The free Adobe Illustrator 101 manual includes steps along with photo illustrations. Below are the table of contents for version 1May2014 and a link to the ebook. It is available free for personal use.
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INTRO TO
VECTORS................................................................................................ 3
BASIC TOOLS............................................................................................................. 3
Selection Tool............................................................................................................ 3
To move a shape.................................................................................................... 3
To re-size a shape and distort it only slightly....................................................... 3
To re-size a shape and maintain the proportions.................................................. 4
Direct Selection Tool................................................................................................. 4
To distort a shape.................................................................................................. 4
Pen Tool..................................................................................................................... 5
To draw object with straight lines (to draw a house)............................................ 5
To draw lines at perfect 90 or 45 degree angles..................................................... 5
BTW, to draw perfectly horizontal or vertical lines.............................................. 5
To change the shape by moving single points or whole lines with(out)
maintaining 45 or 90 degree angles 6
To draw object with curved borders...................................................................... 6
To nudge shape borders (to alter its shape)........................................................... 7
To create smooth S-like shapes............................................................................. 8
To switch from making curved to straight lines..................................................... 9
To add anchor points (to an object that did not previously have any, like
a straight line) 9
To convert straight lines into curved lines........................................................... 10
To complete tool application on 1 object before moving to another................... 10
To start drawing a line curved and then change to straight midway.................... 10
Type Tool................................................................................................................ 10
To type text (that does not wrap automatically)................................................ 10
To create text box (that automatically wraps text).............................................. 11
To write text that conforms to the specific shape of a close-ended object
(any shape: circles, etc …) 11
To type along unconventional line shaped path (ie a line like a curvy
line, spiral or other open-ended path) 11
To adjust font, size, spaces, etc …...................................................................... 11
To move around individual letters / re-shape a letter........................................... 11
Text Tool................................................................................................................. 12
To vectorize your text......................................................................................... 12
Rotate Tool (to repeat objects around an axis)........................................................ 13
Fonts Effects............................................................................................................ 14
Install fonts onto your computer......................................................................... 14
100% free fonts (for commercial use too)............................................................ 14
Free royalty free fonts for anything (but donations are welcome):..................... 15
Line Tool.................................................................................................................. 15
Rectangle Tool......................................................................................................... 16
Gradient Tool........................................................................................................... 16
Eye Dropper Tool................................................................................................... 17
Zoom Tool............................................................................................................... 17
Hand Tool................................................................................................................ 18
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Eraser, Knife & Scissors Tools................................................................................ 18
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Eraser, Knife & Scissors Tools................................................................................ 18
BASIC DEFINITIONS............................................................................................... 19
SET UP & GETTING AROUND GENERALLY..................................................... 19
Finding Palettes........................................................................................................ 19
Setting preferences................................................................................................... 19
Precision!!! Scaling (rulers, other guides, transformation, etc)................................ 20
Aligning various elements precisely – 1 - ruler.................................................... 20
Aligning various elements relative to each other precisely - 2............................. 21
Re-scaling precisely (objects w precise dimensions) – 3 - transformation.......... 21
Aligning various elements precisely – 4 - gridlines.............................................. 21
Make your own guides – 4 – custom guides........................................................ 22
Layers & sub-layers................................................................................................. 22
Importing Images..................................................................................................... 24
Saving images in non Ai formats (JPG, TIFF, PNG, etc), ie exporting................... 24
Stroke / Object Outline............................................................................................ 24
Copying & Pasting Objects..................................................................................... 24
Copy & paste content into new layer in precise location....................................... 25
Making white background transparent.................................................................... 25
Making white background transparent in imported JPG image............................... 26
ADVANCED TOOLS................................................................................................ 27
Pathfinder Tool........................................................................................................ 27
Swatches.................................................................................................................. 29
Symbol Tool............................................................................................................ 30
MORE ARTISTIC FUNCTIONS & TECHNIQUES............................................... 30
Multiple strokes / outlines....................................................................................... 30
Fill colour for objects............................................................................................... 31
Clipping Mask......................................................................................................... 31
Wrapping TEXT around objects............................................................................. 31
Multiple TEXT boxes............................................................................................. 31
Linking TEXT between text boxes.......................................................................... 32
Document colour mode............................................................................................ 32
Fancy t-shirt design: Double clipping-mask effect.................................................. 32
Opacity Masks / transparency gradient.................................................................. 33
Shadows................................................................................................................... 33
3D............................................................................................................................ 33
COMMON PROBLEMS & THEIR SOLUTIONS.................................................. 35
No tools work, strange cursor icon.......................................................................... 35
YOUR CHECKLIST BEFORE GOING TO PRINTERS......................................... 35
Before going to t-shirt screen printers, make the following checks......................... 35
QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS................................................................................... 35
FURTHER RESEARCH............................................................................................ 36
CONTENT RELATED TO FREE ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR MANUAL
