Questions about Illustrator? Don't know how to do something? Ask your question here, and someone might answer

Is it worth buying if you already have Photoshop?
What is the learning curve?

Depends on what you want to do with it. Photoshop and Illustrator are completely different programs, but they work together perfect.
If you look at my website (poppen.ca), and my logo, they're both made with Illustrator. They are all vectors. For a website that doesn't matter so much, but for my logo; if I wanted to make a big poster, I can just grab a corner of the design and scale it to 2 or 3 meters, without loss.
It is an expensive program, and you have to get into the program.

You have to use it enough to understand it. There are some similarities in Photoshop, but you'll have to learn Illustrator from scratch, with about the same curve as PS.

Taking a look at Pixel Perfect, I find the Illustrator-tutorials very useful, just like the freebies on Bittbox

Thanks Mark.

I'm going to download the 30 day trial and test it out, I'll see how I feel after that

Anyone else wanna share their opinions?

I haven't touch much of my Illustrator, but from what I have discover, there is many cool things that Illustrator can do that Photoshop can't do!
Still learning by the way...

I use a vector program so much since I've gotten busy in graphic design work lately.
My program of choice is Xara Xtreme Pro
It's so inexpensive compared to illustrator and has features that illustrator does not have.
For instance, often when creating a pdf, it would be nice to use fonts that you normally cannot embed. Xtreme Pro has a feature to turn all letters into shapes therefore allowing the use of all fonts whether they can be embedded or not.

I recently told a printer about this feature and he ran out to get the program even though he was a die hard Illustrator user.
Take a look at this trial too. As any vector program, it does take time to master, but I think you'll find this one is equally great if not better. And it's a lot less money!

Sorry delusion, didn't mean to stage a "take over" of your thread, but thought it was fitting to mention perhaps another option.

That's ok, I can defend you saying that Illustrator can't embed some fonts.. You can always turn text into shapes in Illustrator, I guess just like Xara does

Actually I wanted this topic to be sort-of a "how to use Illustrator"-topic

What kind of printer was this? Canon? Remind me to never buy that brand.

Didn't you do a website for Canon?

All the more reason.

LOL

Anyway, back to Illustrator

Ok got the trial. How did you learn it?

Basicly I started looking for tutorials. Now there are not as many Illustrator tutorials as there are for photoshop, but I found Bittbox very useful. Also the Pixelperfect video tutors are pretty good for the basics.
There's a lot of trial and error involved in the learning-process. Understanding why Illustrator does things the way it does (or doesn't) is the hardest part.
Illustratortechniques is a nice one as wel..

Thanks

I just used Illustrator for a Science Homework and it's awesome

It's attached if you want to check it out. Large file though

well.. there you go.. now for the effects

I've been using photoshop pretty much constantly since about version 5 (I think 6 was released just after I started using it). I've taken to using Illustrator recently for lots of different things that photoshop can't do.

I find that Illustrator is much better for things like creating logos or basic graphics that do not include photos. Of course the ability to scale images to any size without loss is always fun. The 'LiveTrace' function isn't nearly as good as other options out there however it is still fun for making giant 6 ft posters of your friends in comprimising positions and sticking them up in your loungeroom before they next come to visit.

I think if you're fairly used to photoshop you can get your head around Illustrtor quite easily however it definately takes some time to adjust. It's not difficult it's just learning how it fits together.

Illustrator works on bezier curves. Where as photoshop is a pixel by pixel app.

If you want to learn it fast, google image a celtic design. And 'place' that on the background. CTRL+2 to lock it. Then start copying it with the pen tool. The pen tool is what everyone hates about it. But it can be your best friend sometimes. After you have spent hours messing around you get used to where to put 'anchors' and run paths.

And just drop AI files onto photoshop, rasterise and get on to touching them up :thumbsup:

In some cases (not all) you can use the Live Trace option, and just trace the outlines..

i know that!

But it's a good learning technique. Can't you remember when you couldn't draw a curve right?

It develops on that.