Paths can have two types of anchor points: smooth points or corner points. An open path has open-ended endpoints, such as a line, while a closed path has connected endpoints, such as a circle. An anchor point is a bending point to modify the line segment. The start and end points for a segment is called an anchor point. A path is made up of one or more curved or straight lines, known as segments. When you draw an object, you create one or more lines called a path. This process, called interpolation, is what causes enlarged raster images to become blurred, or pixelated. The reason raster images are considered resolution-dependent is that once the image is created or scanned, any enlargement of the image forces Illustrator to enlarge and average the existing color information in the document. Raster graphics, such as bitmaps and photographs, are images creating using individual pixels that identify one piece of color information. For example, if you enlarge a vector image to 100 times its original size, Illustrator merely changes the mathematical formulas to reflect the new size, and since vector shapes are constructed of mathematical data instead of pixels, file sizes are extremely small. Vector graphics are created using mathematical shapes, not pixels, and that’s why vector shapes are considered resolution-independent. Illustrator is an application that gives you great control over vector graphics, which include vector shapes and vector objects. The transformation tools allow you to rotate, scale (resize), reflect (mirror image), or shear (slant) an object. For example, you can select objects whose attributes (including Appearance, Blending Modes, Fill & Stroke, Opacity, and Stroke Color) are similar to the current or last selection.Īfter you select one or more objects, you can move, align, group, and transform them. The Select menu provides a variety of powerful selection commands for you to use in a document or artboard. In addition to these tools, you can also use the Select menu. The Selection tool allows you to select entire objects, while the Direct Selection tool allows you to select paths and segments. The two main selection tools are the Selection tool and the Direct Selection tool. After you draw an object, you can use Illustrator selection tools to modify it. Illustrator provides drawing tools on the Tools panel that you can use to create a variety of shapes, including rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars, flares, lines, arcs, spirals, rectangle grids, and polar (circular) grids. The start and end points for a line segment is known as an anchor point, which you can drag to change and move. A path is made up of one or more curved or straight line segments. When you draw a vector object, you create one or more lines called a path. Rotate, Scale, Reflect, or Shear ObjectsĪdobe Illustrator is an application that that provides tools you can use to work with vector graphics, which include vector shapes and vector objects.