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Test driving & Review: Abode illustrator 2023 release by Brian Wood: 5 Lesson TRANSFORMING ARTWORK

5 Lesson TRANSFORMING ARTWORK This is my result image and of course I changed some stuff to make it less boring. I do feel some options have changed even since the book is for Abode illustrator 2023 and I'm using version 2024. However I'm using the essential classic workspace  which means tools don't change.  This was the lesson menu and I have no idea why its blurred but this lesson was mostly about learning skills. Add, edit, rename, and reorder artboards in an existing document.  Navigate artboards.  Work with rulers and guides.  Position objects with precision.  Move, scale, rotate, and shear objects using a variety of methods.  Explore the mirror repeat.  Work with the Puppet Warp tool. Most of it was boring because I was working with demo files and just learning where things where and now they worked rather than doing much. I think it's a good reference chapter incase I wanted to do anything complicated.  At this point, I feel the...
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Test driving & Review: Abode illustrator 2023 release by Brian Wood: 3 Lesson MAKE A LOGO WITH SHAPES and Lesson 4 EDITING AND COMBINING SHAPES AND PATHS

 3 Lesson MAKE A LOGO WITH SHAPES  This lesson was more interesting and about making logo with shapes.  Topics covers  Create a new document.  Use tools and commands to create a variety of shapes. Understand Live Shapes. Create rounded corners. Work with drawing modes. Use the Place command. Use Image Trace to create shapes. Simplify paths. It was a bit dull to begin with but after a while it got exciting because I was creating shapes. Overall,  I'd say the property panel needs a bit of practice and honestly my shapes didn't make the grade.  However I've learnt maybe best to think in layers or shapes. Like sketch it before hand in composite shapes. Yes it does spoil the magic a bit but it may prepare one for the lessons.  Note, I think there may be different configurations because the line segment tool in my package  has it's own option and does not reside as an option under the rectangle icon. Complaint: Yes. I thought it was going to do the...

Test driving & Review: Abode illustrator 2023 release by Brian Wood: 2 Lesson - TECHNIQUES FOR SELECTING ARTWORK

Lesson 1 was a bust. A waste of time because it was more a review and demonstration so I have not done that. It was about getting to know the workspace rather than doing anything productive, so I skipped it. I was excited at first when I saw the complicated image but realise it was just a demo. Then for lesson two I realised I had to download the lessons (yes, I did). So I registered and got the download.  Lesson 2: TECHNIQUES FOR SELECTING ARTWORK Lesson overview and objectives in bold and my comments.  Differentiate between the various selection tools and use selection techniques. This was basically using the selection arrows so was easy enough.  Recognize Smart Guides. It was okay. Save selections for future use. This was a good tip and may come in useful as I continue working through the book. Hide, lock, and unlock items. Good tip because it means I don't have lots of stuff and get confused. The outline vs CPU feature is also goo. Use tools and commands to align...

Test driving & Review: Abode illustrator 2023 release by Brian Wood: 0 Lesson - A Quick Tour Of Adobe Illustrator (2023 release)

Yes, I'm back again. The Substack thing didn't work out and I'm going to get email list which will alert when I have new content for  those who like reading the blog.  Abode Illustrator 2023 release by Brian Wood I got this book out and yes, I know 2024 is out but I thought this was good enough. My main goal is to make my new book cover using illustration. There are 16 lessons and one introductory one which I call lesson 0. A Quick Tour Of Adobe Illustrator (2023 release)  The introductory lesson is suppose to be a quick tour around the software with an image at the end. This is mine below. It was supposed to take only 30 minutes but took me longer, over three days but I didn't time it. Above is the result and a lot of things I had do to over and over again before it sunk it.  However you can register the copy and get a digital version with the lesson files. I didn't because I need to run through it. I could have done this with social media - youtube and other platf...

Question #1: When did you last take time for yourself

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