Design Center Tutorial

If you’re familiar with FreeHand®, you have a good understanding of how vector graphics work. Watch these video tutorials to learn the differences in how FreeHand and Adobe® Illustrator® handle vector artwork.  In this series of short video tutorials from the Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator series, you’ll learn about:

• Drawing basic shapes
• Selecting and editing paths
• Basic object attributes
• The Appearance palette
• Grouping objects
• Using graphic styles
• Managing libraries

Drawing basic shapes

Learn the basics of creating shapes in Illustrator CS2. In this tutorial, Mordy Golding highlights the different drawing tools in Illustrator. He also gives an overview of how to manipulate the shapes you’ve drawn.

Watch the video (6:39 minutes)

Selecting and editing paths

In this short video tutorial, Mordy highlights the differences in the way you select in edit paths in FreeHand vs. Illustrator CS2. Learn the basics of selecting objects and discover an Illustrator Preferences setting that affects the way objects are selected.

Watch the video (7:04 minutes)

Basic object attributes

Watch this short video tutorial to see how to apply object attributes, such as strokes, fills, and gradients. Also learn how the Color palette in Illustrator both mixes colors and applies them to objects (something the Mixer in FreeHand cannot do).

Watch the video (5:21 minutes)

The Appearance palette

Discover the differences between the Object palette in FreeHand and the Appearance palette in Illustrator CS2. In this segment, Mordy shows you how to modify an object using the Appearance palette, which contains information about the selected object.

Watch the video (5:45 minutes)

Grouping objects

Grouping objects makes it easier to select objects and manage your documents. Both FreeHand and Illustrator handle grouping in much the same way. Watch this short video to learn more.

Watch the video (5:58 minutes)

Using graphic styles

Use styles to make your workflow more efficient. Styles enable you to quickly edit or update objects in your Illustrator files. In this tutorial, learn how to create graphic styles in Illustrator.

Watch the video (3:10 minutes)

Managing libraries

Managing colors and other objects is an important part of an efficient workflow. In this tutorial, Mordy shows you how to manage a document’s colors by creating libraries. You’ll also learn about create brush, symbol, and graphic style libraries.

Watch the video (4:09 minutes)

Where to go from here

For more information about Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator, check out the following resources:

• Adobe Illustrator CS2: FreeHand to Illustrator migration guide (PDF, 6.5M)by the experts at Adobe
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Getting started, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Migrating exisiting content, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Working with multiple pages, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Advanced object editing, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Working with text, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Live Trace and Live Paint, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Enhancing creativity, by Mordy Golding
• Migrating from FreeHand to Illustrator: Enhancing productivity, by Mordy Golding

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