Lesson 1

Norris School District, Art

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Bitmap Trace

In this lesson you will:

	Use and Understand how the Pen tool, anchor points, and Bézier curves (Handlebars)
	Use and Understand the Selection Tool, Direct Selection Tool, and the Convert Tool
	Use and Understand the Color Picker (Swap Fill / Stroke, None button)
	Draw basic shapes and control their size and location
	Navigate within your document (Move, Zoom In, Zoom Out--spacebar, ctrl+spacebar, ctrl+alt+spacebar)
	Group object (ctrl+G)

Tools you will use:

	Pen Tool (P)
	Selection Tool (V)
	Direct Selection Tool (A)
	Convert Tool (Shift+C)

Palettes that you will use:

	Tool Box (Pen, Selection, Covert, Color Picker-Swap Fill/Stroke)
	Layers Palette
	Swatches Palette
	Stroke Palette

Files: (Right-click and "Save target as")

	T-trace exercise
	Titan Head

Quick Exercise
Open a new document.

"Place" (File>Place) the "t-trace" file in your new document.
Zoom in and add anchor point to the yellow dots around the edge of the "T"
(This will create a "PATH")
Close the path by selecting the first anchor point (You should see this icon )
Use the Color Picker in the tool box so you have a stroke color but NO fill color (Figure Ai-1.1)
Use the Convert tool to drag Bézier curves (Handlebars) on the anchor points that you just created.
Use the direct selection tool to adjust the location of each end of the "Handlebar." (Figure Ai-1.2)

Figure Ai-1.1 Figure Ai-1.2

From the Adobe Help menu:
Curves are easier to edit and your system can display and print them faster if you draw them using as few anchor points as possible. Using too many points can also introduce unwanted bumps in a curve. Instead, draw widely spaced anchor points, and practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the direction lines.

Open a new document.

"Place" (File>Place) the "Titan Head" file in your new document.
Add anchor point to the tops and bottoms of each curve.
Remember...as few as possible
Close each path by selecting the first anchor point (You should see this icon )
Use the Color Picker in the tool box so you have a stroke color but NO fill color
Use the Convert tool to drag Bézier curves (Handlebars) on the anchor points that you just created.
Use the direct selection tool to adjust the location of each end of the "Handlebar."
Your final drawing should look like this: