Moving From Photoshop to Illustrator CS6 - Layers
Recently, I started designing SVG cut files for the SilhouetteR cutting machine. These cut files need to be in SVG format in order for the cutting machine to make the correct cuts. Of course, Photoshop does not create SVG files, but Illustrator does.
Until now, I used IllustratorR only occasionally, because I worked in raster format to create photorealistic images. In my opinion, although some features in Illustrator, such as Gradient Mesh, give the artist more options, Photoshop is still slightly better for photorealistic artwork because of the endless filters and textures.
So I had to make the switch to Illustrator for my new projects. If you find yourself in the same place, don’t worry. Over the years, AdobeR has done its best to make the two software as similar as possible. In fact, Adobe has work very hard to make it easy to move between all of its design software such as InDesignR, PhotoshopR, FlashR, After EffectsR and PremierR.
Both the Illustrator and Photoshop Layers panels are your best friend when organizing the many layers in your document. As you can see, most of the Illustrator icons in the Layers panel are in the same location or near their corresponding icons in the Photoshop Layers panel.
At the far left, we have the visibility icons, which control the visibility of the artwork on that layer. The familiar eye icon is used to toggle the visibility. Also you will notice that both panels support layers and sublayers and the default is to place new content onto a new sublayer within the current layer.
Moving right, the next column in the Illustrator Layers panel is called the Edit column and is the place where you can lock or unlock the layer via the familiar lock icon. Photoshop users will recognize this icon as one of four in the Lock menu, above the layers list in the Photoshop Layers panel. Another common icon is the New Layer icon, which is located at the bottom of both panels.
One column in the Illustrator Layers panel that does not have an equivalent in Photoshop is the Selection column on the far right. This column contains small squares that highlight when the contents on that layer is selected. Each color corresponds to the color assigned to that layer and therefore matches the color of the paths on that layer. In Photoshop, the entire layer changes to a light blue color to indicate that the contents on that layer is selected.
Copyright 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe, Photoshop, Photoshop Album, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat, Cue, Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements, Bridge, After Effects, InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, Fireworks, Contribute, Captivate, Flash Catalyst and Flash Paper is/are either [a] registered trademark[s] or a trademark[s] of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Until now, I used IllustratorR only occasionally, because I worked in raster format to create photorealistic images. In my opinion, although some features in Illustrator, such as Gradient Mesh, give the artist more options, Photoshop is still slightly better for photorealistic artwork because of the endless filters and textures.
So I had to make the switch to Illustrator for my new projects. If you find yourself in the same place, don’t worry. Over the years, AdobeR has done its best to make the two software as similar as possible. In fact, Adobe has work very hard to make it easy to move between all of its design software such as InDesignR, PhotoshopR, FlashR, After EffectsR and PremierR.
Both the Illustrator and Photoshop Layers panels are your best friend when organizing the many layers in your document. As you can see, most of the Illustrator icons in the Layers panel are in the same location or near their corresponding icons in the Photoshop Layers panel.
At the far left, we have the visibility icons, which control the visibility of the artwork on that layer. The familiar eye icon is used to toggle the visibility. Also you will notice that both panels support layers and sublayers and the default is to place new content onto a new sublayer within the current layer.
Moving right, the next column in the Illustrator Layers panel is called the Edit column and is the place where you can lock or unlock the layer via the familiar lock icon. Photoshop users will recognize this icon as one of four in the Lock menu, above the layers list in the Photoshop Layers panel. Another common icon is the New Layer icon, which is located at the bottom of both panels.
One column in the Illustrator Layers panel that does not have an equivalent in Photoshop is the Selection column on the far right. This column contains small squares that highlight when the contents on that layer is selected. Each color corresponds to the color assigned to that layer and therefore matches the color of the paths on that layer. In Photoshop, the entire layer changes to a light blue color to indicate that the contents on that layer is selected.
Copyright 2018 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe, Photoshop, Photoshop Album, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, Acrobat, Cue, Premiere Pro, Premiere Elements, Bridge, After Effects, InCopy, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, Fireworks, Contribute, Captivate, Flash Catalyst and Flash Paper is/are either [a] registered trademark[s] or a trademark[s] of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
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