Adobe Illustrator CS5 New Features

and Tips & Tricks

AGI Training
Copyright 2011 AGI Training
No part of this instruction manual/handout may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from AGI Training.
Lesson 13

What you’ll learn

in this lesson:
t
6OEFSTUBOEJOH
UIF

"QQMJDBUJPO
#BS
BOE

"QQMJDBUJPO
'SBNF
t
"SSBOHJOH
EPDVNFOUT

VTJOH
5BCT
BOE
(SPVQT
t
4XJUDIJOH
4DSFFO
.PEFT
t
6TJOH
UIF
FOIBODFE

(SBEJFOU
UPPM

Adobe Illustrator
CS5 New Features
This lesson provides an overview of the features added or enhanced
in Illustrator CS5. From the more prominent changes, such as
the perspective grid tool and the new artboards panel to the subtle
improvements in the workspace that make feature, Illustrator CS5
includes a number of changes that benefit users familiar with older
versions of Adobe Illustrator.

Starting up
You will not be working with lesson files in this guide to new features, but feel more than
welcome to experiment as you discover how you can do more with Adobe Illustrator CS5.

See Lesson 13 in action!

13 Use the accompanying video to gain a better understanding of how to use some of the features
shown in this lesson.The video tutorial for this lesson can be found on the included DVD.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 311

13 Getting into perspective

Getting into perspective

It is still beneficial to have formal training in drawing when creating artwork in Adobe
Illustrator, but now even amateurs have the opportunity to build realistic perspective
illustrations.
New to Illustrator CS5 is the Perspective Grid tool ( ) and all of the additional features that
work with it. Using the new Perspective Grid tool, you can create illustrative scenes with
1, 2 and 3 point perspectives.You can use the grid to create, scale and duplicate shapes on a
perspective plane.

Using the Perspective Grid feature.

312 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Digital Classroom

 Using the Perspective Grid feature 13

To use the Perspective Grid tool, select it from the Tools panel.When the Perspective Grid tool is
selected the grid appears on the artboard.The active plane is highlighted in the Plane switching
widget, which appears in the upper-left corner of the artboard.

Using the Perspective Grid feature

A B C D E F G H I

J
K

L M N O
A. Plane switching widget. B. Horizon Height. C. Left Vanishing Point. D. Extent of Grid. E.Vertical Grid Extent.
F. Perspective Grid Ruler. G. Right Vanishing Point. H. Horizon Line. I. Horizon Level. J. Grid Cell Size.
K. Ground Level. L. Right Grid Plane Control. M. Horizontal Grid Plane Control. N. Left Grid Plane Control. O. Origin.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 313

13 Using the Perspective Grid feature

Defining the grid

Once you have selected the Perspective grid tool, you choose View > Perspective Grid >
Define Grid to select whether you want to create artwork using 1, 2, or 3-point perspective.
You can also narrow or widen the grid by decreasing or increasing the Viewing Angle.

Defining the grid.

314 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Digital Classroom

 Using the Perspective Grid feature 13
Changing the plane
If you select a shape (such as the rectangle tool) and draw on the artboard, you’ll notice that the
shape automatically attaches itself to an active perspective plane.You can change the active plane
by clicking on the plane that you wish to be active in the widget in the upper-left corner of
the artboard.

Change the active plane by The next object drawn is now created on the selected plane.
selecting it in the widget.

If you want to create shapes that are not attached to a plane, click on the grey area that
surrounds the widget.
If you want to hide the Perspective Grid, choose View > Perspective > Hide Grid, or press
Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows) or Command Shift+I (Mac OS).

Select No Active Grid to draw normally.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 315

13 Creating shapes with the Shape Builder tool

Using the Perspective Selection tool

You can reposition an object on a grid, and even take an object and attach it to a grid, using the
Perspective Selection tool. The Perspective Selection tool is the hidden tool in the Perspective
Grid tool.

t
To reposition a shape, simply select the Perspective Selection tool (click and hold on the
Perspective Grid tool to select it) and then click and drag the shape(s) you wish to move.
t
To attach a shape to a grid, select the grid you wish to attach the shape(s) to, and then
click and drag, using the Perspective Shape tool. The shape is attached to the grid.

Creating shapes with the Shape Builder tool

It is easier than ever before to create interesting and unique shapes in Adobe Illustrator. With a
click and drag you can add, intersect or delete one shape from another.
To take advantage of this handy little tool, you simply need to do the following:

To combine shapes
Create the shapes that you wish to combine, overlap them where necessary and then select all of
the shapes to be combined.
Using the Shape Builder tool, click and drag through all of the shapes, from one end to
another. Note that if you do not drag through an entire shape, some parts may not be
combined correctly.

Select multiple shapes. Click and drag with the The result.
Shape Builder tool.

316 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Digital Classroom

 Creating shapes with the Shape Builder tool 13
To delete shapes
To delete one shape from another, simply hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)
key while clicking and dragging with the Shape Builder tool.

Select multiple shapes. Hold down Alt/Option and click The result.
and drag.

To divide overlapping shapes

You can also separate shapes that overlap to create individual shapes.
To divide shapes, select multiple shapes and click and drag only within the shape that you wish
to divide from the original shape. The shape is then independent of its original shape and can
be positioned independently.

Select multiple shapes. Click and drag within the The result.
shape.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 317

13 New Brush Controls

New Brush Controls

Now, in Illustrator CS5 you have additional options to create exciting and unique brushes.
Create brush strokes with the appearance of a natural brush with bristles. By selecting Windows >
Brushes you can open the Brushes panel. As a default, the Brushes panel offers a selection of
interesting strokes that you can apply to paths. New in Illustrator CS5 you can choose Open
Brush Library > Bristle Brush from the Brushes panel menu to open an additional panel that
includes bristle brushes that have varied tips and bristle lengths.

Take advantage of new bristle brushes.

You can make the bristle brushes more unique by editing properties. All you need to do is
double-click on a brush in the Bristle Brush Library to add it to the Brushes panel, then
double-click on the newly added bristle brush in the Brushes panel (or select Brush Options
from the Brushes panel menu.)

Changing the bristle properties.

When the Bristle Brush Options dialog box appears, make adjustments to the overall size, bristle
length and more.

318 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Digital Classroom

 Advanced drawing controls 13
Advanced drawing controls
You can now easily draw inside or behind shapes without taking additional steps to mask or
rearrange the order of your objects.
By simply taking advantage of the new drawing tools at the bottom of the tools panel, you can
use three different drawing modes:
Normal: This is the mode that you may be accustomed to using. Newly created shapes are on
a higher stacking order than objects that already exist on the page. In other words, as you draw
objects in the Normal mode, they appear on top of other objects that are in the same layer.
Draw Behind: By taking advantage of Draw Behind, you don’t have to worry about changing
the stacking order in the middle of your creation process. By selecting the Draw Behind mode
at the bottom of the Tools panel, you can quickly and easily create a shape behind others that
are on the same layer.

Select the Draw Behind New shape is created behind

mode. existing shapes.

Draw Inside: Using this mode, you can draw inside a shape, or even place an image inside of
another shape. In the figure example, live text was selected, and then the ellipse tool was used to
create shapes inside of the text. The text acts essentially as a mask to the newly added shapes.

Create a shape. Create shapes inside.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 319

13 Advanced drawing controls

Artboard panel
Multiple artboards were a great feature added in Adobe Illustrator CS4, but now you can
manage them even better by using the Artboard panel.
Artboards can be used for many reasons; perhaps you are creating a series of graphics to be
used in different sizes, such as business cards, letterhead and a initial web page design. By using
artboards, you can keep all of these related pieces of artwork together.
You can create new artboards the same way you have been able to in previous versions, by
selecting the Artboard tool, and clicking on the New button in the Control panel, and then
clicking in the work area to create a same-sized artboard as the original, or clicking and
dragging to create a custom artboard.

Create additional artboards.

In Illustrator CS5, you can select Window > Artboard to see your artboards. Here you have the
option to rename, rearrange, duplicate and delete them.

Keep multiple artboards organized

using the new Artboards panel.

320 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Digital Classroom

 Advanced drawing controls 13
Pixel grid alignment
If you design for the web, you will appreciate the new pixel grid alignment feature. By keeping
objects aligned to the pixel grid, you can guarantee that your graphics will appear more crisp
and sharp. To access this feature, you can choose Window > Transform, or check the box for
Align New Objects to Pixel Grid in the Advanced section of the New Document window.

Choose to align an object to the pixel Choose to align all objects to the pixel grid when creating a new Web document.
grid in the Transform panel.

If you have followed the lessons in this book, congratulations this is your last one. By now, you
have discovered that there are many improvements to Illustrator that are explained, in context,
throughout the lessons in this book.
If you are reading this lesson to get the quick rundown on all the great new features, it surely is
a help, but more new features and performance improvements can be found integrated in the
step-by-step exercises included in this book.

Lesson 13, Illustrator CS5 New Features 321