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M ost of us have used Adobe Photoshop, right? Well, the biggest difference between Photoshop and Illustrator is that Photoshop bases its graphics off of raster images (pixels). Illustrator bases its graphics off vector (mathematical shapes/colors/gradients). Sure, both programs can do raster and/or vector art, but there is no comparison in power between Illustrators vector capacities.
Everything is selectable at anytime. Or you can easily lock it down with a command or layer option. If you want to change the stroke or fill of an object, just select it and choose your color. Want to stretch or move an object? Just select an anchor point, object line, or the whole object and drag. Just layer it Illustrators Layer Palette allows you to see/lock/select any layer in your palette. This is extremely helpful with complicated illustrations. You can edit vector objects on each layer at one time. Each layer has its own identity color that gets represented by the highlight color of the objects. This makes it very easy to differentiate where the object you are highlighting is in the layer hierarchy, or if it's grouped with other objects. Huh? Here is the kicker with the most powerful vector program. You can achieve some powerful Photoshop-like effects to any vector graphic in Illustrator. For example, if you want to add a shadow to a simple box, just choose on of the many SVG effects filters in the effects menu. By the way, the shadow will update in real-time when you modify your object. Illustrator has many more SVG filters to try out. Practice makes perfect I could write pages and pages on the how Illustrator works, but Ive decided to give you a list of wonderful books from professional writers and designers instead. Read the costumer reviews, order your book(s) and work your book(s)! Practice enough to make Illustrator an extension of yourself, and let your mind's eye create! Im confident that once you use and master Illustrator, you too will find yourself starting it up most of the time to try out your new design ideas! With Adobe Illustrator, anything is possible! Written by: Paul Roesner Street price: $400; upgrade, $150 PowerPC® processor: G3, G4, or G4 dual Mac OS software version 9.1, 9.2, or Mac OS X version 10.1 128 MB of RAM 180 MB of available hard-disk space Windows® Intel® Pentium® II, III, or 4 processor Microsoft® Windows 98, Windows 98 Special Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000 with service pack 2, or Windows XP operating system 128 MB of RAM 180 MB of available hard-disk space
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