Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Align To a Selected Object

 
 

In a previous tip, I discussed Distribution to a Key Object using the Align panel. This ability to select a particular object for positioning of other objects also includes alignment. In other words, if you select various objects on your page, you can choose one of them as the Key Object to which all other objects will Align. To give it a try, draw a number of rectangles across your page and marquee across these objects with the Selection tool (V) to select them. Now click on any of your selected objects to make it the Key Object to which all other objects will Align and press the Vertical Align Bottom button (furthest to the right in the top row). All other objects will Align to the bottom of this Key Object. Just to show it isn't a fluke, go to Edit>Undo and with the objects still selected, click on another object to make it the Key. Press the Vertical Align Bottom button again and all the objects will Align to the bottom of this new Key Object.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Crop Perfectly to the Edge of All Objects

 
 

Sometimes to teach an Illustrator trick in a class, I play a trick on the students. The following is a quick example. I tell the students to draw a whole bunch of objects on their page of varying sizes, shapes, Strokes, and Fills. Then I ask that they use the Crop Area tool (Shift+O) to create a Crop Area that will crop perfectly to the outside edges of the objects that are closest to the edge of the page. In other words, all objects are included within the Crops and nothing more (or less). Many student just click-drag the Crop Area tool, trying to visually crop the page to include all the objects the best they can. Not a very good solution, especially when you Zoom in at high magnification to take a better look. Other students, in trying to be more precise, turn on Rulers (Command [Control]+R), Select All objects (Command [Control]+A) and drag Ruler Guides to the anchor points of selected objects that come closest to the edge of the page. Good thought, but they end up cropping parts of Strokes that extend beyond the selected anchor points. Then there's the one student who inadvertently finds the easy answer while playing with the tool. Don't trust your eyes. Don't select anything. Don't create Guides. Just choose the Crop tool and click anywhere on the page that does not contain an object. The Crops are placed instantly to the outer reaches of the objects including Strokes and Effects which extend beyond the vector paths.

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Tip - Creating Cooler Color Groups!

 
 

Because of the overwhelming power of Live Color, sometimes the Color Guide panel gets overlooked. This is a shame, because the Color Guide is quite a powerful color manipulation tool in its own right. A quick example: Let's say you have a Color Group in the Swatches Panel, and you'd like to see variations of this Group with Swatches that are all a little cooler in color. Easy! Click on the Color Group folder in the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches). Take a look in the Color Guide panel (Window>Color Guide) and choose "Show Warm/Cool" from the panel's Options menu. Your original Group will be in the center column of the panel with warmer variations of the Group's colors in columns to the left and cooler versions of the Group's colors to the right. The further away from the center column, the more extreme the variations are. Command-click (Control-click on PC) on the cooler colors to the right of the center column to select one color in each row. Then press the "Save Color Group" button at the bottom of the Color Guide to add your Cooler Color Group to the Swatches panel.