Operation Manual

101
USING ILLUSTRATOR
Drawing
Last updated 11/8/2011
To create a tracing and convert the tracing object in one step, choose Object > Live Trace > Make And Expand or
Object > Live Trace > Make And Convert To Live Paint.
For a video on tracing, see www.adobe.com/go/vid0043.
More Help topics
“About paths” on page 52
“About Live Paint” on page 162
Release a tracing object
If you want to discard a tracing but keep the original placed image, you can release the tracing object.
1 Select the tracing object.
2 Choose Object > Live Trace > Release.
Manually trace artwork using template layers
Template layers are locked, nonprinting layers that you can use to manually trace images. Template layers are dimmed
by 50% so you can easily see any paths you draw in front of the layer. You can create template layers when you place
an image or from existing layers.
1 Do one of the following:
• To place an image as a template layer for tracing, choose File > Place, select the EPS, PDF, or raster image file
you want to trace, select Template, and then click Place. A new template layer appears below the current layer
in the panel.
• To trace an existing image, make sure the image is in its own layer, double-click the layer in the Layers panel,
select Template, and click OK; alternatively, select the layer and choose Template from the panel menu.
The eye icon is replaced by the template icon , and the layer is locked.
2 Trace over the file using the Pen tool or the Pencil tool.
3 To hide the template layer, choose View > Hide Template. Choose View > Show Template to see it again.
4 To turn a template layer into a regular layer, double-click the template layer in the Layers panel, deselect Template,
and click
OK.
Symbols
About symbols
A symbol is an art object that you can reuse in a document. For example, if you create a symbol from a flower, you can
then add instances of that symbol multiple times to your artwork without actually adding the complex art multiple
times. Each symbol instance is linked to the symbol in the Symbols panel or to a symbols library. Using symbols can
save you time and greatly reduce file size.