These past two weeks I have found that my depression had somehow gotten worse–but after fall break it has been doing a lot better. In my classes I didn’t put in as much effort as I should have due to my depressed state of mind. When you’re unable to get out of bed, doing homework becomes more like a mountain to climb rather than a simple task. I have been talking to my doctor, and she has been supportive. I’m hoping this is more of a seasonal depression and that it’ll only be temporary. Otherwise, my past few weeks have been pretty good. I am currently working hard to keep my grades within the A to B range, which so far I am succeeding.
The specific session I had decided to watch was titled “Tips, Tricks and Secrets Every Illustrator User Should Know.” The speaker of the session was Callum McHugh, a graphic designer and educator. I decided to watch this specific session because I have found myself falling in love with vector art, and the illustrator program.In the beginning of the year I was dreading trying to learn Illustrator, but I found myself loving to play with the different types of pens. To learn more about the program to help me better understand it seemed like a given.
Below is the link to the session: https://www.adobe.com/max/2023/sessions/na-tips-tricks-and-secrets-every-illustrator-user-vs301.html
Callum describes his teaching style as snappy and fast-paced–which I do find beneficial for my teaching style. The first section is about typography. He shares that oftentimes when you want to copy text into another section, it won’t change the formatting. However,if you paste in the text using CTRL+B+Alt, then it will key to the format of the other text. He describes it as a life saver, and I couldn’t agree more. Changing text in Adobe Illustrator can be a bit of a nightmare, so the ability to do this can save a lot of time.
Another tip that Callum described dealt with the use of the Smooth Tool. He admitted to having rather shaky hands when it comes to drawing, and he had found this tool to be a life saver when it comes to needing objections to have smoother sides. All you have to do is ‘rub’ the tool against the object, and it will eventually smooth out the shape. I think this is incredibly important to know that a tool like this exists–as it can help artists save time when fixing their vector images. This tool isn’t on your normal toolbar as well, so you will actively have to search for it within the program in order to receive it’s benefits.
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