Using Layers - Illustrator CS6 - Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium All-in-One For Dummies (2012)

Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium All-in-One For Dummies (2012)

Book III

Illustrator CS6

Chapter 8: Using Layers

In This Chapter

check.png Working with layers

check.png Using layers for a selection

check.png Changing the stacking order of a layer

check.png Moving and cloning objects to another layer

check.png Hiding and locking layers

This chapter shows you just how simple it is to use layers and how helpful layers can be when you’re producing complex artwork. Layers are similar to clear pages stacked on top of your artwork: You can place content (text, shapes, and other objects) on a layer, lift up a layer, remove a layer, hide and show layers, or lock a layer so that you can’t edit its content. The incredible Layer feature can help you:

check.png Organize the painting (stacking) order of objects.

check.png Activate objects that would otherwise be difficult to select by using either the Selection or Direct Selection tool.

check.png Lock items that you don’t want to reposition or change.

check.png Hide items until you need them.

check.png Repurpose objects for artwork variations. For example, a company’s business cards use the same logo and company address, but the name and contact information change for each person. In this case, placing the logo and company address on one layer and the person’s name and contact information on another layer lets you easily create a new business card by just changing the person’s name and contact details.

Creating New Layers

When you create a new Illustrator document, you automatically start with a single layer. To understand how layers work, you create a new file and follow some steps to create new layers and place objects on them:

1. Choose FileNew and select Print from the Profile drop-down list, click OK.

2. If the Layers panel isn’t already visible (see Figure 8-1), choose WindowLayers.

Figure 8-1: The Layers panel.

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3. Using the Rectangle tool, click and drag anywhere on the artboard to create a rectangle.

The size doesn’t matter.

4. Click the Fill button in the Control panel and select any color for the shape from the Color Picker that appears, as shown in Figure 8-2.

The Fill button is the swatch with an arrow on the left side of the Control panel.

This fill color makes the rectangle easier to identify later.

Figure 8-2:Select any color from the Fill Color Picker.

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The blue handle color that appears on the active shape matches the blue color bar you see in the Layers panel on the left side of the layer name and the small selection square to the right of the radio button. The small selection square on the right disappears if you choose Select⇒Deselect. You use that square to see which layer a selected object is on.

Notice in Figure 8-3 that you’ve added a shape to this layer, so an arrow appears to the left of the layer name. This arrow indicates that you now have a sublayer, which is essentially a layer within a layer. Click the arrow to expand the layer and show any sublayers nested underneath it; sublayers are automatically created when you add objects, which helps when you’re making difficult selections.

Figure 8-3:Adding objects to a layer automatically creates sublayers.

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5. Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the Create New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel to create a new layer.

The Layer Options dialog box appears (see Figure 8-4), and you can use it to name a layer and change the selection color. You don’t have to hold down the Alt or Option key when making a new layer, but if you don’t, you don’t have the opportunity to name the layer as you create it.

Figure 8-4:Creating a new layer.

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6. Enter a name for the new layer in the Name text box and click OK.

In Figure 8-4, we entered circle because it’s the shape we add in Step 6.

If you want to stay organized, you can name the original layer square by double-clicking Layer 1. Just make sure that you click the circle layer again to make it the active layer.

A new layer is added to the top of the stack in the Layers panel.

7. Make a shape on the new layer and overlap the shape you created in Step 2. (See Figure 8-5.)

In this example, we created a circle, as shown in Figure 8-5.

Figure 8-5: A circle on the new layer overlaps the square on its underlying layer.

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8. Change the fill color for your new shape.

Look at the selection handles on the circle that you just created: They change to a different color, indicating that you’re on a different layer. The different handle colors are for organizational purposes only and aren’t printed.

9. Just to be different this time, choose New Layer from the panel menu.

The Layer Options dialog box appears.

10. (Optional) In the Layer Options dialog box, change the color of the selection handles by selecting an option from the Color drop- down list.

You can also hide or lock the contents of the layer.

11. Enter a name for this new layer in the Name text field, click OK, and then create a shape on it.

For the example shown in Figure 8-6, we entered star into the Name text box and used the Star tool to create a star on the new layer.

Figure 8-6:Create a new layer by using the panel menu.

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12. Again, change the fill color of your newest shape so that it’s different from the other shapes.

13. Use the Selection tool to move the new shape so that it overlaps the others slightly.

tip.epsYou can open the Options dialog box for any existing layer by choosing Options for Layer (Named Layer) from the panel menu in the Layers panel, or by double-clicking on a layer in the Layers panel.

You’ve created new layers and now have a file that you can use to practice working with layers.

Using Layers for Selections

When you have a selected object on a layer, a color selection square appears to the right of the named layer. If you select the radio button directly to the right of the layer’s name in the Layers panel, as shown in Figure 8-7, all objects are selected on that layer.

Figure 8-7:Selecting the entire contents of a layer.

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Sublayers have their own radio buttons. If sublayers are visible, you can use the same technique to select objects that may be buried behind others.

tip.epsIf you think you’ll be selecting sublayers frequently, double-click the default name and type a more descriptive name for that layer.

Changing the Layer Stacking Order

In Chapter 7 of this minibook, we tell you about the Object⇒Arrange feature in Illustrator; with layers, this process becomes slightly more complicated. Each layer has its own painting order, the order in which you see the layers. To move a layer (and thereby change the stacking order of the layers), click and drag that layer until you see the black insertion line where you want the layer to be moved.

As you add shapes to a layer, a sublayer is created, and it has its own little stacking order that’s separate from other layers. In other words, if you choose to send an object to the back and it’s on the top layer, it goes only to the back of that layer and is still in front of any objects on layers beneath it.

imageUnderstanding how the stacking order affects the illustration is probably the most confusing part about layers. Just remember that in order for an object to appear behind everything else, it has to be on the bottom layer (and at the bottom of all objects on that bottom layer); for an object to appear in front of everything else, it has to be on the topmost layer.

Moving and Cloning Objects

To move a selected object from one layer to another, click the small color-selection square (shown in Figure 8-8) to the right of the layer’s radio button in the Layers panel, drag the object to the target layer, and release. That’s all there is to moving an object from one layer to another.

Figure 8-8:Drag the small square icon to move the selected object to another layer.

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You can also clone an item, or make a copy of it while you move the copy to another layer. Clone an object by Alt+dragging (Windows) or Option+dragging (Mac) the color selection square to another layer. A plus sign appears while you drag (so you know that you’re making a clone of the object). Release when you reach the cloned object’s target layer.

tip.epsChoose Paste Remembers Layers from the Layers panel to have Illustrator automatically remember which layer you copied an object from. No matter which layer is active, Illustrator always pastes the object back on the original layer it was copied from.

Hiding Layers

To the left of each layer in the Layers panel is an eye icon — a visibility toggle button. Simply clicking the eye icon hides the layer (the eye disappears, denoting that this layer is hidden). Click the empty square (where the eye icon was) to show the layer again.

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) an eye icon to hide all layers except the one you click; Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the eye icon to show all layers again.

Ctrl-click (Windows) or maccmd-click (Mac) the eye icon to turn just the selected layer into Outline view. In Outline view, all you see are the outlines of the artwork with no stroke widths or fill colors. The rest of your artwork remains in Preview mode, with strokes and fills visible. This tricky technique is helpful when you’re looking for stray points or need to close paths. Ctrl-click (Windows) or maccmd-click (Mac) the eye icon again to return the layer to Preview mode.

Locking Layers

Lock layers by clicking the empty square to the right of the Visibility (eye) icon. A padlock icon appears so that you know the layer is now locked. Locking a layer prevents you from making changes to the objects on that layer. Click the padlock to unlock the layer.