A step-by-step guide from a blank canvas in Illustrator CS4 to a simple yet nice sunset image using no resources other than those included with Illustrator CS4.

1. Open up Illustrator. Create a new blank canvas. I am using a canvas that is 3000px by 3750px.
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Step 2
Hills

Using the pen tool with a black fill and no outline, draw some hills just slightly higher up the canvas than midway. Make sure they stretch the entire width of the canvas.
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Step 3
Duplicate Hill (color changed to show adjustments)

Duplicate your hills path. With the duplicate selected, go to Object>Transform>Reflect. In the Reflect options box, set the axis to horizontal. Then move your duplicate down the canvas so that the bottom of both hill paths touch.
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Step 4
Sunset Gradient & Settings

Make a new layer underneath the one containing both of your hill paths. On this layer, add a rectangle using the rectangle tool that goes from the top left corner to the bottom right of the top hill path. Fill this rectangle with a radial gradient and do not use a stroke. The colors I used are as follows (all CYMK values): 74, 93, 44, 55; 0, 61, 49, 0; and 0, 63, 100, 0. Set the angle to 146° and the aspect ratio to 96%.
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Step 5
Reflected Sunset Gradient

Duplicate your sunset path and drag it down so it’s aligned with the bottom of your canvas. Send this new path to the back of your layers by pressing Ctrl+Shift+[ or right-clicking on the path on your canvas and clicking Arrange>Send to Back. Stretch the top of this path towards to top of your canvas until the orange part of your gradient is no longer visible.
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Step 6
Layer Palette

Now we need to adjust the order of our paths. Adjust them so they are in the following order (from top to bottom): Hills (Top), Sunset (Top), Hills (Reflected), & Sunset (Reflected).
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Step 7

Collect in New Layer

Select the two bottom paths; Hills (Reflected) & Sunset (Reflected). Click the fly out menu button on the layers palette and pick “Collect in New Layer”.
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Step 8
Ocean Ripple Settings

Copy your new layer. With the copy selected, go to Effects>Distort>Ocean Ripple. Set Ripple Size to 15 and set Ripple Magnitude to 20.
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Step 9
Layer Palette after Adjustments

Open up the original layer you duplicated for the Ocean Ripple layer. Pull out the Hills (Reflected) path. Put this above the Ocean Ripple layer and set it’s opacity to around 60%. Take the Sunset (Reflected) path and move it to the bottom of the layer palette.
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Step 10
At the top of your layer palette, make a new layer. Draw a rectangle with no fill and a black stroke around the entire canvas. Set the stroke to 80pt. Adjust your canvas so that your entire image is inside it. Save your image for the web and you are ready to upload it where you wish to.

Adobe Illustrator is a drawing program that enables users to make technical illustrations, elaborate drawings, graphics and page designs for print, the Internet and multimedia. Adobe Illustrator also offers an extensive range of drawing and painting tools, not to mention typographic control. It is very similar to Photoshop in that it has feathering, inner and outer glow and nondestructive drop shadows.

1. Adobe Illustrator, developed by Adobe Systems, was first made for the Apple Macintosh back in 1986, as a companion program for Adobe Photoshop. Throughout the years, there have been many updated versions of the program. These were versions 1-88. Adobe Illustration 6 was introduced in 1996, with vital new changes in the user interface. In October of 2008, Adobe Illustrator CS4 was released, with a variety of new and exciting improvements as well as brand new features (such as creating multiple artboards).

Features

2. Adobe Illustrator has a lot of powerful creative tools that allow users to experiment with a lot of effects. Some of the program’s features are path editing, point alignment, stroke options, a smoothing tool, precise positioning, erasing options, blog brushing, penciling, flexible brushing, live tracing and much more. There are advanced typography features such as transparent text effects, ligatures and alternate glyphs paneling. Some creative color effects are 3D effects, live distortion and blending.

Benefits

3. There are a lot of benefits for using Adobe Illustrator as opposed to other graphics programs. Some of the benefits are that the program allows users to work more efficiently with custom workspaces. It also has an updated interface with many space saving features and custom viewing options. There are also text options such as OpenType fonts and paragraph composition. It also encourages productivity with in-panel appearance editing and multiple artboards.

Potential

4. Adobe Illustrator programs usually range from about $300 to $600. The newest versions of Adobe Illustrator are always going to be a lot more expensive than the older versions, for understandable reasons. However, if you are simply upgrading to a newer version of Adobe Illustrator, it is only going to cost you $199 (you don’t have to buy an entirely new product).

Theories/Speculation

5. Adobe Illustrator programs can be purchased at many national chain stores such as Best Buy and CompUSA. You can also find Adobe Illustrator programs on many websites on the Internet. Some places to purchase the program include the official Adobe website, the Academic Superstore, Software King, Amazon.com, Campus Tech and many more.

When using Adobe Illustrator, eventually you will want to make a gradient on a stroke. Problem is that Illustrator does not allow you to do that directly. However, there is an effective work around that will allow you to place a gradient on a stroke in Adobe Illustrator. This tutorial will show you how simple that process is.

1. Draw a shape and give it a stroke. In this example, I have drawn a simple circle in Adobe Illustrator and given it a 10 point stroke. Simply draw your shape and select the Stroke option on the toolbar. In the Stroke palette (Ctrl+F10), use the pull down menu to choose the width of your desired stroke.
2. Step 2

   
   

   Make the stroke an Illustrator object. Be sure your circle is selected in Adobe Illustrator. You cannot add a gradient directly to a stroke. So, to add the gradient, you must first make the stroke an object. To do this, select your circle. From the file menu at the top choose Object ~ Path ~ Outline Stroke. This will turn the stroke into an object that you can add a gradient to.

3. Step 3

   
   

   Add a gradient. Now you are free to add whatever gradient you want to the stroke of the circle. If you are not sure how to use gradients in Adobe Illustrator, see Related Articles for a tutorial on that.

When your are working in Adobe Illustrator software often times you will want to be able to combine several shapes into a single object. This makes the overall image easier to work with. When you put the shapes together, you get one single object to work with and sometimes that is ideal for the illustration you are creating. The process for combining shapes is really very simple. This Adobe Illustrator tutorial will show you how.

1. Open up Adobe Illustrator and create your first shape. In this case, I started with a triangle. Now add your second object. The shape that I want to add to the triangle is the square. I would like to make them one single object in Adobe Illustrator so that they are easier to work with and to color exactly right.
2. Step 2

   Combine the shapes. Combining two objects in to one is really easy to do. Select both shapes by holding down the Shift key while single clicking with the selection tool in the toolbar. Click both shapes. Now open up your Pathfinder palette in the Adobe Illustrator Window menu at the top of the page (Shift+Ctrl+F9). Click on the button to Add To Shape Area and then click Expand.

3. Step 3

   Do what you will with your new shape. Now you have a single solid shape to color, edit and work with as you please in Adobe Illustrator. You can also add more shapes to this one or add a stroke to this entire object.

Graphic designers often assign specific spot colors–which are simply colored ink–to shapes and layers in the process of creating illustrations in Adobe Illustrator CS4. These colors may look different from one computer screen to another, but their unique values ensure consistent appearance when printing illustrations with an offset or digital printing press. While assigning spot colors in Illustrator is relatively simple and straightforward, separating out spot colors when preparing a file for print involves several less obvious steps.

1. Open your Illustrator CS4 file. Select “File” at the top of the screen, then click “Print.” Locate the field near the top of the dialog box labeled “Printer.” Click the drop-down menu and choose the “Adobe PDF” option.
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Step 2

Locate the section in the Print dialog box labeled “Media.” Click the Size drop-down menu and select the “Custom” media size. Make room for printer’s marks by increasing the width and height by half an inch (roughly 100 pixels) in the corresponding fields below.
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Step 3

Locate the submenu on the left-hand side of the Print dialog box. Select the menu option labeled “Marks and Bleed.” Check the box labeled “All Printer’s Marks.” This allows your separations to be registered and labeled.
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Step 4

Select the “Output” option in the Print dialog box submenu. Locate the drop-down menu labeled “Mode” and select “Separations.” The spot colors you created for your illustration appear in the Document Ink Options box below with a printer icon next to their names.
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Step 5

Click the “Print” button at the bottom of the Print dialog box. Each page of your PDF contains an individual spot color for your illustration, registered and labeled for printing.