Chapter Four. Working with Illustrator

I fondly remember my first chance to use Illustrator. Even in its initial version you could feel the fluid finesse of the Pen tool. The first couple of versions of Illustrator could easily be considered a PostScript editor with a graphic user interface, which was revolutionary nevertheless. But now in its twelfth version, Illustrator offers so many features and tools for creating and editing artwork, it's hard to recognize it from its simple beginnings.

Although Photoshop may get much of the attention, the truth is that Illustrator is the application that started Adobe. It's also the most mature application in the suite. With so many versions packed with features being released through the years, this powerhouse vector graphics tool is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Because it's such a deep, versatile tool, I can imagine that many people don't fully know its capabilities.

So with that in mind, I've come up with a set of tips and techniques for Illustrator that really runs the gamut of its capabilities and I hope enlightens you to some of Illustrator's lesser known but compelling features.