Chapter 2: Set Up Your Project

Overview

Illustrator CS is highly adaptable. You can design a postage stamp, a billboard, a web graphic, or artwork for a Flash animation in the same document window. But you ll want to define a different working environment for each type of project.

Most veteran Illustrator artists will advise you to work backwards when you set up your document window. You can save time and energy if your page size , color settings, units of measurement, and so on match the project you are working on. That said, Illustrator is forgiving and flexible enough to allow you to rather easily change your mind and resize and reformat your illustration.

That means that you should do your best to define your document settings before you begin work. But feel free to crack this book open to this chapter at any point in the design process to alter your document settings.