Illustrator CS6

Syllabus

Adobe Illustrator CS6 Basics Course Book:

Unit 1: Getting started

• Start Adobe Illustrator CS6 and identify components of the workspace
• View artwork using menus, tools and panels
• Use rulers, guides and grids to align artwork precisely

Unit 2: Drawing basics

• Create a new document and save it as a native Illustrator file type
• Use the shape tool to draw rectangles ellipses, polygons and stars
• Use the line tools to draw lines, arcs and spiral, rectangular and polar grids

Unit 3: Transforming and combining objects

• Learn how to select objects and groups with a variety of tools
• Transform objects by using scale, rotate, flip, align and distribute
• Combine objects into groups and edit them as a group
• Work with layers to separate complex artwork into smaller pieces

Unit 4: Working with colour

• Select colour using a colour field and by mixing colour values
• Create and apply colour swatches and explore colour libraries
• Add artwork and document colours to swatches and share and group these colours

Unit 5: Working with paths

• Explain the principles of points, paths and the stacking order
• Draw straight and curved line segments and combinations of both
• Draw lines that appear hand drawn by dragging the pointer around the artboard
• Edit lines to adjust a shape

Unit 6: Creating and formatting text

• Understand the different ways type can be created and selected, how to find a word and replace it, and how to change type colour
• Apply character formats to selectede text to enhance its appearance and style
• Apply paragraph formats to align the type margins
• You will add space between paragraphs and explore indents
• Create collections of character and paragraph formats to apply and edit quickly to imporve design consistency

Unit 7: Painting with fills and strokes

• Apply colour to objects and outlines
• Create lines with dashes, arrowheads and various thicknesses
• Create colours that blend smoothly into each other
• Use intuitive brush strokes to paint objects and explore its options

Adobe Illustrator CS6 Advanced Course Book:

Unit 1: Customising the workspace

• Open, arrange and save the location of multiple windows, panels and tools
• Create and manage multiple artboards

Unit 2: Using symbols

• Optimise graphics for displaying in a Web browser
• Save a piece of artwork so you can reuse it multiple times in a document
• Apply saved artwork and use tools to change its size, density and placement

Unit 3: Create Web graphics

• View artwork that is aligned to the pixel grid and review file formats for Web graphics
• Segment graphics for Web optimisaztion and how to link a Web address to an image
• Save a Web graphic using a resolution independant vector format and explore options effects and interactivity
• Create a simple animation by exporting layers and explore how Illustrator and Flash work together

Unit 4: Using colour tools

• Create, save and edit colour palettes
• View and download colour themes
• Convert older documents from spot colour to the current colour management system and change colours to improve printing, display or composition

Unit 5: Painting tools

• Use brushes to add interest to your strokes and aid in production of graphics
• Create and use patterns as fills to enhance objects
• Apply transparency settings to show objects beneath other objects and blend layered colours to create effects
• Create custom gradient meshes with blends and colour transitions to give objects dimension

Unit 6: Working with images

• Use tracing options to change a raster image into a vector graphic
• Use perspective options to create illustrations with dimension

Unit 7: Type styles and effects

• Create type that follows the shape of a path
• Rotate and scale type within a bounding box
• Replace fonts and work with missing fonts in a document

Unit 8: Creating special effects

• Apply effects that change the way an object looks without altering its original structure
• Apply stylisation that creates shadows and softens interior and exterior edges
• Save appearance attributes to a style definition

Unit 9: Printing

• Set up documents for basic printing
• Prepare artwork for offset printing
• Print artwork with transparency setting
• Adjust artwork to prevent gaps in printing registration

Assessment:

To earn the Adobe Illustrator CS6 certification you must sit a separate Adobe Certified Expert Examination (Adobe Illustrator CS6 9A0-333). The exam is in a multiple choice/multiple answer format. There are 53 questions in total and the exam lasts approximately 60 minutes. The minimum passing score to gain the Illustrator CS6 ACE certification is 66%.

Adobe examinations must be sat at a registered Pearson VUE testing centre and cost £115+VAT each. You can locate testing centres and schedule exam appointments on the Pearson VUE website.

The Adobe Illustrator ACE Examination has recently been retired so it is no longer available to sit this exam. Students completing this course can still gain the DLC Certificate of Completion after they have completed their studies.

Adobe Re-certification Policy:

You must be certified on the previous version of the product and pass the current version's exam in order to get recertified. For example, to recertify for Illustrator CS6 you must already be certified for Adobe Illustrator CS5 and pass your Adobe Illustrator CS6 examination.

Study Hours

This is only an approximate figure and is dependant upon how much time you can dedicate to your studies and how well you grasp the learning concepts in the course material. Furthermore, at the end of each lesson there is a question paper that needs to be completed and returned to your tutor. You should allow at least 1 - 2 hours of study to complete each question paper.

The approximate amount of time required to complete the course is: 60 hrs.