Photoshop VS Illustrator

Raster VS Vector

Raster (or bitmap) images are described by an array or map of bits within a rectangular grid of pixels or dots. Vector images are described by lines, shapes, and other graphic image components stored in a format that incorporates geometric formulas for rendering the image elements.

Photoshop is a raster based program. While it is capable of making vector graphics, it is not a dedicated vector graphics program like Illustrator. 

When vector graphics are scaled, the edges remain crisp and sharp no matter the size. Notice that as soon as the raster image is scaled, the pixels on the edge begin to show and the edges no longer look smooth.

 

 

 

Vector Programs: Illustrator Alternatives

While Illustrator is an extremely powerful vector application, it also can get expensive. Fortunately, there are some free and low-cost applications that include tools like those found in Illustrator. 

Keep in mind that none of these applications may include all of the features found in Illustrator. While you may be able to use one of these applications to follow along with the rest of this semester, it's important to note that many of the features covered may be missing or work in a different way.

 

Affinity Designer

Price model: One-off purchase, $50/ $20 (iPad)

System: Windows, Mac, iPad 

Pros: Feature-rich, cheap, works on iPad 

Cons: Not the industry standard 

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/designer/ Links to an external site.

 

CorelDRAW

Price model: One-off purchase or subscription, $129 (Student)

System: Windows, Mac 

Pros: Feature-rich, strong community of users 

Cons: Not the industry standard, expensive 

https://www.coreldraw.com/ Links to an external site.

 

Inkscape

Price model: Free 

System: Windows, Mac, Linux 

Pros: Free, lightweight, runs on Linux 

Cons: Slow and laggy 

https://inkscape.org/ Links to an external site. Links to an external site.

Illustrator Basics

Interface

Similar to Photoshop, Illustrator is also a complex application, and it can feel a bit intimidating to use at first. The interface itself is actually quite simple. In fact, there's really only a handful of sections we need to know about.

At first glance, the Illustrator interface appears to be similar to Photoshop’s and in many ways it is. 

 

Toolbar

The Toolbar (also known as the Toolbox or the Tools panel) is where Illustrator holds all of its tools. You'll find it along the left of Illustrator’s interface. 

The Toolbar is where you'll select different tools for editing images, is one of the most important features in Illustrator. Once you've chosen a tool, you'll be able to use it with the current document. Your cursor will change to reflect the currently selected tool.

You can also click and hold to select a different tool. For example, you can click and hold the Rectangle tool to select different Shape tools, like the Ellipse Tool, Polygon Tool, Star Tool, Etc. . Just look for the small triangle at the bottom right of the tool icon that indicates there are hidden tools.

Setting Stroke & Fill Colors

At the bottom of the Toolbar, you will see two squares. One is filled with color and the other is a outline of a square. The square on top is your Fill Color, the square on the bottom is your Stroke Color. 

A fill is a color, pattern, or gradient inside an object. You can apply fills to open and closed objects.

A stroke can be the visible outline of an object or a path. You can control the width and color of a stroke. You can also create dashed strokes using Path options, and paint stylized strokes using brushes.

Fill and Stroke controls

Controls for setting the fill and stroke are available in the Properties panel, the Tools panel, the Control panel, and the Color panel.

Use any of the following controls in the Tools panel to specify color:

Fill Button: Double-click to select a fill color using the color picker.

Stroke Button: Double-click to select a stroke color using the color picker.

Swap Fill and Stroke Button: Click to swap between the fill and stroke.

Default Fill and Stroke Button: Click to return to the default color setting (white fill and black stroke)

Color Button: Click to apply the last- selected solid color to an object with a gradient fill or no stroke or fill.

Gradient Button: Click to change the currently selected fill to the last selected gradient.

None Button: Click to remove the selected object’s fill or stroke.

 

 

Control Panel

The Control panel offers quick access to options related to the objects you select. By default, the Control panel is docked at the top of the workspace.

Options displayed in the Control panel vary depending on the type of object or tool you select. For example, when you select a text object, the Control panel displays text-formatting options in addition to options for changing the color, placement, and dimensions of the object. When a selection tool is active, you can access Document Setup and Preferences from the Control panel.

When text in the Control panel is blue and underlined, you can click the text to display a related panel or dialog box. For example, click the word Stroke to display the Stroke panel.

 

Properties Panel

The Properties panel in Illustrator lets you view settings and controls in the context of your current task or workflow. This panel has been designed with ease of use in mind, ensuring that you have access to the right controls when you need them.

The Properties panel is available by default in the Essentials workspace., and can be found on the right hand side of the screen. It is also available in Window > Properties.

The frequently used controls for each Properties panel area are displayed upfront. You can access additional controls either by clicking the ellipses in the lower-right corner of an area or clicking an underlined option.

 

Document Window

The Document window is the large area in the center of the interface where the file your are working on is displayed. It's also where we work on the file. The actual area where the file is visible is known as the Artboard. The dark area surrounding the image is the pasteboard. The pasteboard doesn’t really serve a purpose other than to fill in the space around the image when the image itself is too small to fill the entire Document window.

 

The Document Tab

At the top of the Document window is the document's tab. The tab displays the name and file type of the document and its current zoom level. The tab is also how we switch between document windows when we have more than one image open in Illustrator. It’s similar to using tabs on a web browser.

 

 

Layers Panel

You use the Layers panel (located by default on the far right of your workspace) to list, organize, and edit the objects in a document. By default, every new document contains one layer, and each object you create is listed under that layer. However, you can create new layers and rearrange items to best suit your needs. This differs from Photoshop’s layer system, but in Photoshop-Speak when you create a new “layer”, it automatically puts it in “Group 1”.

By default, Illustrator assigns a unique color (up to nine colors) to each layer in the Layers panel. The color displays next to the layer name in the panel. The same color displays in the illustration window in the bounding box, path, anchor points, and center point of a selected object. You can use this color to quickly locate an object’s corresponding layer in the Layers panel, and you can change the layer color to suit your needs.

When an item in the Layers panel contains other items, a triangle appears to the left of the item’s name. Click the triangle to show or hide the contents. If no triangle appears, the item contains no additional items.

 

The Layers panel provides columns to the left and right of the listings. Click in a column to control the following characteristics:

Visibility Column

Indicates whether items in the layers are visible (Eyeball Shown) or hidden (blank space).

Edit Column

Indicates whether items are locked or unlocked. The lock icon  indicates that the item is locked and cannot be edited; a blank space indicates that the item is unlocked and can be edited.

Target Column

Indicates whether items are targeted for application of effects and edit attributes in the Appearance panel. When the target button appears as a double ring icon, the item is targeted; a single ring icon indicates that the item is not targeted.

Selection Column

Indicates whether items are selected. A color box appears when an item is selected. If an item, such as a layer or group, contains some objects that are selected and other objects that are unselected, a smaller selection color box appears next to the parent item. If all of the objects within the parent item are selected, the selection color boxes are the same size as the marks that appear next to selected objects.You can use the Layers panel to display some items as outlines and other items as they will appear in the final artwork. You also can dim linked images and bitmap objects to make it easier to edit artwork on top of the image. This is especially useful when tracing a bitmap image.

 

Create a Layer in Illustrator

1. In the Layers panel, click the name of the layer above which (or in which) you want to add the new layer.

2. Do one of the following:
A. To add a new layer above the selected layer, click the Create New Layer button in the Layers panel. This button looks like a sheet of paper with the corner folded.

B. To create a new sublayer inside the selected layer, click the Create New Sublayer button in the Layers panel. This button looks like a sheet of paper with the corner folded with an arrow.
Tip: To set options when you create a new layer, choose New Layer or New Sublayer from the Layers panel menu.

 

Watch this DEMO video about the Layers Panel in Illustrator

Illustrator Tools

The tools in Illustrator are divided into 9 different categories: Selection Tools, Drawing Tools, Type Tools, Painting Tools, Reshaping Tools, Symbolism Tools, Graph Tools, Slicing & Cutting Tools, and Moving & Zooming Tools. Unlike Photoshop, all of the tools in Illustrator are vector creation and modification tools.

 

Selection Tools

 

Drawing Tools

 

Type Tools

 

Painting Tools

 

Reshaping Tools

 

Symbolism Tools

The symbolism tools let you create and modify sets of symbol instances. You create a symbol set using the Symbol Sprayer tool. You can then use the other symbolism tools to change the density, color, location, size, rotation, transparency, and style of the instances in the set.

Symbol Sprayer tool (Shift+S): Places multiple symbol instances as a set on the artboard.

Symbol Shifter tool: Moves symbol instances and change stacking order.

Symbol Scruncher tool: Moves symbol instances closer together or farther apart.

Symbol Sizer tool: Resizes symbol instances.

Symbol Spinner tool: Rotates symbol instances.

Symbol Stainer tool: Colorizes symbol instances.

Symbol Screener tool: Applies opacity to symbol instances.

Symbol Styler tool: Applies the selected style to symbol instances.

 

Graph Tools

Illustrator provides nine graph tools, each one for creating a different type of graph. The type of graph you choose depends on the information you want to communicate.

You can enter data for the graph in the Graph Data window.

 

 

Column Graph tool (J): Creates graphs that compare values using vertical columns.

Stacked Column Graph tool: Creates graphs that are similar to column graphs, but stacks the columns on top of one another, instead of side by side. This graph type is useful for showing the relationship of parts to the total.

Bar Graph tool: Creates graphs that are similar to column graphs, but positions the bars horizontally instead of vertically.

Stacked Bar Graph tool: Creates graphs that are similar to stacked column graphs, but stacks the bars horizontally instead of vertically.

Line Graph tool: Creates graphs that use points to represent one or more sets of values, with a different line joining the points in each set. This type of graph is often used to show the trend of one or more subjects over a period of time.

Area Graph tool: Creates graphs that are similar to line graphs, but emphasizes totals as well as changes in values.

Scatter Graph tool: Creates graphs that plot data points as paired sets of coordinates along the x and y axes. Scatter graphs are useful for identifying patterns or trends in data. They also can indicate whether variables affect one another.

Pie Graph tool: Creates circular graphs whose wedges represent the relative percentages of the values compared.

Radar Graph tool: Creates graphs that compare sets of values at given points in time or in particular categories, and is displayed in a circular format. This type of graph is also called a web graph.

 

Slicing and Cutting Tools

 

Moving and Zooming Tools