Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Working with line segments
Next, you'll work with straight lines and line segments, known as
open paths
, to create a
flower pot. Shapes can be created in many ways in Illustrator, and the simpler way is usually
better.
1.
Select the Zoom tool ( ) in the Tools panel, and click four times, slowly, below the
red door to zoom in on the empty artboard space below it.
2.
Choose Reset Essentials from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.
You've been working in the default Preview mode, which lets you see how objects are
painted with fill and stroke colors. If paint attributes seem distracting, you can work in
Outline mode, which you'll do next.
3.
Choose View > Outline, to switch from Preview to Outline mode.
Note
Outline mode temporarily removes all paint attributes, such as colored fills
and strokes, to speed up selecting and redrawing artwork. You can't select
or drag shapes by clicking in the middle of a shape, because the fill
temporarily disappears.
4.
Select the Ellipse tool ( ) in the Tools panel. Below the house shapes, draw an
ellipse that has a width of 0.6 in and a height of 0.1 in, as shown in the measurement
label that appears.
5.
Select the Direct Selection tool ( ) in the Tools panel. Drag across the lower part of
the ellipse to select the bottom half.
6.
Choose Edit > Copy, and then choose Edit > Paste In Front to create a new path that is
directly on top of the original.
This copies and pastes only the bottom half of the ellipse as a single path, because that is
what you selected with the Direct Selection tool.
