Adobe Illustrator Intermediate (2023): Working With Existing Elements

Name: Adobe Illustrator Intermediate (2023): Working With Existing Elements
Author: Stephen Steinbach

Create and draw dynamic infographics in Adobe Illustrator 2023

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Steven Steinbach, and in these lessons, we're going to look at intermediate data visualization, tracing, and recoloring. To begin, we're going to start with a radio bar graph. So the first thing I want to do is I want to use guides to center. I want to make sure that my smart guides is selected, and you want to come down here and make sure that that's turned on. Okay, so that way we can know where the center is here, and there we can see the center here. So the first thing we want to do is go over to the column graph, left click and hold and come down to the pie chart tool. And I'm just going to then release, then we're going to put two columns in here, and this is going to be a percentage of 100. So I will do 75 on the first one, and let's do 25 on the second and hit the enter key, not the return key. So now we have this. And the next thing I want to do is I want to change the colors of these. So to do that, select the direct selection tool, left click and hold, and we'll go to group selection tool. And then with that tool, we can now select this here, and we can change the fill color to maybe a blue color. And then we can select the white part here, and then we'll change the fill to none. You'll also want to select it with the black arrow tool, and with that selected, go to stroke and turn the stroke off. And let's see that now. Okay, so we have this, and what I want to do now is create a clipping mask so that this can be updated. And to do that, we're going to select the ellipse tool, and I'm going to just change the color of that. I'm going to shift select that with that selected, I'll change the fill color to something else like that. And then with the black arrow tool, I'm going to hit the alt key and duplicate that. And I'm going to just shift and scale that down a bit. And now we want this to be centered right there. Select these two with the shape builder tool, we will use the alt key to subtract this center. Next we're going to center both of these, so we're going to take this to the center, and then we'll center that as well there. And I'm going to just scale that down a bit to about there. So once that's created, we're going to create a clipping mask. And to do that, we'll go to layers, we'll select the layer here, and click on the options, make clipping mask. What's nice about this technique is if I want to change this now, I can always do that by clicking on the graph, hitting the alt key, and then with the numbers here, if I wanted to change the values here, let's say it's 40 here and 60 here. And I hit enter, that updates. In the next lesson, I'm going to show you how to create a donut bar graph. Thanks for watching.

Intermediate Provider : Stephen Steinbach 5 Lessons · 19m in English

Course Description

In this course on Adobe Illustrator Intermediate 2023, you will continue to explore the graph tools. You will learn how to create and manipulate infographics using various graph tools in the toolbar, as well as how to utilize each type of graph for your personal data. By the end of this course, you will be able to utilize specifically designed infographics in your workflow. Creating infographics is an essential skill to becoming a graphic designer. This course will dive deep into how you can use some of the graphic design tools within Illustrator to create your own infographics. Through the use of graph tools, you will explore the different infographic options you have for displaying data. Formats such as the radial and doughnut bar graphs are easy to create, as well as easy to manipulate, with Illustrator giving you ease of access for displaying your data. You will then move on to learning about how to display data through more complex shapes for different scenarios. Finally, you will learn how graphic designers tailor their infographics to the design needs of the data being displayed.

What You'll Learn

Explore basic graph tools in the Adobe Illustrator toolbar
Create and manipulate infographics using various graph tools
Build radial and doughnut bar graphs to display data
Display data through more complex shapes for different scenarios
Convert an image to a vector graphic using Image Trace
Recolor artwork to tailor infographics to the design needs of the data

Key Takeaways

This intermediate course continues exploring the graph tools to create and manipulate infographics from your personal data.
Radial and doughnut bar graphs are easy to create and manipulate in Illustrator for displaying data.
The course covers displaying data through more complex shapes for different scenarios.
Creating infographics is presented as an essential skill for becoming a graphic designer.
Graphic designers tailor their infographics to the design needs of the data being displayed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this Adobe Illustrator Intermediate (2023) course?

You will continue to explore the graph tools, learning how to create and manipulate infographics using the various graph tools in the toolbar and how to use each type of graph for your own data.

Which types of graphs does this course cover?

It covers graphs including the radial bar graph, donut bar graph, and 3D graph chart, along with displaying data through more complex shapes.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will build skills in Adobe Illustrator, GraphEdit, Graphical Tools, Infographics, and work toward Adobe Illustrator Certification.

Does this course cover converting images to vector graphics?

Yes. One objective is to describe how to convert an image to a vector graphic, and the lessons include Image Trace and Recolor Artwork.

Who is this course suited for?

It is suited for those building graphic design skills, since the course presents creating infographics as an essential skill to becoming a graphic designer.