How do people feel about adobe illustrator?

[punkarsenic]

I'm testing it out on a free trial because I'm told I'll need it for uni, and I'll need it for getting files made for lasercutting. coming from clip studio paint, i really dont like it... it feels sparse and unintuitive, and really not worth the subscription. i might just be biased though.

does anyone here work with illustrator and like it? if so, why? is it worth the cost?

[JeffBaker]

It's not meant to be used like a paint program, that's the biggest adjustment. Once you get used to it and get a better feel for what to use it for it's much more effective. If I'm doing a logo or any kind of graphic I use it over photoshop or another paint program in a heart beat. But I do all my sketching and digital painting in either photoshop or sketchbook

[JeffBaker]

I think the name "illustrator" is a bit misleading. While you can make amazing illustrations on it, something like "Adobe Shape Builder" would be much more accurate but less catchy lol

[Cavechan]

The thing about Illustrator is that it's specifically for vector images. In fact, it hates raster images and works very poorly with them. Comparing it to CSP is sort of comparing apples and oranges. Though CSP has some vector based options which are extremely helpful, it is still a raster program.

The pen tool in Illustrator is far easier to use than the sorta one in CSP, but I've been using Illustrator for over 10 years and CSP for about one year.

Illustrator will have a learning curve for someone who has used CSP, but it is an incredibly powerful program for what it's for. Though some designers scoff at it and use a different vector-based software, I forget the name off the top of my head since I don't use it.

[punkarsenic]

@Cavechan @JackRasputen

mmm okay, that makes sense. so, in terms of illustration, not design, why would i use vector over raster?

[Cavechan]

Here's an example of a drawing I did in Illustrator. I think the blob brush tool works pretty well for illustrations because it has pen pressure like in CSP and Photoshop.

(had to cut out the bottom since this was a work project that was never used....... sad)

So, yeah, it can make some pretty nice stuff if you know how to use it. And it has scripts and actions. The background with all the shapes was made by using a script (found online).

I think using it in terms of illustration depends on what style you're going for and what you're more comfortable using. I have run into some people who use Illustrator for their comics, but it's few, especially since I imagine the paneling would be annoying since you would have to use clipping masks which can be annoying.

[punkarsenic]

ive noticed that a lot of the stuff people make in illustrator is very clean - if i wanted to make something more painterly and organic, this would be the wrong program im guessing?

[Cavechan]

For sure. Vectors all have smooth edges so having rougher edges or edges with gradients of colors are more difficult to make and in some instances impossible. Toning would be difficult in Illustrator as well, though it does have some options available.

If you need a clean image that you can resize easily to a very large size then it's the best.

I think the most important thing is just understanding the difference between a vector image and a raster image and that will help point you in the right direction about which program is best to use.

[nekhcore]

The biggest thing to understand about vector vs raster is that they're fundamentally different and that's why CSP and Illustrator behave so differently. Raster images save every line and dot and whatever, all color data for every pixel and whatnot. Vector images, however, are more like a collection of points that remember information about where they are relative to each other and how they're connected, making it ideal for graphic design and logos and such since vector images can be resized with no reduction of quality whatsoever.

[DiegoPalacios]

Adobe shape-builder

"You can build shapes and stuff"

[Shanny8]

I dont really use Illustrator for drawing- I use it mainly for lettering, logo making, and creating the credits page for my printed books.

[HollowEve]

I love illustrator! I use it all the time, but only for lineart. I use photoshop for colouring.
As for being worth the price, I have no idea. My college program came with it included in the tuition.
Go Canada!

[joannekwan]

I mean I like it but I only really use it for logo design and making vector images where scalability is important. Especially things that will be processed by a machine to make other things, like enamel pin designs.

[UzukiCheverie]

As previously stated, Adobe Illustrator really isn't for illustrating, per se. Hell, even Photoshop isn't meant for illustrating, but it's the closest thing to an illustrating tool you can get out of Adobe x'D

If you need it for your courses for school, then yes, make sure you have it lol But it's not meant for painting or making comics

[panda3291]

Personally, I would rather use Photoshop and just have my file be really big and shrink it down, but illustrator is more helpful when it comes to having crisp lines and good quality printing without making a photo crazy pixelated or blurring when its scaled to a bigger size.
I just prefer using a brush over the pen tool. I feel like making sure my lines are the right curvature is tedious, but supposedly there are other tools around that in illustrator as well.
However, if it's a logo that is going to be used in multiple different sizes and probably for years to come, illustrator is definitely more helpful since your image will be able to be scaled without issues in most cases.
I work at a sign shop and we always ask for Illustrator files or EPS files to avoid having to deal with something super blurry that needs us to fix it up to make it readable when it's bigger. If they can't get us that, it's "please give us a pdf of the image to the exact size that you want the image to be printed at to avoid it looking blurry when we print it or we may have to redesign it."

[harulogue]

Pretty much, colouring in illustrator uses more flat colours, there are ways to get in more tone but it
won't be as smooth as if you were to paint it

And as you can get from the other comments its more of a design based program

[fleohr]

I think it depends on what you are aiming for. You can make a couple texture on illustrator, like halftone, stipple, etc if you don't like flat, but some rather also using photoshop to make the textures.

My webcomic:

Who are you? | Tapas

is entirely made on illustrator. I love working with vectors and they are pretty light. I have about 8 episodes (with 150+ pannels) and the file size for all together has only 59,1 mb. The workflow is pretty much easier to work with, since I can work with artboards and let the things I might use later next to it. It's not only quickly to make an episode but also nice to see what I have on each episode without having to open lots of tabs

[fleohr]

And well, it can be very awful to work with at the beginning, but if you have an old computer like me it would make things so much better lol

[KennDemon]

I had to learn how to use illustrator for school as well. It took some time to get used to, and at first I hated it and found it impossible to get it to do what I wanted. Now it's my go too for starting from scratch. My favourite thing about it is that I can make a general shape and then tweek it to be what I want, instead of trying a hundred times from scratch in photoshop.

If you're willing to put in the time to learn it (and I guess you sort of have to if it's for school), it's definitely worth it.

[KrispyKremeBits]

Illustrator is more for graphic designers usually, but it could be useful for doing background bases to draw over later.