essential document setting options are as follows:
Name defines the default filename when you save or export the entire document.
Profile can shortcut the process of defining document settings by letting you choose or change the kind of document you are creating.
Number of artboards defines how many artboards of the defined size will be generated. The set of diagrams to the right of the number of artboards defines how the artboards will be arranged. The Spacing drop-down configures the space between each artboard on the canvas, and the Rows/Columns spinner defines the number of rows or columns that will display artboards. I explain how artboards work later in this chapter in the section “Deploying Artboards.”
Size drop-down options can shortcut the process of defining the width and height for your document. The options depend on the profile you selected. For example, if you choose a print profile, sizes include A4, a Letter, or a Tabloid, among others. If you choose Mobile profile, the options include iPad, Apple Watch, and Google pixel.
Width and Height boxes define the width and height of your project. If you are generating multiple artboards, all the artboards will inherit this width and height. The Orientation options toggle between portrait and landscape orientation.
Units is where you choose a unit of measurement appropriate to your project: pixels for digital output or points, picas, inches, millimeters, or centimeters for print.
Bleed is relevant only for files sent directly to print production, such as postcards, posters, or other print media (for example, shirts or mugs). If you're preparing graphics to send directly to a print shop, consult with the printer on what kind of bleed to define, if any. (For an explanation of when and how to apply bleeds, see the “Communicating with your printer” section, later in this chapter.
Color Mode options are RGB for screen output and CMYK for commercial printing.
Raster Effects settings define the resolution of bitmap effects (such as Photoshop Effects) applied to your illustration. For an explanation of raster effects, see Chapter 14.
Preview mode is normally left at the default setting. The Overprint option allows you to preview how commercial print output will look. Consult with your commercial printer on if, when, and how to use this option.
After you configure document settings, click Create Document.
Deploying Artboards
As I briefly noted, the canvas is the area of the Illustrator workspace where you create graphics. The canvas is basically everything you see on the screen except the interface (such as the menu, Control panel, and other panels). I walk through the non-canvas sections of the workspace in Chapter 1.
Within the canvas, artboards are discrete, sized spaces that make it easy to export, share, or print sections of the canvas. That’s a lot of workflow help!
Here’s how I like to think about artboards: They are both coherent and discrete. Too philosophical? Okay, here’s the point: Artboards inherit and share many properties of the document they lie within, such as color mode or raster effect resolution. (I explain these options earlier in the chapter in the “Defining color mode, artboard size, and raster resolution” section.) And that’s nice because it means you can work on different graphics, including differently sized graphics, with shared properties.
For example, you might have a project where you design a print poster, palm card, and plastic banner for an event. Although these will be different in size, they will likely use the same set of colors and maybe other features such as symbols (which I explain in Chapter 10).
Or you might use multiple artboards of the same size to prepare a prototype of a mobile app that shows different states of user interaction. Here, dozens of artboards might be helpful. Again, this project has common document properties that apply to all artboards, such as RGB color and pixels as the unit of measurement.
To help you get your money’s worth out of artboards, I first review some basic rules for creating and using them. Then I walk you through the two scenarios I just identified — print project and app prototype — to help you understand the efficacy of artboards and to expose you to key techniques for deploying artboards.
Defining artboards
You can have 1 to 1,000 artboards per document. I’ve never used 1,000 artboards in a project, but it’s nice to know they’re there if I need them. As I explain in the beginning of this chapter, you can set the number of artboards for a document when you first create it, but you can also add and remove artboards after you begin work on a document.
The Artboard tool is part of the Basic toolset (I explain how to manage tools in Chapter 1). You create artboards in a document by selecting the Artboard tool and drawing interactively on the canvas, as shown in Figure 2-3.
FIGURE 2-3: Drawing an artboard.
Or you can generate an artboard by clicking the New Artboard icon in the Artboard pane or the Control (or Properties) panel. The Artboard Options dialog shown in Figure 2-4 opens.
FIGURE 2-4: Generating an artboard with the Artboard Options dialog.
Generating an artboard allows you to name the artboard as you create it, along with defining the dimensions and location digitally.
You can manage artboards in many ways. The following shows you how to define and take advantage of the artboard options I think you’ll find helpful in organizing and sharing projects.
To resize or move an artboard interactively, follow these steps:
1 With the Artboard tool, click once inside the artboard.
2 Drag to move the artboard, as shown in Figure 2-5.
3 Click and drag on a side or corner (square-shaped) bounding box to resize the artboard, as shown in Figure 2-6.
FIGURE 2-5: Moving an artboard.