Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Planning Ahead
Working Between Illustrator & Photoshop
Illustrator & Photoshop Advanced Technique
Overview:
Plan ahead for export to Photoshop with layer organization; group or separate
some objects on layers based on the Photoshop technique you will use; make a registration
rectangle for precise placement.
When Dan Hubig creates an illustration like “Soothing Nervous Patients,” above, he
relies upon both Illustrator and Photoshop to get the job done efficiently and quickly.
Consequently, he constructs his files in Illustrator with Photoshop's strengths and
weaknesses in mind. Because the two programs have very different features, even
when those features share the same name (such as brushes), Hubig organizes his
objects so their Photoshop layers will allow him complete flexibility and ease in
creating the finishing touches. And by setting his layers to flatten sublayers on
export, he reduces the RAM requirements of his large files and shortens the time it
takes Illustrator to create the Photoshop file.
1 Planning ahead.
The main rule Hubig has when organizing his layers is that overlap-
ping objects he will work on in Photoshop
do not
reside on the same layer. As long as
they are on separate layers when exported to Photoshop, he'll be able to lock trans-
parency (which acts like a mask limiting a tool to actual pixels), clip an Adjustment
layer so it affects only that object, etc.—all without having to make tedious selections
inside Photoshop. By constructing his layer organization this way, rather than
grouping by subject (such as the dentist on one main layer, with its parts as
sublayers), he can rasterize all the sublayers, so Photo-shop doesn't import them as
nested Groups when he uses Knockout Group to export the blends he likes to use
(see the lesson “Ready to Export” for a full description of this method). The trade-off,
however, is that if Hubig doesn't pay careful attention to naming the layers, once
they're in Pho-toshop, his layer organization may not always be as “intuitive” as it
would be if grouped according to subject matter.
