Creating graphs, Part 2 In the first part of the tutorial I showed you how to create three dimensional charts using Adobe Illustrator CS2. In the second part we will focus on how to visually enhance those charts. Now that we’ve learned how to create basic charts using Illustrator’s 3D functionality we will enhance them by applying some reflections and subtle gradients. After creating your chart it will probably look similar to the one show in the screenshot on the left. In a first step select the chart and duplicate it by pressing Cmd+C and Cmd+F. This will create a copy of the selected object and paste it in front of the initial object. Now that we have duplicated the graph we need to expand the graph. Now we ungroup the object using the shortcut Cmd+Shift+G twice. Now with the slices selected first click the “Add to shape area” button (1) and afterwards the “Expand” button (2). Now fill the shape with white color, duplicate it and move it up two or three pixels. Basically you’re finished.
Illustrator Charts - Another Step-by-step Tutorial by Veerle This tutorial is made in Adobe Illustrator CS2, however it should be no problem if you use an older version. Select the Pie Chart Tool in the toolbox. If you double click the graph icon in the Toolbox you can set the preferences of the graph. The preferences are available (and will be applied) even after you've created your graph. Draw a square (press shift key while dragging your mouse). Enter your data in the datasheet (labels in the first row and values in the second). The result should look similar to this. Use the Direct Selection Tool (the white pointer / press A) to select only 1 piece of the pie to change its color. Use a different gradient for each slice of the pie and add a 1pt white line. Alter the gradient's direction of each slice 1 by 1. Add a circle with a 4pt border and transparant fill on top of the pie (pure to add an extra nice touch). Instead of using the dropshadow effect I've decided to draw another circle below the pie to create the soft shadow. That's it!
Creating graphs Every now and then you may come into the situation that you have to present some sort of statistical data to your client. Of course you may use Excel’s graph tool to easily create a bunch of charts — but let’s face it, more or less all of those predefined designs suck. So you have to look for another option. This tutorial will show you how to create visually appealing charts using Adobe Illustrator’s graph tool. In a first step open Illustrator and create a new document. With the pie graph tool selected click somewhere on your working area. By default Illustrator displays the different slices in shades of grey. If you prefer flat graphs then you’re basically finished. Afterwards your graph should look similar to the one on the screenshot on the left. Basically we are finished.
How to Create a Color Font in a Few Simple Steps Hi everyone! Today I’m going to share with you my first (and most enjoyable!) experience using Fontself’s new Illustrator extension for making your own… wait for it… COLOR FONTS! I’m sure you are saying "Wait, what? What the heck is a color font?" Me: “OK, I’ve GOT to try this new level of awesomeness out.” As a designer, you can imagine how exciting the prospect is, so of course I dived in head first and found this extension to be quite astounding: So excitedly I got stuck in, and within a couple of hours, I had made my very first color font — which by the way you can download for only $2 at the end of this post. Today I’d like to share with you how easy and simple I found it to make color fonts using this new tool. Getting started First off: the Fontself extension loads up into Illustrator in a jiffy and, when you open it up (via Window → Extensions), a neat little window pops up. Pin It Getting stuck in Adjusting kerning Fantastically enough, Fontself supports kerning pairs! Kerning?