Adobe Illustrator Tutorial 5: Downloading Fonts

Here's the newest link, this one came out the best so far.  I wish I had time to mess with the arrow some more.


Click HERE --->  http://screencast.com/t/Rd2Htc80qStI   <---Click HERE

I'll start adding the images I make in the tutorials to the blog.   ^^^^^ <--arrows pointing up.

If you look around at the logos of major companies, especially older ones, you might notice they are not that complicated.

But, in reality, people have spent millions of dollars on these logos and there is a lot more involved.

And, you'll notice a lot of company logos have nothing but type.

But, if you've ever tried to match up two fonts, you'll find that even if they look the same, there are many differences.

That is why there are tens of thousands of fonts, and many of them are all extremely similar looking to an untrained eye.  But if you match the fonts up you'll see there are small variations throughout each font.

Adobe Illustrator only takes the idea of the typewriter and the printing press and made it digital.  So the idea of a font has been around for a long time.

Going back even further to branding and other forms of symbolism.  It became necessary that things be codified and made uniform in a way that you would know something by the font it used.


And it was a way to keep things secret or to make sure something was legitimate.  Fonts were expensive and works of art.  Similar to a wax seal, a signature, a fingerprint, or other things used to identify individuals and to protect them from people who wish to steal their identities.


It is no small thing to have your ideas stolen.  There needed to be ways to make sure that you knew where something originated from, and you could tell by the quality of the source.


It is a similar process used for American Money.  The process in which money is made is so complicated and difficult to copy, that you know that your money is real and not counterfeit.

That is, if you know what to look for and have the proper devices to check the money since it is easy to copy something on a superficial level.

If I photocopied a dollar and gave it to some kid, he wouldn't know.  Well, neither would a lot of adults.

But, you'd be surprised how easy it is to spot if you sit there doing it a lot.  What may look like a good fake to you probably looks like Monopoly money to a trained cashier.

I want to stand out and be an individual, so I come upon these issues of being copied and counterfeited.

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial: Art In Under 5 Minutes #4

http://screencast.com/t/N03ddNOidz2

The above link will take you to a 5 minute tutorial showing how i created the image below.

The above image took under 5 minutes to make in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

Side bar: What is a Font? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Font

The above image involved:

1) Choosing a font,

2) Re-sizing the font,

3) Duplicating the font or Copy and Pasting it,

4) Applying a 21% Gaussian Blur to the Black Font,

5) Changing the other font to Blue,

6) Positioning and Arranging the font so that the blurred font is on the bottom and slightly down and to the right of the blue font,

7) Creating a yellow rectangle that is larger than the font,

8) Positioned and Arranged the Yellow Rectangle behind the Fonts,

9) Added a Black Dashed Stroke with Arrowheads to the Yellow Rectangle,

10) Applied a 0% (placeholder) Effect,

11) Added, re-sized, and re-positioned a Red Bow from the Symbols Pallet.


12) Save and Export to Web.

Please view my other tutorials and comment on them.  These tutorials are completely new and I am still experimenting with all aspects of the format.  So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

William Ryan Kus

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial 3: Basic Font Effects, Copy and Pasting

http://screencast.com/t/m7rf1X20

Here's some better font effects.  I did a Gaussian blur.  I did a basic Ctrl+C then Ctrl+V which is a Copy + Paste, one of the most basic, useful, and common commands you will use.

Copy and Pasting an image allows you to create a drop shadow, a nice border, or some other three dimensional effect.

When you start seeing these larger three dimensional objects, you'll find many of them are just multiple layers, sometimes hundreds of layers, to create an effect of depth and dimension.  You'll see this copied in those new 3d Printers that print in three dimensions.

Copy and Pasting also allows you to save your work on separate layers so that you can have a copy of the original.  It may be better to just keep a separate copy of the file, as well as just using the Duplicate Layer command and then locking that layer in the background so that you can't accidentally erase it if you need to go back to the original.

This is sort of fun.  I've seen people charge $50 for lessons in Adobe Illustrator.

In class, they may spend a whole day teaching you how to copy and paste.

It really only takes a few seconds to learn, but a lifetime to master!

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial 2: Font Kerning

http://screencast.com/t/efbisIHoZZh

That is the thing with Illustrator, there are a lot of details and it is very easy to get lost in them.

You see the difference between a normal word and a word that is kerned and positioned correctly.

There are many things to consider, but I will try to be more general.

I will try and fit more stuff into the next one.

Maybe I'll try to do one with more stuff in it.

Illustrator Tutorial 1: Fun with Fonts

http://screencast.com/t/hZhbSKMjT7Q

The one problem with Jing is that it saves in a Flash format and I can't upload it to YouTube, so you have to click the link above.  I'll have to switch programs for video captures.

This is my first Tutorial, well not my first, but my first in this format.

It is for people who know how to install a program like Illustrator, but otherwise would not use it.

This is for non-professionals who just want to make a flyer for a Church bulletin, a local club, or anything else that you do.

It's really for people who art Artphobes and refuse to touch Illustrator or anything that has to do with art.

It isn't about drawing better than someone else or drawing the Mona Lisa, it's about having fun and expressing yourself.

I am sure some people would like to be able to make LoLCatz photos.  It isn't that hard.  It really can be done in a few minutes.

Most of the time is in the uploading and sharing.

These are very basic things you can do.  When you can do the simple stuff, you'll find with a little exploration how much there is that can be done.

I hope to help people explore Illustrator.

I want to show people that Illustrator should not be intimidating the way it is, but instead should be inviting and easy to use.

It is really a lot of fun once you see what it can do and how much time it can save.

My favorite part about Illustrator is that it can take someone who isn't an artist and give them something that looks presentable.

Adobe Illustrator and Screen Printing

One thing I am decent at, it is Adobe Illustrator.  I worked professionally at a screen printing shop for decades on and off for my Uncle Al Tokunaga at Tri Arts Screen Printing in North Hollywood, California.

Everyone thinks he is my dad or they think he is me sometimes, because our voices are exactly the same.  And, since we worked at the same place, we'd wear the same clothes.

I had the opportunity to separate customer artwork into separations and making sure that the art looked as good as possible.

People may have a ton of "education" but it is another thing to have practical experience in a business that actually earned money and is still in business for 40 years.

So, I want to apply my practical knowledge somehow.

If I can't afford to do it myself or I'm just completely unmotivated, I can at least blog about what I do know and hopefully create some sort of discussion.

I can answer basic questions for people who have no idea how to use Illustrator.  My uncle used to charge people $50 an hour for my art services.

I an offering my services for free at the moment, to see if people are willing to pay me to do what they pay other people $25+ to do.  You can make $100's depending on your skill level.

I don't keep a portfolio.  This was just a part-time side job.  I never considered myself an artist.

I just understand a lot of basic stuff on Illustrator.  The things I see people teach in College is very basic and simple.

I hope that maybe I can help people who are trying to screen print or design t-shirts or just want tips on how to use Illustrator if they have problems.

I know Illustrator can seem very daunting and intimidating.  It is, but it doesn't seem like it to me because I have used it for decades, back when Photoshop and Illustrator were Mac only products and the Windows based machine was a joke for graphics.

Back then, they were using Amigas for Star Trek.

I'll try to add some practical exercises or something later.  Right now, I am concentrating on Programming and Math so I can finally get an AA.

Here is one I did recently, it took between 30 and 60 minutes, because it used a lot of different elements, like web art, original vector, and clip art.

You can have a lot of fun, just for personal use.  Someone sent an email about a Dungeons and Dragons module called "Wizards of Cockblock Forest" and  it inspired this vision in me.

Since a cock is supposed to be a Rooster, I wanted to represent a Rooster blocking something.  So it could be a cock block, without showing a penis.

You can really do a lot in a short amount of time.  Illustrator makes things very easy once you learn to use it.

Like having a garage full of a tools.  You could build a car if you wanted, but unless you are an engineer or carpenter, the tools just sit there.

Illustrator has limitless possibilities, especially when combined with Photoshop and the other Adobe Suites.

I'd wear this on a t-shirt.  It makes me laugh.

That's what art is.  It is supposed to have meaning to you.  And others, if that's what you want.  I like it, and that is all that matters.  Not that people will insult me or call me names.

Artists are under siege.  Creativity is under siege.

I have to constantly fight just to be myself. 

By insulting someone they will instantly stop doing anything cultural or creative or artistic because they become embarrassed, especially us artistic types.

It is not a small thing.  It is a very serious issue and a major reason why America is in such an intellectual decline that it resonates in every sector.

The depression and housing crash may never recover.  It may just be like this forever.

It's only going to get worse unless people learn to start using their brains and not be afraid of things like Adobe Illustrator.

Instead of paying someone like me or my uncle $50 an hour to do, you can do it yourself.