There are dozens of ways in Adobe Illustrator to combine objects to produce new shapes or effects. But one of the most creative--and probably least known--is the opacity mask. With this technique, you can combine an object with one or more other objects to define transparent areas of the shape. You can even use Opacity Masks to create image effects on live type.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Tags:effectsMasksOpacityshapes

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Gradient fills in Illustrator, in their most basic form, work very much like a solid fill. You must create an object, and then fill with the gradient. Colors, color distribution and angle of the fill are edited through the Gradient palette. However, there is also a Gradient tool that will give you even more control.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Learn how to fill text with gradients and use blends to create graduated color fills.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Tags:BlendsFillsGradientText

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Vector graphics increase in value when they leap program boundaries. We will show you how to cross the line from Illustrator to Photoshop.


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What's the difference between Filters and Effects? They're both on the menu, and they both seem to offer the same things...so what is the difference? Let's see here! :)


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Selecting objects in a complex Illustrator file can sometimes be frustrating. We share our favorite techniques for homing in quickly on just the objects you need.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Tags:BetterobjectsSelecting

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Illustrator's tools are powerful, but sometimes they can't do the job without help. One of the problems we quickly discovered was aligning anything except the simplest shapes. Circles and rectangles of unit sizes were easy, but more complex shapes made up of multiple pieces were a big problem. With some effort, we found a method that works.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Tags:AligningIrregularShapes

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An often overlooked feature of Illustrator is Transform Each. Transform Each allows you to perform several transformations at the same time. This week we'll take a look at this command and see how it can save you time and make your work more efficient in Illustrator.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

Tags:CommandsEachTransform

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Want to make some special stationery for invitations to your big St. Patrick's Day bash? Want to whip up some St. Paddy's Day graphics? Using Illustrator Brushes and Symbols can speed up your drawing time!


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago

When using Illustrator, you may not think of it as a web design tool, but with an excellent Save for Web feature you can use Illustrator to make and save your web graphics.


submitted: 5 years and 3755 days ago