Illustrator is a vector based, postscript drawing application. It allows the production of postscript based illustrations which are described as mathematical point on a page (similar to grid reference points on ordinance survey maps.

The application stores reference point to anchor (click to place) and code to describe the way line are drawn, stroked and filled. This keeps the file size down and the output is device independent (the document will output to the printer dot size and line screen output).

Illustrator Introduction Course

Day three – Enhancing vector processes
Selecting and transforming objects
• Setting your selection preferences
• Using the direct selection and group selection tools
• Using the magic wand tool
• Using the lasso tool
• Selecting objects by attributes
• Resizing your artwork
• Rotating objects
• Distorting and transforming objects
• Repeating transformations
• Reflecting and skewing objects
• Aligning and distributing objects
Advancing the pen tool
• Understanding anchor points
• Drawing straight segments
• Editing a path as you draw it with keyboard shortcuts
• Inserting and removing anchor points
• Adding curvature
• Control handless
• Drawing perfectly smooth outlines
• Tracing a freeform, curvy path
• Converting an existing anchor point
• Working with open and closed paths
• Joining paths
• Averaging and aligning paths
• Using the scissors tool
Working with colour
• RGB vs CMYK
• Adjusting Illustrator colour settings
• Process or global swatches
• Creating spot colours
• Using the swatch groups
• Working with colour libraries
• Importing swatches
• Using the colour guide panel
• The colour panel
• Defining and using process colours
• Defining and using global process colours
• Defining and using spot colours
• Accessing colour libraries
• Using Recolor
Working with fills and strokes
• Working with fills
• Working with strokes
• Creating dashes and arrows
• Creating variable-width strokes
• Using width profiles
• Outlining strokes
• Creating and editing gradients
• Applying gradients to strokes
• Applying and editing pattern fills
• Creating your pattern fill
Envelope distortions
• Introducing envelope distort
• Editing the contents of an envelope
• Warping an envelope mesh
• Creating and editing an envelope mesh
• Blending an envelope into a background
Creating shapes
• Understanding drawing modes
• Creating compound paths
• Creating compound shapes
• Working with the blob brush and eraser tools
• Working with the paintbrush and pencil tools
• Smoothing and erasing paths
Introduction to charts
• Creating charts and infographics
• Creating bar charts
• Creating line charts
• Creating pie charts
• Importing data from Excel
• Colouring your charts
Working with type
• Creating a grid with guides
• Working with point type and area type
• Placing and flowing text
• Threading text
• Selecting type and choosing fonts
• Adjusting type size
• Leading, tracking and kerning
• Baseline shift
• First line indents
• Paragraph spacing
• Creating paragraph styles
• Redefining paragraph styles
• The glyphs panel
• Spell-checking
• Creating text on a path
• Converting text into paths
Adjusting appearances
• Exploring the appearance panel
• The stacking order
• Working with multiple fills
• Working with multiple strokes
• Adjusting appearance with live effects
• Saving appearances as graphic styles

Day four – Pushing forward and consolidation
Tracing
• Converting pixels to paths with Image Trace
• Exploring the Image Trace panel
• Tracing photographs
• Tracing line art
• Auto-tracing and resolution
• Adjusting layer previews
• Cleaning up with the Threshold option
• More clean-up with the noise option
• Expanding and simplifying traced paths
• Flipping and fusing shapes
• Scaling resolution-independent vectors
Live paint
• Introducing live paint
• Stroking with the live paint bucket tool
• The live paint selection tool
• Adding a path to a live paint group
• Constructing the base objects
Working with images
• Placing images into Illustrator
• Placing an image to create a dynamic link
• Working with the links panel
• Embedding images into Illustrator
• Cropping images with a mask
• Best file types to use
Working with brushes
• Introducing the brushes panel
• Applying and editing a calligraphic brush
• Applying and editing art brushes
• Applying and editing a scatter brush
• Replacing an existing brush
• Creating and refining a brush
• Creating and editing a pattern brush
• Adjusting the bristles in a bristle brush
Printing, saving and exporting
• Printing your artwork
• Saving your artwork
• Saving in legacy formats
• Saving templates
• Creating PDF files
• Saving for the web
• Creating high-resolution bitmap images
• Using Illustrator files in Photoshop and InDesign
• Exporting to libraries for Express
Customising graphics and 3D
• Designing your charts
• Creating a 3D pie chart
• Rotating objects in 3D space
Mockup tool
• Create Mockups
• Apply graphic to images
• Move scale graphics on mockups
Generate AI graphics
• Using the contextual taskbar
• Define creation area
• How to use Text to Vector Graphic 
• Describe the output you want to generate
• Create realistic vector scenes, subjects, and icons
• Use a Style Reference
• Apply variations in the Properties panel
Gradient tool
• Creating gradients
• Applying a gradient fill
• Using the gradient annotator
• Editing multiple gradients
• Creating a radial gradient
• Adjusting the midpoint skew
• Making a transparent gradient
• Assigning a gradient to editable text
• Assigning a gradient to a stroke
The blend tool
• Using the blend tool
• Creating a multi-colour blend
• Editing blended paths
• Adjusting the number of blended steps
• Blending between levels of opacity
• Applying a blend to a new path
• Establishing a clipping mask
Gradient mesh
• Introducing the gradient mesh
• Working with the mesh tool
• Adding colours to the mesh points
• Adding a gradient mesh to a shape
• Converting a linear gradient to a mesh
• Editing a linear gradient mesh
• Converting a radial gradient to a mesh
• Editing a radial gradient mesh