can open these panels as well and create your own Custom New Workspace, but for now we will keep those additional panels closed. Refer to Figure 1-42.
Figure 1-42

Create a new workspace that is custom to the tools and panels you use

Adding Rulers

After you open a file, go to View ➤ Rulers ➤ Show Rulers. You should do this if you need to drag out guides while working on the file and aligning shapes. Selected guides are colored based on current layer color. Refer to Figure 1-43.
Figure 1-43

Show your rulers so that you can use guides in Illustrator for lining up paths and objects

Also make sure that your View ➤ Smart Guides are activated so as to assist in path alignment. Refer to Figure 1-44.
Figure 1-44

Show your Smart Guides in Illustrator for lining up paths

Menus

We will be looking at the Object menu and Commands in various chapters throughout the book.

In Chapters 11 and 13 we will be looking in more detail at the Effect menu. Refer to Figure 1-45.
Figure 1-45

Illustrator main menu

Saving Your File

At this point, if you have added a path or object to your new file, you can File ➤ Save the document as a .ai file somewhere on your computer so that you can continue to work with the various tools in Illustrator. An Illustrator file will allow you to use and edit all the features in the Illustrator app. Refer to Figure 1-46.
Figure 1-46

Save your file in the Save As dialog box

Most files in Chapters 2–13 will be in the .ai format. But for printing projects, you may be asked by clients to save the file as an .eps or .pdf. Refer to Figure 1-47.
Figure 1-47

“Save as type” file types in the Save As dialog box

For .ai files, after clicking Save make sure to click OK to the following Illustrator options. Refer to Figure 1-48.
Figure 1-48

Illustrator Options dialog box

I make sure that the version is compatible with Illustrator 2020. If I were saving for an older computer, I would choose a lower version in the drop-down menu, but then the file would not be able to retain the latest features.

For Fonts, I leave the setting for Subset fonts when percentage of characters used is less than 100%. In this case, only fonts with appropriate permission will be embedded. However, if you have the fonts on your computer or are accessing them from the Creative Cloud, this is not an issue. If it is a concern, you can turn type into outlines, as you will see in Chapter 10.

Keep the options enabled for Create PDF Compatible File, Embed ICC Profiles for color, and Use Compression. In this case, we do not need to include linked files, as this would increase the file size, and we do not need to save each artboard to a separate file, because we only have one. Also, if we had more, in this case you would want to keep then together in a single document.

The Transparency options are kept disabled for the following:

  • Preserved paths (discard transparency)

  • Preserve appearance and overprints

  • Preset: [Resolution]

    You can ignore the settings, as transparency will be maintained within the file.

Then click OK to complete saving the file as an (.ai). Refer to Figure 1-48.

Other project files in some folders will be in the (.psd) format, and those you can File ➤ Open in Adobe Photoshop.

Saving Duplicates of Your File

Later, if you need to make any duplicates of my open Illustrator files for practice, use File ➤ Save As. To create a copy of the file, in the Save As dialog box rename the file as required, with your initials on the end so you know which copy you are working on, and click Save and OK to the Illustrator Options dialog box. Refer to Figure 1-49.
Figure 1-49

Save As options in Save As dialog box

This will automatically close the original file and just leave your copy open.

Color Conversion from CMYK to RGB for Consistency

In some cases, you may have created a file in RGB color mode that you want to convert to CMYK color mode. This is important in Photoshop (.psd) files, where you may need to convert the Illustrator file from CMYK color mode to RGB color mode to ensure that there is consistent color conversion before an illustration is pasted into a Photoshop file that is already in RGB color mode. I always recommend making a copy of your original CMYK Illustrator document using File ➤ Save As, and then on the copy of the file from the menu go to File ➤ Document Color Mode and choose RGB Color. It’s always best while in Illustrator to convert a copy to RGB Color from this menu if it is going to be used in Photoshop. Refer to Figure 1-50.
Figure 1-50

Set the file’s Document Color Mode

There may be a slight color shift, but that is OK because you are working on a copy of your file. Then use File ➤ Save to commit the change. You can then select your path, shape, or object with the Selection tool. Refer to Figure 1-51.
Figure 1-51

Select a path or shape with the Selection tool

Choose Edit ➤ Copy (Ctrl/CMD+C) and then return to Photoshop and go to Edit ➤ Paste (Ctrl/CMD +V) and paste it as a Smart Object layer into your own (.psd) document that is in RGB color mode. Click OK and then make sure to click the check in the Options panel to commit and complete the paste of the Smart Object layer. Refer to Figure 1-52.
Figure 1-52

Paste dialog box in Photoshop set to Smart Object and confirm option settings

This is one way you can ensure that your Illustrator Smart Object layer will be in RGB color mode in the Photoshop document.

New History Panel

In past versions of Illustrator, you may have noticed that, unlike Photoshop, there was not a History panel to undo, manage states, or create a new document from the current state. Starting in version 26.4, a History panel has finally been added. If you are familiar with how to use this panel when working in Photoshop, I would encourage you to use it if you need to undo a step by clicking on a previous state; however, you can, as I will mention later, continue to use Edit ➤ Undo (Ctrl/CMD+Z) or Edit ➤ Redo (Shift+ Ctrl/CMD+Z) if you are more comfortable with the main menu or key commands. Refer to Figure 1-53.
Figure 1-53

Illustrator History panel and its menu options

For more details on this new panel, make sure to visit the following link:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/illustrator/using/recovery-undo-automation.html#history

Summary

This chapter is a starting point for learning about warps and distorts in Illustrator and how to set up your workspace. Now that you know the basics of some of the panels and tools that you will encounter in most chapters, you can begin to work on an actual project and begin the process of altering actual paths and shapes in your artwork. In the next chapter, you will be reviewing pen and shape tools as well as looking more closely at the three selection tools and how they can be used in conjunction with the Layers panel, as well as the Control, Properties, Pathfinder, Align, and Transform panels.

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