Adobe Illustrator Tips

Adobe Illustrator is a commercial vector graphics software package used to generate illustrations(!)

Illustrator is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. It is available for Windows and macOS, but not Linux.

Pikes Peak Makerspace (PPM) has a license for the complete Adobe Creative Cloud, and it is installed on our (Windows) Design Workstations 2 and 3.

Contact Us if you cannot find your answer here on our Wiki or if you notice any information that is outdated.

 

Tips

Links to adobe.com:

Illustrator vs. InDesign

When to use which design application.

Use actions to automate tasks in Illustrator

Shortcuts for View Menu:

Shortcut	PC
Zoom In	Ctrl++
Zoom Out	Ctrl+-
Fit Artboard in Window	Ctrl+0
Fit All in Window	Alt+Ctrl+0
Actual Size	Ctrl+1
Rulers > Show Rulers	Ctrl+R

Open Illustrator Files Without Illustrator:

☐ Change the file extension .AI to .PDF, and open in your default PDF viewer.

☐ On a Mac, use Preview.

☐ Upload Illustrator files to Google Drive.

Training

Links to adobe.com:

Illustrator Get Started course

Adobe Illustrator Product Home Page

Learn Adobe Apps

All Products — Adobe

Related Pages

Links to related PPM Wiki pages:

CorelDRAW X6 Tips

Inkscape Tips

SVG File Format Tips

Adobe Photoshop Tips

Adobe InDesign Tips

Adobe Bridge Tips

Canva Tips

Blender Tips

  Computers — Windows  

Hand-Curated Links

Links to member-recommended external sites:

Illustrator Tutorials Covering the Basics — on vecteezy.com

Avery Templates — design and print using Illustrator

Links to other external sites:

Adobe Firefly — A.I. image generation

Adobe Illustrator icons — WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

John Warnock: Bezier Tutorial — (1987) on YouTube

Alternatives

AFFINITY Designer — alternative to Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator Alternatives — alternativeto.net

For Additional Help

Use the PPM Slack channel #computing

List of all PPM Slack channels

Note that we have a Slack channel (#job-board) for members to post, discuss, or accept job opportunities either within PPM or from the community.

Search the PPM Wiki — include Content pages as well as Multimedia.

Contact Us if you cannot find your answer here on our Wiki or if you notice any information that is outdated.

Pikes Peak Makerspace (PPM) is dedicated to supporting our maker community in their creative processes by providing shared space, shared tools, materials, software, and a knowledge base to turn their ideas into reality.