This tutorial shows how to create both a dotted and dashed line using Illustrator, as shown below.

Step 1. Draw any shape to create a dotted line

• As an example shape, grab the rectangle tool (M) and click on your artboard.

• Type 100 px , 100 px for the width and height. hit Ok.
• Zoom in by holding down ALT/OPT key and spin the mouse wheel

Step 2. change stroke options

• Make sure the rectangle is selected. There are multiple ways to reach stroke options. Either use the Properties panel (1), appearance panel (2), or control panel.

• Click underlined Stroke (1)
• Change weight to 2 pt (2)
• Enable rounded cap (3)
• Enable Dashed line (4) and give the dash and gap values as shown in the figure

• You should have a stroke like this.

Easy huh!

Akif Kutlu

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Sometimes people argue that the illustrator eyedropper tool not working especially while sampling colors outside of illustrator. I hope informations here help you to use eyedropper tool properly. if you want to know about eyedropper in detail please continue reading or jump here to find out how to sample color from outside of illustrator window.

How to use eyedropper tool in illustrator?

Eyedropper tool is used to copy appearance from an object to another. It is one of the most significant tool in illustrator. You can find it on the toolbar as shown here:

The simple use of the eyedropper tool is as follows:

• First you need to select the object you want to copy the appearance to,
• Then go to eyedropper tool on the toolbar (shortcut key is i on your keyboard).
• Now click with the eyedropper tool on the object you want to copy the appearance from.

This action copies not only the colors, but also other properties of the object based on the eyedropper tool options. That is why I use the term “appearance of the object” instead of the object’s color. If you duble-click on the eyedropper tool icon, the options window opens and shows which atributes of object will be picked up and applied.

If you need to copy all properties of an object you need to check the appearance checkbox on the options pannel. In CC 2017 checking all sub-properties of the “appearence” does not mean to copy whole poroperties. You still need to check appearance checkbox (1). Let’s see an example here:

The figure below shows the square with some effects such as feather and drop shadow applied. If the Appearance checkbox is unchecked, the eyedropper tool copies only colors not effects.

In some case, you may not be able to copy all derivative of effect such as angular gradient. You need to manulally change destination object’s gradient angle.

Other ways to copy appearance of an object using Eyedropper tool

We have already seen the first method of using eyedropper tool as simple use. In short, select the destination object, pick up eyedropper tool and click on to source object as shown in the animation below.

In the previous method, the target object must be selected first. On the other hand, If you use hotkey you don’t need to select any target object to copy colors.

• So make sure none of the objects are selected.
• Pickup the Eyedropper tool
• Left mouse click to source object
• Go to target object.
• hold down ALT/OPT key and click left mouse button.

Please note that if you have multiple target objects, you can continuosly copy colors to any of the object with ALT/OPT + Left mouse click. There is no need to resample colors from source object once you sample it.

As you can see Eyedropper tool samples the whole colors of the gradient. if you hold down the SHIFT key and hover over the source gradient color, the specific color can be sampled. If you need to pickup more precise color, turn on caps lock

Eyedropper tool can also be used for the text objects. The detailed description is not given here.

Sampling colors from outside of illustrator software

Eyedropper tool is not only used to sample colors form vector graphics but also sample from raster images. In order to do so, either you need to place raster image to Art board using File>Place command or sample color from outside of illustrator window.

Sampling color outside of illustrator software is easy. First you need to exit full screen mode. and resize your illustrator software window in order to be able to see your outside source image. The external image can be your desktop, or any software that contains your source image.

Steps to sample color outside

1sth Method

• Select your target vector object
• Go to Eyedropper tool and left click
• Get back to art board and hold down your left mouse button
• While your left mouse button is pressed move your cursor outside of illustrator window
• You will see sampled color on fill/stroke color window on the bottom of toolbar.
• Release your mouse button to copy your color to either your fill or stroke color. you can swap colors by SHIFT +X betwen stroke and fill Since your target object is selected the color is directly applied to your object.

2nd Method

• deselect target objects if selected
• Go to Eyedropper tool and left click
• Get back to artboard and hold down your left mouse button
• While your left mouse button is pressed move your cursor outside of illustrator window
• You will see sampled color on fill/stroke color window on the bottom of toolbar.
• When you release your mouse button sampled color will be selected.
• Get back to artboard, hold down ALT key and left mouse click on each of your target objects one by one

The steps above is applied to either fill or stroke depending on which one is active. you can make any of them active by clicking on it on the bottom of toolbar. X key on the keyboard also brings it front when you press. Sometimes people think that the eyedropper does not work because of this. They think that they sampled colors for the fill while stroke is active. Be careful.

Sampling colors from Google Chrome

If you try to sample color from a web page using the Google Chrome browser, you will find that you may not be able to copy any color using the eyedropper tool. This not because of the illustrator software you are using but because of your browser’s regular settings. Although there are some chrome extensions to sample colors from a web page, here I will explain how to change your browser setting to be able to sample colors.

Go to your browser’s top right corner and click three dot. This will open customization pull-down menu. Go down to “settings” and click

Type “hardw” in the search box (1) to find hardware acceleration toggle button.

Turn off “use hardware acceleration when available” (2) This requires your browser to restart.

Now you should be able to sample colors from a web page like this :

Please subscribe to my youtube channel https//youtube.com/Zeducation

Akif Kutlu

The post How to sample colors using eyedropper tool outside of illustrator appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.

You may have very nice projects in mind. But if you want to be a professional designer, you should learn how to hold and use the Pen tool before you draw. In short, this article focuses on how to draw, not what to draw.

In the first chapter, drawing straight-line using the pen tool is explained and derivatives of the pen tool are shown. Section 2 explains how to make curves in illustrator. The last section deals with how to draw using a template picture and what should be paid attention to.

Pen tool

The Pen tool is located in the tool panel on the left side of the illustrator user interface as shown in the below figure. It is used in both straight-line drawings and curve drawings.

The icon is pen-shaped. The keyboard shortcut is the letter P. You can pick up the pen by clicking the icon on the tool panel with the left mouse button or pressing the letter P on the keyboard. When the pen tool is active, the cursor takes the form of a “Pen icon” as in the tool panel. And, the bottom right corner shows the icons to help you along with the drawing. .the reason for the shape x (cross) instead of the pen shape after clicking the pen tool, is the Capslock key. The cursor is called precise. You can restore it by turning caps lock off. Drawing with the x- shaped cursor is said to draw more accurate, but personally I did not feel the difference in my own drawings.

The pen tool in the illustrator is held with two hands. ?

Do not be surprised. The drawing is done with the right-hand mouse and the left-hand keyboard shortcut keys. With the mouse in your right hand, the cursor is directed over the workspace, while the keyboard keys with auxiliary tasks are controlled by the left hand.

There are three keys you will use frequently throughout the drawing. These are: CTRL / Command, ALT / Option and Shift / shift. In rare cases, the space key can also be used.

In this article, explanations are made for the windows version of an illustrator with an English interface. The software version used is CC 2017. Therefore, PC / laptop users should position their left-hand fingers as shown below when drawing with the pen tool. Practice CTRL with your ring finger, SHIFT your middle finger, and ALT with your thumb.

Part 1: Straight line drawing

Before starting the drawing, delete the line fill from the control panel at the top of the illustrator interface and set the line thickness (stroke) to 1 point in black.

Now, let’s make a drawing together as below. (Not the figures. Just the line. )

• Select the Pen tool (P).
• Click anywhere on the artboard. This will be your 1st point.

The first click creates the starting point of your line. It is called the Anchor point. The Smart guide appears when the mouse has moved away from the first Anchor point. This smart guide provides information about the direction of the actual line you will draw. If you do not see smart guides, make it visible with CTRL + U.

You can select the direction you like. If you want the angle value to be constrained, you can fix it to 45 ° angles with the mouse movement by holding down the Shift key. If you have an angle value that you want to work with, you can also adjust it. You can give the desired angle values by selecting Edit> Preferences> Smart guides. In the movement made by holding down the Shift key, the smart guides will now be fixed at the angles you specify.

• Now place the second and third points, as in the example.

Since the line segments are straightly joined each other, the anchor points are specifically called corner anchor points.

You can continue drawing in this way. But we will end the first part of the drawing as in the example

There are several ways to end the drawing. After placing the last anchor point, move the mouse slightly away from the anchor point and press ESC on the keyboard to end the drawing. The name of this line is called an Open path. that is, the starting and ending points are the unconnected line

Ending with ESC key means pausing the drawing. We’re still holding the pen, but we’re not drawing. The cursor is still a pen tool icon. We can create new lines independent of the first line by placing new anchor points on the artboard.

If you think you’ve made a wrong anchor point and line, you can undo your drawing with CTRL + Z. (a key combination that I use very often :-))

Now let’s first create the independent second part as in the example.

• From your anchor point # 4 with your mouse, create a line as shown in the figure at 45 ° angles.
• After creating anchor point 7, end the drawing with ESC.

When you move your cursor away from the lines, you will see that the first line segment is unselected and the last line segment is selected. As you move your mouse over the lines, various pen shapes will automatically appear in the lower right corner of the cursor.

In the animation below, said pen tool shapes are shown. These shapes tell you how the cursor behaves when clicked. The cursor can behave differently on a selected line and an unselected line. Therefore, the left line segment in the animation appears selected and the right one appears as deselected. In order to understand whether the line is selected, the cursor must be moved to a blank area anywhere in the artboard

The shapes that appear automatically under the pen tool icon in the animation have the following meanings:

	Normal drawing: A star-like multiplication sign means that the Pen Tool can make standard drawings by creating anchor points on the workspace.
	Extention: the shape is a forward slash. appears when the cursor is over the line end anchor point. If the anchor point is clicked, the line becomes continuous and new anchor points are created.
	Delete anchor point: appears when the cursor moves to the anchor point on the selected line. Clicking the anchor point deletes it and the new line is created between two closest anchor points. When used with SHIFT key the possible smoothest curve is created.
	Join anchor points: Appears when the cursor moves over the first anchor point of the new line segment after using the extension method on another line segment. if clicked, two line segments are connected.
	Add anchor point: The plus shape appears with the cursor on the selected line segment. if it is not selected, the plus shape does not appear. clicking on the selected line add a new anchor point.
	Create a closed path: the circle shape appears when the drawing process reaches the initial Anchorpoint. If clicked, Closed path created.
	Anchor point tool: Appears automatically after creating a new anchor point and disappears immediately when the cursor moves away. if the anchor point is dragged, anchor point handles appear. Released and repositioning the cursor shows a curved guide line.

Now complete the drawing as in the animation and observe the cursor shapes during the drawing.

• join anchor points 3 and 4 first.
• Now join 7 and 1 to create a closed path.

I hope everything is alright.

Please Note:

In addition to end drawing with ESC, joining two separate lines and creating a closed path naturally ends the drawing.
Left mouse click with CTRL on an empty area on the artboard ends the drawing.
SHIFT + Left mouse click creates a new line that starts from the path of the selected line.
If the CTRL key is held down, the pen tool cursor icon turns in to the direct selection tool icon and acts as the direct selection tool.
If the CTRL + ALT keys are held down together, the pen tool cursor icon turns in to the Group selection tool icon and acts as the group selection tool.
If the ALT key is held down, the pen tool icon turns in to the anchor point tool icon and acts as the anchor point tool.
When creating the anchor point, if the Space key is held down before the mouse click is finished, the anchor point can be moved.

Part 2: Curve drawing

The pen tool is used for curve drawing in the illustrator. As shown in the curve drawing animation with the pen tool below, the left mouse button is held down and dragged anywhere on the workspace. The first click is the first anchor point of the curve to be formed. The anchor point is specifically called the Smooth anchor point. Two handles appear in the opposite direction of the cursor if the mouse button held down and dragged. These handles determine the direction and length of the curve to be created. when released and the mouse is moved, the curved preview appears. This preview is specifically called the rubber band. you can turn it on and off using the preferences dialog box.

By clicking on the second anchor point, the actual curve is created. if the curve is to be tangent to each other, the steps applied to the first anchor point are repeated.

The handles lengthen equally in both directions. However, if the ALT key is held down after creating the smooth anchor point, the length and angle of the second handle can be changed independently. The following animation shows how to do this.

If the tangent curve is not to be continued, that is, if a straight line is to be formed from the last anchor point, one click on the last anchor point with the Pen tool removes handle. You can now create a straight line from the anchor point.

The handles are normally controlled by the anchor point tool. The short cut key for the anchor point tool is Shift + C. On the other hand, we have seen that the handles can also be controlled by holding down the ALT key while the Pen tool is active. As long as the ALT key is pressed, the anchor point tool supersedes the Pen tool.

Part 3: Drawing from the template picture

Let’s test what we have learned with an example.

Template layers can help guide us when drawing from an image. When you create a new document a blank white artboard appears. If you want to draw something similar to the real-world you can import an image file and use it as a template layer. Actually the real-world mean here is not just the real photographs. Sketches can also be imported as a template layer.

To import an image as a template layer:

• Go to File>place
• Find your image and select
• Enable (Thick) template option

The Link option is used to determine whether to embed your image in the Illustrator workspace. If Link is selected, the image in the workspace disappears when the image on the disc is deleted or the path of the file is changed.

• Hit the place button to close the dialog box

Placing the image this way creates a template layer. Dims the image %50 down. This will make the image more suitable for drawing on top of it. Finally locks the layer.

you can open up the layers panel to see the layer just created. if you do not see the layers panel go to the Window menu and select Layers.

If the image is bigger than your artboard, which I usually encounter, you need to scale down the placed image.

• First, unlock the layer
• Scale down the image
• Lock the layer again

When you finish your drawing you can delete this layer.

Since the layer is locked no drawings can be done on. switch the other layer or create a new one to draw your vector.

The main rule is to create the softest curves with as few smooth anchor points as possible.

The basic curve is called the Bézier curve. Bézier curves can be either C-shaped or S-shaped. The direction of the handles creates the curve C or S. The following shows the direction of the handles at the anchor points for both curves. The drawing start point is the left side.

The curve drawings for the bread slice image are shown below. Bread slice was traced into a vector as a straight and curved segment with a total of 5 anchor points.

There may be a different number of anchor points for the same vector drawing. In the example below, the left-hand object has 13 anchor points. On the other hand, the object on the right contains 20 anchor points. Observe the vectors and note which anchor points are unnecessary. Imagine whether you can reduce anchor points! Remember that it is not always the goal to reduce the anchor points. Details may be lost. Focus on the bottom of the left object. !!!!

As you can see, the unnecessary anchor points on the right object are the ones in the middle of the curve.

So,

Do not place anchor points on the top of the “C” or “S” shaped curves in your own drawings. Don’t add an anchor point to each curve you see during your drawing as most designers do. This is not the correct drawing method.

Review the template object before drawing the vector over the image. Based on your imagination, create in your mind the “C” and “S” bezier curves. If so, start drawing from the corner. Draw an “S” or “C” shape.

Adding an anchor point to the top of the curve is a simple way of drawing. Because you don’t have to pay much attention to handles. On the other hand, it cost you extra anchor points.

Besides, We now know that the handles can be easily managed with the ALT key. So don’t be afraid to go back to the anchor points you’ve created.

Recall that anchor point selection is done with CTRL + left mouse. It will often be needed. Other necessary short cut keys have already been described above.

Good luck.

Akif Kutlu

P.S. The following videos are also be advised. They are in Turkish. But you can turn subtitles on and make auto-translate to your language.

The post How to use the pen tool in illustrator – Detailed illustrator pen tool tutorial for beginners to intermediate users appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.

You can do this by changing the color of individual objects, or by changing the brightness of your entire drawing. Depending on the complexity of your drawing and the final coloration you intend to achieve, the choice is up to you. Here it is shown how the colors of selected objects can be darkened or lightened as a whole. The steps are for illustrator CC 2017 version.  

If you need to reduce brightness of all objects in the artwork at once please follow the instructions below.

illustrator adjust brightness

Step 1. Select your objects.

With CTRL/CMD + A short cut, you can select all objects on the workspace.

Step 2. Open the Recolor artwork dialog box.

The dialog box is accessed in two ways. if objects are selected, the recolor artwork icon appears on the control panel. click this icon.

illustrator’s new version has different workspaces. The recolor artwork icon is located in the “essential classic” workspace. You can change the workspace by clicking the upper right icon as shown below.

for the “essentials” workspace “recolor artwork” can also be found under the properties panel. once you click you will directly see the brightness slider.

Step 3. Click the Edit tab in the dialog box

“essential classic” workspace users should follow the steps below.

Now you should see recolor artwork panel like this:

Step 4. Adjust the brightness using the slider

The brightness slider placed just below the color wheel. Click preview (Recolor Art) to see the immediate result.

Thank you.

The post How to adjust the brightness of vector drawings in illustrator appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.

If you would like to extract colors from an image and use them in your artwork, you can do one of the following options:

1. Extract colors using Object mosaic
2. Extract colors using image trace

Both methods create a color group in the swatches panel

How to get a color from an image in illustrator

Method 1: To copy an image color in illustrator please follow the instructions here. you can use below image as a sample image

From the file menu select Place.

• Choose your image file and make sure “link” option is not selected. This will embed your image to AI file.

Go to Object menu and select Create object mosaic

Type 5 for the width and High dimensions

You should have a similar vector like this:

Open your swatches panel.

• if you can not find your swatches panel you can find it by going window>swatches menu.
• Once you opened your panel go to the upper right corner of the panel and click it. Then choose “new color group“. Now you should see your colors in the swatches panel as a new group.

How to extract colors from an image

Method 2:

Place your image to the artboard.

• Choose your image file and make sure “Link” option is not selected. This will embed your image to AI file.

Convert your image to vector

• if not selected. select your image first
• Use image trace command.
• little down arrow near Image Trace button will pop up standard trace options. select 16 color.

• Once your image is converted to vector, expand it.

• As in the first method open your swatches panel
• Create a new color group from the panel options.

I hope this helps you. Thank you for being here.

Bye.

The post How to extract colors from an image in illustrator appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.

This article shows you how to use the Arc Tool in Illustrator. It explains two methods for drawing accurate circular arcs, and demonstrates how to draw a full circle using the Arc Tool.

You can find the Arc Tool in the Tools panel. You can use it in two ways. After selecting the tool, click anywhere on the artboard to open the Arc Options dialog box. Or simply click and drag on the artboard to draw an arc freely. The tool draws only one quarter of a circle at a time.

Now, let’s look at the first method.

Using the arc segment tool dialog box

The arc options panel consists of several sub-sections. These are: dimensioning, arc starting point (1), whether or not a closed shape, arc direction (2) and slope amount.

All possible arc drawing directions are shown below for 100 by 100 quarter circle. Four colored small squares specify where the arc is starting. For example, if the X-axis direction is selected from the panel as the upper left starting point, The arc is indicated by the black color that is drawn down from the clicked point and to the right on the X-axis.

Now let’s see, for example, what options should be used to draw a complete circle with arcs.

1. The top-right starting point and Y-axis for direction
2. The top-left starting point and X-axis for direction
3. The bottom-left starting point and Y-axis for direction
4. The bottom-right starting point and X-axis for direction

If all quarters are selected and CTL + J is hit, the open arc ends are joined together. Now it is time to see  the second method

Drawing arc on the fly

After selecting the Arc Tool from the Tools panel, you can draw directly without opening the Arc Options dialog box. Just click and hold the left mouse button to start drawing. While drawing, you can use keyboard shortcuts to control the same options that appear in the panel.

For example, press the F key after you start drawing to flip the arc’s direction along the X or Y axis. Press F again to switch it back.

Hold down the Shift key while drawing to create a perfect quarter circle — meaning both endpoints of the arc are equally distant from the center. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to adjust the curvature of the arc and change this balance.

The following animation illustrates how to draw a circle with arcs using on the fly drawing technique.

Smart Guides would help to align your drawing. If not open hit CTRL + U

I hope it has been helpful. Do not forget to share it if you like.

The post How to use arc tool in illustrator appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.

What do you want to do?

• I would like to remove everything outside of the artboard and save as a vector file.
• I would like to remove everything outside of the artboard and export as a raster image.
• I would like to resize my artboard to the size of my vector drawing.

Crop your vector using Pathfinder to remove outside of the boundary

In order to crop your vector drawings, place all your objects in the same layer.

Create a rectangle in front of the objects.

Select them all and use “crop” command in the Pathfinder panel.

Be careful, this command will divide all your objects into many parts. It may be difficult to re-edit your file later.

Use Layer Clipping Mask

If you still want to crop your objects without deformation, you need to use one of the masking options. Either you can use a clipping mask, opacity mask or layer clipping mask. Each of them has different results.

Most people use the layer clipping mask to visually crop vectors to the artboard.

Create a rectangle up to the size of the artboard in the same layer with your objects. Bring it to the front if not.

Click on the layer name and Click layer clipping mask icon.  Using layer clipping mask will not actually crop your vector drawings. It will only hide places outside of the boundaries of the artboard.  When you export without restraining to the artboard size, all your drawings will be visible in your raster image file.

Export

How do I export just the artboard in Illustrator?

Sometimes you need to export your vector drawings into raster images. Especially when you want to use your drawings for a web page, you should export your ai file to a jpg image. In the normal case, I mean if all of your drawings are inside of the artboard, you can easily export your file to a jpg. On the other hand, when your drawings exceed the boundary of the artboard, the ordinary export command will result in exporting all the drawings you have in your file regardless of your artboard size.

As for exporting only what is inside of the artboard to a jpg file, you have three commands under the file>export menu.

• Export for screens
• Export As.
• Save for web

If you just want to export your artboard, you can use one of all three options.

It is very obvious what to do if you use “Export for screens” option.  Just select the artboard to be exported (1). Define the quality of the file if you like(2). And click export artboard button(3).

If you decide to use “Export As.. “ option, select the file type you require (1) and make sure to thick “use artboard” checkbox (2). Then Export (3)

Finally, when you decide to use “Save for webs” option, make sure “clip to artboard” checkbox is checked.

Please note that this information is valid for Adobe Illustrator CC. If you use an older version of the illustrator, the menus may have different options.

Resize artboard

Sometimes you need your artboard to fit your drawings. In that case, double-click artboard icon in the tools panel and select the Preset pull-down menu. Choose “fit to artboard bounds” as preset.

The post How to remove drawings outside of an artboard in illustrator? appeared first on Illustrator Tutorials.