Expert: Amy - 9/8/2006

Question
Never mind. I got them working. I have to keep going to rasturize and hit ok with each object, but the filters work. I could not have done it with out you. Thanks again.
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
Ok, remember at the beginning of this process, I said I was a computer dummie, right? I have been search all over my computer(control panel,my computer,etc) and can not find AIPrefs. Where would I locate this, and, when you say throw it away, do you mean delete it. If so, will that effect any other programs on my computer? Sorry to be taking up so much of your time.
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
Thanks again. I will most likely stay within the gamet. Still not sure on one part though. In your origanal advise, you said to be in RGB mode and mentioned later, to make sure to stay their. So, do it I stay in RGB and convert to CMYK at a later end process for printing, or follow all the steps you origanally gave me, only stay in CMYK mode. Thanks for all your help and understanding.
Amy from Allexperts rocks!
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
Thanks for the fast responce Amy! I will give it a try. One question though. I am doing an illustration for printing purposes for a book. I thought that you were only supposed to use CMYK colors for optimal printing. Won't changing the color mode change the quality of the print? Also, doesn't using CMYK colors and then trying to save and print the file in RGB change the actual colors(what was a lime green might end up a different shade when saved and printed)? This would be a major issue, as I am essentially painting using the program. Color is everything. Thanks again.
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
I am an artist who is a computer dummie. I have been farting around with my Illustrator 8.0 (PC) for about a year now, and can do detailed drawings and basic colouring.

The only thing I am lacking is blending tools and and textured brushes that are found in corel photoshop(which I have and can't stand to use).

My question. I can only use the top have of the tools under FILTER. The bottom half, the ones I need to do more detailed artwork, can not be selected(pale text). I have tried using a illustrator book I have, the internet, and the help button...nothing.

I tried going to preferences/plug-ins and scratch disc. I select the folder that says filters. I hit ok, get out of the program as it states(for the changes to be made)...and yet, still I can't get those darn tools.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer -
Hi Mike,

I'll see if I can help here.  

First of all, please Quit Illustrator, locate the AIPrefs file on your computer and throw it away. Then restart Illustrator and the file will be re-created. Very often, when effects are grayed out, it's due to corruption of the prefs file.

Next, you have to be working in File > Document Color Mode > RGB mode (versus CMYK).

Next, go to Effects > Rasterize > Raster Effects Settings and choose your resolution for your effects. If you have a good system with enough memory to run your program efficiently, you can pick "High/300dpi" or set it even higher in custom. This will determine how fine the raster effects are. Trust me, 72dpi will look chunky and silly.

Now, and this is key, some filters cannot be used on some types of objects. You have to use the same plug-in as an effect... accessed via the next menu item to the right - "effect."

Create your object (it can be filled/stroked with grayscale, rgb or cmyk colors but your document color mode must remain RGB) and go to the effect menu.  Your artistic plug-ins should now be available.

If you go to Window > Show Appearance you'll be able to use the Appearance menu to manage the effects applied to your objects...  change the effect settings, delete them, etc.

If you enjoy playing with effects, you should really give PhotoShop another chance. It can be a ton of fun. Like you, I do most of my work in Illustrator but I love retouching photos and playing with them in PhotoShop.

Cheers
Amy Pace

Answer -
Hi Mike,

Yes, you need to be in CMYK color space for your print job and RGB colors would shift. Really bright Lime green cannot be reproduced in CMYK - it is one color that is "out of gamut." This has to do with the physical properties of process inks, it's a a subtractive color model while RGB is additive.

When using effects and designing for print, you've either got to add a fifth ink (lime green spot color $$$$) or stay within the gamut when picking your colors during object creation.

When choosing colors in the color palette (F6) in the RGB mode, you will see a little yellow exclamation point when you choose colors that are out of gamut for CMYK printing. Stick with colors that don't give you this warning and your document will be print-safe, albeit duller.

I'm sad to say that you simply can't reproduce those colors with process inks. Designers just deal with it. If you have a Pantone process guide, you can use it to choose colors which are complimentary to your design, possibly close to the color you want, and still printable.

Hope this helps a little!

Amy


Answer -
Yes - that's exactly correct. Work in RGB then convert to CMYK.

You will also have to flatten all your effects before going to print.

You'll want to read this:
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGkkaJQwBFmWIAcO9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2bmZrODdzBGNvbG8D

It's a guide to flattening effects (Adobe calls it transparency) before sending files to a printer. Basically, it turns everything from a vector based object to a raster based artwork object - effects and all. See, RIPing software can't handle these effects when outputting films so anything using effects has to be turned into a drawing.

If you are developing complex illustrations - pictures, photographic stuff, painterly drawings, you may just want to save your document as AI and then open it in PhotoShop at, say, 250 dpi and save it as a TIFF file or EPS file there, thus flattening it/rasterizing it.

If you are working with more graphical items or letter forms, this is not the best option, although still do-able... why? Because text is best left in vector form for max resolution/crispness. Once you open it in PhotoShop, it will be rasterized.

If you need more help with this once you are done, just whistle.

-Amy



Answer -
Hey Dummie!  =) seriously, no problem.

Removing the AIprefs file will affect nothing but Illustrator. Guaranteed. It's the first thing you want to do when Illustrator stars behaving badly.

What is saved in this preferences file boils down to where the menus are located on the screen the last time you quit Illustrator and any preferences you have chosen in Edit>Preferences... like your preferred units of measurement (mm, inches) and stuff like that.

Is this step necessary? Well, when I first started talking with you, I had to delete my prefs because the effects were grayed out on my app. It seems to happen a lot in my version of AI (9).

This file is called AIPrefs with no extension.
Here's the path to where mine is and I run Windows XP.
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 9.0.1\AIPrefs

Yours will be in a similar path... tho you'll be dealing with Adobe CS2, so keep that in mind. Hey, if you are scared, just move it to your desktop. Remember you have to do this while you are not running Illustrator.

If you still can't find it, try doing a file search on your machine. Start Menu > Search (magnifying glass) > All files and folders. Type AIprefs in the field and search on the C drive.

Amy

Answer
Wow.  You shouldn't have to do that. That would bug me.

This may be a difference between Adobe Illustrator 9 and CS2. They may have added some feature or option I don't know about. So I am going to recommend that you write to one of the other guys - they are both geniuses - and ask them specifically what it takes not to have to choose rasterization settings every time you want to use an effect on an object.

But I'm glad you got it to work.

-Amy