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Setup a New Document in Adobe Illustrator

Edited by vanessa, Rushell, Dougie

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Steps

Video: Setup a New Document in Adobe Illustrator

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Hello and welcome to VisiHow. In this video, we are going to introduce you to Adobe Illustrator, which is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. The Adobe Illustrator software is used for graphic design, and it can be used to create things like logos are posters as well. The good thing about Adobe Illustrator is that the final result is a vector graphic.

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How to Setup a New Document in Adobe Illustrator.mp4-canvas398 951946.jpg

Steps

1
First, click to open the "Start" menu at the bottom left corner of the screen
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2
In the Search box, type "Illustrator"
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3
"Adobe Illustrator" appears under "Programs"
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Click on it to open the program.
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4
To start with, click on "File" on the menu at the top
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5
Click on "New" at the top of the menu that appears under "File"
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6
At the "New Document" box that pops up, enter a name for the document
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7
Under "New Document Profile" there are several presets
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Choose one of the presets by clicking on one of the options, depending on the desired goal for the document.
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8
To change the orientation, click on either Portrait or Landscape by clicking on the appropriate image
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9
Under "Advanced" settings, the color mode can be altered
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In RGB mode, a document will use red, green and blue to create colors.
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10
In CMYK mode, there are more colors to choose from because it uses cayenne, magenta, yellow and black to make the colors
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However, CMYK color mode may not be supported by all printers.
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11
Click on the desired color mode by clicking on it
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12
Click "OK" at the top right corner of the "New Document" window to confirm the changes
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13
A new blank artboard is generated
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It is in portrait mode, which we previously selected.
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14
To make any changes to the artboard now, click on "Document Setup" just above the artboard at the top of the window
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15
At the next screen, Click on "Edit Artboards" at the top right
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16
Click on any of the little white squares on the border of the artboard
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17
Drag the white square down to make the artboard smaller
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18
Click Esc on your keyboard to exit edit mode
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19
The document name appears at the top left corner of the document window
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A star now appears beside the name. This indicates that there have been changes in the document that have not yet been saved.
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20
To save the document, click on "File" at the top menu
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21
Then click "Save"
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22
The first time a document is saved, a "Save As" dialog box appears
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In Adobe Illustrator, when you create a new document, it is not initially saved as a file on your computer. This is where you will save the file and put it on your computer.
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23
Type a file name and click the "Save" button
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24
In the "Illustrator Options" window appears, the version can be changed if desired
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It's usually best to keep it as the latest version.
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25
Create a PDF compatible file by clicking on the check box next to that option
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It is important to keep that box checked. If the file is sent to someone who does not have Adobe Illustrator on their computer, they can easily download a PDF reader to open the file. Without this option, the file could not be opened at all unless the user has Adobe Illustrator installed.
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26
Click the "OK" button at the top right corner of that window
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27
The star next to the document name has now disappeared
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28
There are several advantages to using Adobe Illustrator as opposed to Photoshop to create graphics
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29
In Adobe Illustrator, I am going to create a circle by clicking on the shape tool on the toolbar
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In another video on this website, we show you how to create shapes and change their properties. Watch that video by searching the site for how to create basic shapes in Adobe Illustrator.
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30
To zoom in, click Ctrl and the plus sign on your computer
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No matter how close you zoom in, the outline of the circle remains smooth. Since this is a vector image, the edges of the circle are not pixelated.
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31
However, if we do the same thing in Photoshop, the image does appear pixelated as you zoom in closer
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Whereas Photoshop creates a pixelated image, Illustrator creates a vector graphic. This is important for creating graphics such as logos because you will probably want to increase the image to a much larger size. Having a logo as a vector graphic will allow the image to remain in good quality.
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32
You just watched me show you how to create a new document in Adobe Illustrator
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Please continue watching this series on Adobe Illustrator to see the different things with the program. Thank you for watching VisiHow.
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