Using Filters and Effects - 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 12: Using Filters and Effects

In This Chapter

check.png Applying effects

check.png Getting to know the Appearance panel

check.png Discovering graphic styles

check.png Making artwork 3D

check.png Playing with additional fills and strokes

check.png Creating the illusion of space and distance with the Perspective Grid

Effects give you the opportunity to make jazzy changes to your Illustrator objects, such as add drop shadows and squiggling artwork. You can even use Photoshop filters directly in Illustrator. In this chapter, you find out how to apply, save, and edit effects; you also take a quick tour of the Appearance panel (your trusty sidekick when performing these tasks).

Working with Effects

If you’re an Adobe Illustrator user from any version before CS4, you might be wondering where the Filter menu is. (If you’re just starting to use Illustrator, you don’t need to know about, or even care about, this major change.) All items that appeared on the Filter menu are now on the Effects menu.

Filters apply permanent changes to artwork, referred to as destructive changes, because after you save and close the file, you can’t undo the results for the filter. On the other hand, effects are quite different: They’re connected dynamically to objects. You can apply, change, and even remove effects at any time from the Appearance panel. (Choose Window⇒Appearance.)

Understanding the Appearance panel

You can apply multiple effects to one object and even copy them to multiple objects, which is when a good working knowledge of the Appearance panel is necessary. If it isn’t visible, choose Window⇒Appearance to open the Appearance panel, shown in Figure 12-1, alongside an object with several effects applied to it.

If you have no effects applied, you see as a default only a fill and a stroke listed in the Appearance panel. As you create effects, they’re added to this list. You can add more strokes and fills to the list; you find out why that ability is so useful in the following sections.

Figure 12-1:Discover how useful the Appearance panel can be.

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Applying an effect

In this section, you see how to apply an effect. You can choose from many effects, and they’re all applied in much the same manner. In this example we create an interesting effect for a border.

Follow these steps to apply an effect:

1. Make sure that your Appearance panel is visible. Choose WindowAppearance and click and drag the panel out of the dock area so that it doesn’t collapse while you’re working.

2. Select the Rectangle tool and click and drag a rectangle out on the artboard.

Any size artboard is fine for this example.

3. Using Stroke in the Control panel, change the stroke to 3 pt.

4. Using Stroke Color in the Control panel, assign any color except the default color of black.

5. Notice in the Appearance panel that you can select the Stroke and the Fill. By selecting one or the other, you can apply an effect to just the stroke or the fill. In this example, select Stroke.

6. Choose EffectDistort and TransformZig Zag.

Choose the settings that work well to make your straight border appear as a zigzag. In Figure 12-2, we selected Smooth to round out the points of the zigzag effect.

Figure 12-2:Convert a straight path into a zigzag using the Zig Zag effect.

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imageEffects are linked dynamically to the object they’re applied to. They can be scaled, modified, and even deleted with no harm done to the original object.

Adding a Drop Shadow effect

Creating a drop shadow is a quick and easy way to add dimension and a bit of sophistication to your artwork. The interaction between the object with the drop shadow and the underlying objects can create an interesting look. To add the Drop Shadow effect to an illustration, follow these steps:

1. Select the object (or objects) to apply the drop shadow to.

If you like, you can continue using the rectangle you worked with in the previous section.

2. In the Appearance panel, make sure that Stroke is selected.

3. Choose EffectStylizeDrop Shadow.

4. In the Drop Shadow dialog box that appears, as shown in Figure 12-3, select the Preview check box in the lower-left corner.

Figure 12-3:The Drop Shadow dialog box gives the effect’s options and preview.

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You now see the drop shadow applied as you make changes.

5. Choose from the following options in the dialog box:

Mode: Select a blending mode from this drop-down list to choose how you want the selected object to interact with the objects underneath it. The default is Multiply, which works well — the effect is similar to coloring with a magic marker.

Opacity: Enter a value or use the drop-down list to determine how opaque or transparent the drop shadow should be. If it’s too strong, choose a lower amount.

Offset: Enter a value to determine how close the shadow is to the object. If you’re working with text or small artwork, smaller values (and shorter shadows) look best. Otherwise, the drop shadow may look like one big, indefinable glob.

The X Offset shifts the shadow from left to right, and the Y Offset shifts it up or down. You can enter negative or positive numbers.

Blur: Use Blur to control how fuzzy the edges of the shadow are. A lower value makes the edge of the shadow more defined.

Color and Darkness: Select the Color radio button to choose a custom color for the drop shadow. Select the Darkness radio button to add more black to the drop shadow. Zero percent is the lowest amount of black, and 100 percent is the highest.

As a default, the color of the shadow is based on the color of your object, sort of — the Darkness option also has a play in this task. As a default, the shadow is made up of the color in the object if it’s solid. Multicolored objects have a gray shadow.

6. When you’re finished, click OK to close the dialog box.

Saving Graphic Styles

A graphic style is a combination of all settings you choose for a particular filter or effect in the Appearance panel. By saving this information in a graphic style, you store these attributes so that you can quickly and easily apply them to other objects later. If you have already created an object with effects in a previous section, you will have the opportunity to save those effects as a graphic style later in this section.

To apply a saved graphic style, follow these steps:

1. Choose WindowGraphic Styles.

In the panel that appears are thumbnails of a few of Adobe’s default styles. You must access a Graphic Style library to add more options.

2. Click on the Library icon in the lower-left of the Graphic Styles panel and select the Graphic Style library named Scribble Effects, as shown in Figure 12-4.

A second window appears. It’s named Scribble Effects.

Figure 12-4:Access additional Graphic Styles by selecting the Library icon.

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3. Create a new shape, such as a simple rectangle or an ellipse, and click any graphic style in the Scribble Effects panel to apply it to an active object.

Look at the Appearance panel while you click different styles to see that you’re applying combinations of attributes, including effects, fills, and strokes. (See Figure 12-5.)

Figure 12-5:The Graphic Styles panel stores effects and other attributes.

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You can store attributes as a graphic style in several ways; we show you two easy methods. If you already applied a combination of attributes to an object, such as the rectangle border that you may have created in the previous section, you can store them by completing one of these tasks:

check.png With the object selected, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the New Graphic Style button at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel. Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) allows you to name the style when it’s added.

check.png Drag the selected object directly into the Graphic Styles panel. The panel stores its attributes, but you have to double-click the new style to name it.

After you store a graphic style, simply select the object you want to apply the style to and then click the saved style in the Graphic Styles panel.

You can try this by creating another rectangle and then clicking on your saved Graphic Style in the Graphic Style panel.

Creating 3D Artwork

All Illustrator effects are excellent, but the 3D feature is even better. You can not only add dimension by using the 3D effect but also map artwork (wrap artwork around a 3D object) and apply lighting to the 3D object. You can then design a label for a jelly jar, for example, and adhere it to the jar to show a client.

Here are the three choices for the 3D effect:

check.png Extrude & Bevel: Uses the z-axis to extrude an object. For example, a square becomes a cube.

check.png Revolve: Uses the z-axis and revolves a shape around it. You can use this option to change an arc into a ball.

check.png Rotate: Rotates a 3D object created using the Extrude & Bevel or Revolve effects or rotates a 2D object in 3D space. You can also adjust the perspective of a 3D or 2D object.

To apply a 3D effect, you need to create an object appropriate for the 3D effect. The Extrude & Bevel feature works well with shapes and text. If you want to edit an object that already has a 3D effect applied to it, double-click the 3D effect in the Appearance panel.

To apply a 3D effect, follow these steps:

1. Select the object you want to apply the 3D effect to.

2. Choose Effect3DExtrude & Bevel.

Options for your chosen 3D effect appear. To see the 3D Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box, see Figure 12-7.

3. Select the Preview check box so that you can see results as you experiment with these settings.

4. Click the Preview pane (which shows a cube in Figure 12-6) and drag to rotate the object in space.

It makes selecting the proper angle (or positioning the object in space) fun to do, or you can choose the angle from the Position drop-down list above the preview.

imageNever use the Rotate tool to rotate a 3D object, unless you want some funky results; use the Preview pane in the Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box instead.

Figure 12-6:The Extrude & Bevel Options dialog box.

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5. (Optional) Use the Perspective drop-down list to add perspective to your object.

6. In the Extrude & Bevel section of the dialog box, select a depth for your object and a cap.

The cap determines whether your shape has a solid cap on it or is hollow, as shown in Figure 12-7.

Figure 12-7:Cap on (left), cap off (right).

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7. Select a bevel (edge shape) from the Bevel drop-down list and set the height using the Height drop-down list.

You have a choice of two ways to apply the bevel:

Bevel Extent Out: The bevel is added to the object.

Bevel Extent In: The bevel is subtracted from the object.

8. Select a rendering style from the Surface drop-down list or click the More Options button for in-depth lighting options, such as changing the direction or adding lighting.

9. Click the Map Art button.

The Map Art dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 12-8. Use this dialog box to apply artwork to a 3D object.

Figure 12-8: In the Map Art dialog box, you can select a surface and apply a symbol to it.

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10. Using the Surface arrow buttons, select the surface you want the artwork applied to and then select a symbol from the Symbol drop-down list.

The result is shown on the left in Figure 12-8.

11. Click OK to close the dialog box.

imageKeep these points in mind when mapping artwork:

check.png An object must be a symbol to be used as mapped artwork. You simply need to select and drag to the Symbols panel the artwork you want mapped. By doing so, you make it a selectable item in the Map Art dialog box.

check.png The light gray areas in the Preview pane are the visible areas based on the object’s present position. Drag and scale the artwork in this pane to place the artwork where you want it.

check.png Shaded artwork (enabled by selecting the Shaded Artwork check box at the bottom of the Map Art dialog box) looks good but can take a long time to render.

Note: All 3D effects are rendered at 72 dpi (dots per inch; low resolution) so as not to slow down the processing speed. You can determine the resolution by either choosing Effect⇒Document Raster Effects Settings or saving or exporting the file. You can also select the object and choose Object⇒Rasterize. After you rasterize the object, you can no longer use it as an Illustrator 3D object, so save the original!

Adding Multiple Fills and Strokes

Using the panel menu in the Appearance panel, you can add more fills and strokes. You can use this feature to put differently colored fills on top of each other and individually apply effects to each one, creating truly interesting and creative results.

Just for fun, follow along to see what you can do to a single object from the Appearance panel:

1. Create a star shape.

Neither the size of the shape nor its number of points matters — just make the shape large enough to work with.

2. Use the Swatches panel (choose WindowSwatches) to fill the shape with yellow and give it a black stroke.

3. Choose WindowStroke to use the stroke panel to make the stroke 1 point; alternatively, select 1 from the Stroke drop-down list in the Control panel.

Notice that the present fill and stroke are listed in the Appearance panel. Even in its simplest form, the Appearance panel helps track basic attributes. You can easily take advantage of the tracking to apply effects to just a fill or a stroke.

4. Click Stroke in the Appearance panel.

If the Appearance panel isn’t visible, choose Window⇒Appearance.

5. Choose EffectPathOffset Path.

6. In the Offset Path dialog box that appears, enter -10 pt in the Offset text box and select the Preview check box, as you see in Figure 12-9.

Notice that the stroke moves into the fill rather than on the edge.

7. Change the offset to a number that works with your star shape and click OK.

Depending on the size of your star, you may want to adjust the amount of offset up or down.

8. From the panel menu of the Appearance panel, select Add New Fill to add a new fill to the star shape. Click the arrow to the right of the new fill color swatch to open the Swatches panel and change the new fill to a different color, as shown in Figure 12-10.

This step may seem ridiculous, but you can create some super effects with multiple fills.

Figure 12-9:Select to offset just the stroke of an object.

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Figure 12-10:Change the new fill to a different color right in the Appearance panel.

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9. Make sure the new Fill is selected in the Appearance panel (the top one) and choose EffectDistort and TransformTwist.

10. In the Twist dialog box that appears, type 45 in the Angle text field and select the Preview check box, as you see in Figure 12-11.

Notice how only the second fill is twisted. Neat, right?

11. Click OK to close the Twist dialog box.

12. Select the top fill from the Appearance panel again.

imageAlways be sure to select the fill or stroke you want before doing anything meant to change just that specific fill or stroke.

13. In the Transparency panel (choose WindowTransparency), select 50% from the Opacity drop-down list or simply type 50% in the Opacity text field.

Now you can see your original shape through the new fill.

14. With the top fill still selected, change the color or choose a pattern in the Swatches panel for a truly different appearance.

Continue playing with combinations of fills and strokes for hours if you want. We hope that this process “clicks” and that you can take it further on your own.

Figure 12-11:Choose to twist one of the fills.

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Using the New Perspective Grid

You can create and edit artwork based on the perspective grid feature (introduced in CS5), shown in Figure 12-12. The grid is a huge help in creating successful perspective illustrations.

Figure 12-12:Build and edit illustrations by using the Perspective Grid tool.

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To show or hide the default perspective grid, press Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows) or maccmd+Shift+I (Mac).

imageYou can use the Perspective Grid tool on the toolbar to fine-tune the grid.

Here are some simple instructions to help you start using the perspective grid:

1. Create a new document and turn on the perspective grid by pressing Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows) or maccmd+Shift+I (Mac).

2. Select a shape tool, such as the Ellipse, and click and drag it to create the shape on the perspective grid.

Notice that the shape’s perspective is controlled by the grid.

3. Select the Perspective Selection tool.

It’s the hidden tool in the Perspective Grid tool.

4. Using the Perspective Selection tool, click and drag the shape to see that it’s adjusted in position and location using the perspective grid.

Figure 12-13 shows the result of dragging an ellipse with the Perspective Selection tool.

Note that you can also select and drag the grid itself by using the Perspective Selection tool.

Figure 12-13:Click and drag to change the perspective using the Perspective Selection tool.

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5. Choose ViewPerspective Grid, as shown in Figure 12-14, and then select the type of perspective to apply.

In this step, you further customize your grid and choose other options to make your illustrations more precise.

Figure 12-14:Customize settings for the perspective grid by using the View menu.

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