Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
The ruler units are inches because you specified them in the New Document dialog
box. You can change the ruler units for all documents or for the current document
only. The ruler unit shows when measuring objects, moving and transforming ob-
jects, setting grid and guide spacing, and creating shapes. It does not affect the
units used in the Character, Paragraph, and Stroke panels. The units used in these
panels can be changed by choosing (Illustrator > Preferences > Units [Mac OS] or
Edit > Preferences > Units [Windows]).
Creating rectangles
First, you'll create a series of rectangles that will be the start of a lamp on the postcard.
Rectangles and rounded rectangles are considered Live Shapes. This means that attributes
like width, height, rotation, corner radius, and corner style are still editable later and are
retained even if you scale or rotate the shape.
Note
As you go through this section, know that you don't have to match the
sizes of the drawn shapes exactly. They are just there as a guide.
1.
Make sure that the number 1 is showing in the Artboard Navigation area in the
lower-left corner of the Document window, which indicates that the first artboard
is showing. Choose View > Fit Artboard In Window.
2.
Select the Rectangle tool ( ) in the Tools panel. Position the pointer anywhere in
the artboard, and click and drag down and to the right. As you drag, notice the gray
tool tip that appears indicating width and height. Drag until the rectangle is ap-
proximately 1.5 in wide and has a height of 1 in, as seen in the tool tip next to the
cursor.
