The new Artboard features in Illustrator CS4 have been long awaited by some, but there is plenty here to assist every Illustrator user. New options include the ability to create a document with up to 100 separate artboards. They can be of differing size and orientation. Each artboard can be exported to its own file. Also, the new artboard tool has more options for organizing your workspace in Illustrator CS4.

Illustrator CS4 introduces the new Blob Brush tool to users. Instead of a regular brush stroke, painting with the blog brush gives you a filled, compound path. Any new shape painted with the same color and stroke will automatically merge with existing shapes with the same settings. The new tool will pick up style attributes from other objects and has numerous other options to explore and play around with.

Create and edit complex gradients with the new Gradient tool in Illustrator CS4, which has undergone a complete makeover. There’s a new reverse gradient button, and gradient widgets that allow users to edit applied gradients visually. There are also new transparency options. Cheryl Graham explores these new features and takes viewers through a quick design project, creating the ringed planet of Saturn.

There are some great new enhancements to the Appearance panel in Illustrator CS4 that will consolidate your workflow and save users a lot of time. For instance, it’s now possible to make color and stroke adjustments right in the appearance panel, as well as add new fills, strokes, and effects. The new graphic styles panel has new abilities for combining and previewing effects.

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First, select a photograph. A figure shot on a flat white background is ideal, but one with fairly good contrast should work fine. Keep in mind how the figure will look in silhouette. Profiles work well. Try to avoid something with weird angles or extreme foreshortening.

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In Photoshop, examine the three channels. Look for something with a good amount of contrast, in which the darks of the figure stand out from the background. For this photo, I’ve chosen the green channel.

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Duplicate the channel by dragging its thumbnail to the new channel icon in Photoshop’s Channels palette.

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Adjust the Levels (Image>Adjust>Levels) on the new, duplicated channel to make the image contrast even more.

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Now, using the Dodge tool, set it to affect only the Highlights, and begin dodging the lighter areas.Do the same with the Burn tool, using it to burn the shadows.

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You may have to paint some of the areas that won’t burn or dodge completely. Here, I’ve filled in the arm with black, then I’ll continue dodging the background.Once you’ve isolated the black silhouetted shape, fill the other outside areas with white.

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7Select>All, copy and paste into a new layer. You can now flatten the image and save it as a TIFF, or simply save the PSD with the silhouette layer visible. Illustrator can accept most raster file formats as placed images.

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Go to Illustrator. Choose File>Place and place your newly-saved file. Select it by clicking on it with the black arrow, aka Selection tool, then go to Object>Live Trace>Tracing Options.

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In the Tracing Options dialog, click the Preview button. The mode should already be set to Black and White. In the Trace Settings pane, decrease the Path Fitting and the Minimum Area (see Step 8). These settings determine how closely Live Trace will follow the contours of the image. As you change the settings, you will see the trace change before your eyes. This is the “Live” part.TIP: In the bottom pane of the Tracing Options dialog, you can choose how you want to preview the trace on screen. This does not affect the paths, it is only a preview. It may be helpful to see this preview because what you want is a smooth line with a fair amount of detail. Too many points and it will look jaggy, too few and it will look weird.Once it looks the way you want it, click Trace. At this point, you can still reopen the Tracing Options and make changes – the trace is still “live.” When you are satisfied with the look of the trace, go to Object>Live Trace>Expand. This will convert the trace into vector paths. NOTE: I cannot stress enough the importance of tweaking the settings in the Tracing Options dialog and getting a good trace to work with. It will save you a lot of time in the long run.

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Using the Magic Wand (Y), click the white, negative shape. This will select all of the white shapes. Hit delete. Now you’re just left with the black silhouette.

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Clean up the paths by deleting excess points (use the Delete Anchor Point tool) and smoothing out others (the Smooth tool lives under the Pencil tool and its settings can be adjusted by double-clicking on it). For example:A. Even thought this pooch was in the photo, it looks weird in the silhouette. Get rid of it.B. Too many points hereC. Smooth hereD. Must do something about this foot!TIP: Once you’ve determined the best settings for your trace, you can save it as a preset (click the button in the Tracing Options box). Then if you’re doing a whole batch of similar tracings, you can just pull down to your saved settings rather than going through it all over againTIP: Add a shadow or other element for context and dimension.