This post is like a quick tip, but it focuses on helpful Illustrator features. Did you know, in CS5 it is now possible to join more than two anchor points at the same time? In previous versions of Illustrator you were only allowed to join two anchor points. I’m sure a bunch of you know this, but it’s handy info if you didn’t!
This post is like a quick tip, but it focuses on helpful Illustrator features. Did you know that Illustrator CS5 Symbols contain their own layers! Symbols in CS5 have an independent layer order so you can create sublayers in the Layers panel for symbols when in symbol editing mode. Pretty cool.
This was a tip I mentioned on Vector Mill but it’s worth repeating if you haven’t heard about it. Here is the thing, I use a bunch of custom swatch, brush, graphic styles, and symbol libraries but they will disappear every time you exit Illustrator. Do not fear, there is a easy solution to keep these available every time you launch Illustrator!
I’m sure by now you all know that I love using the Appearance panel and Graphic Styles in Illustrator. In one document I can have a number of similar and complex graphic styles and the thumbnail image in the Graphic Style panel doesn’t always represent the style as good as I would like. Luckily you can quickly preview a graphic style on a selected object!
The Perspective Grid Feature is a nice addition to Illustrator CS5. With any new feature, it’s a good idea to get familiar with keyboard shortcuts so you can use the new feature more efficiently and cut down the learning curve. One tip that is helpful when using a perspective grid is to quickly toggle a perspective grid’s visibility.
I came across this trick randomly and decided to post about to get your opinion. It seems like a pretty cool little trick, but honestly, I haven’t found a great use for it. It is fun to play around with and great for experimenting, but can you see yourself using this trick for anything in particular?
I’m sure some of you already know about this, but if you don’t, you can save some time while working tabbed documents in Illustrator CS4 and CS5. Press Command (Control on Windows) and the ~ (the tilde key) to switch between open tabbed Illustrator documents. Pretty nifty!
