I was designing icons for an eLearning project and had to
build a button with different states. I
had started all in Adobe Illustrator, lately my program of choice, and thought
about using layers to build each state in, but what a hassle having to switch
to each layer screen to work. Then it struck me, why not use Artboards for each
state. I can line up all the
Artboards in one window and go from one
button to the next without having to make extra clicks and I can duplicate
Artboards for altered states. Then I
started thinking of so many uses for Artboards; multipage website layouts, two
sides print brochures, and even something text heavy like a newsletter.
By default Illustrator opens with one Artboard, but there
are two places additional Artboards can be added.
When you launch any new document there is a set-up panel
that can be edited with the number of Artboards you wish to add, among other
things.
Or you could already have the document open and want to add
Artboards. In that case click on Windows
from the main navigation at the top and click on Artboards from dropdown. This will add an icon to the control palette
on the right. Click the icon to open the
window, and clicking the little paper icon at the bottom will add an Artboard.
Maybe you need to resize an artboard, or have them all
different sizes, no problem. Click the
Artboard Tool from the tool palette on the left. Notice how one of the Artboards now has little
handles on it. Just click and drag to
the size you desire.
With the Artboard Tool still selected click on the other
artboard to select it and edit as desired.
You can even click on either Artboard and drag it to a different place
in the window.
One of many features that I use is setting the rulers to
Global or Individual. What that means is I can have a ruler for each Artboard
or a ruler that spans all of the Artboards. This is a big help with laying out
a multipage document. You can also flow
copy across all of your artboard pages or whichever ones you wish.
Try using Artboards for your next project!
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