Adobe® Illustrator® CS4: Level 2
Course Specifications
Course number: 084049
Software: Adobe® Illustrator® CS4
Course length: 1.0 day(s)
Course Description
You probably used Adobe Illustrator to create simple illustrations and logos. However, you may need to create complex illustrations, print documents without any errors or color mismatches, or prepare illustrations for the web. In this course, you will create complex, robust illustrations that go beyond those you could create using Illustrator's basic tools. 
Course Objective: You will create complex illustrations, manage color across a range of devices, work with graphs and variables, control how illustrations appear on print and the web, and preview them on mobile devices.

Target Student: This course is intended for designers, publishers, prepress professionals, marketing communications professionals, or people switching to a design job or taking on design responsibilities, who need to use Illustrator to create illustrations, logos, advertisements, or other graphic documents. They will have some previous experience with Illustrator.

Prerequisites: Before taking this course, you should complete the Adobe® Illustrator® CS4: Level 2 Element K course, or have equivalent knowledge.

Delivery Method: Instructor led, group-paced, classroom-delivery learning model with structured hands-on activities.
Hardware Requirements
•Intel® Pentium® 4, Intel® Centrino®, Intel® Xeon®, or Intel® Core™ Duo (or compatible) processor 
•1.8 GB of hard-disk space to install software, and an additional 500 MB of RAM to run the course. Color monitor with 16-bit or greater video card; 24-bit color recommended 
•1024 x 768 monitor resolution 
•Display system to project the instructor's computer screen 
•Internet connection with Internet Explorer version 3.0 or later, or Netscape Navigator version 3.0 or later 
•CD-ROM drive 
•Printer (optional) or an installed printer driver 
Platform Requirements
•Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 
Software Requirements
•Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 
•Adobe® Illustrator® CS4 
•Adobe® Flash® Player 
•Adobe® Reader® 8.0 
•Adobe® SVG Viewer 
•Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 
Performance-Based Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 
•create complex illustrations. 
•enhance complex illustrations. 
•create a vector version of a raster graphic. 
•create special effects. 
•work with graphs. 
•work with variables. 
•prepare documents for composite and commercial printing. 
•export graphics for the web and mobile devices. 
Course Content
Lesson 1: Creating Complex Illustrations
Topic 1A: Create a Custom Shape Using Simple Shapes 
Topic 1B: Create Compound Paths 
Topic 1C: Offset Paths 
Topic 1D: Erase Shapes
Lesson 2: Enhancing Complex Illustrations
Topic 2A: Create Symbols 
Topic 2B: Organize Objects with Layers 
Topic 2C: Create a Pattern Swatch 
Topic 2D: Create a Mesh 
Topic 2E: Create Custom Brushes 
Topic 2F: Apply Color Using Live Paint 
Topic 2G: Recolor Artwork
Lesson 3: Creating a Vector Version of a Raster Graphic
Topic 3A: Trace Artwork Automatically 
Topic 3B: Adjust the Results of Tracing 
Topic 3C: Create a Custom Preset 
Topic 3D: Convert a Traced Object to Paths
Lesson 4: Creating Special Effects
Topic 4A: Apply Effects 
Topic 4B: Create Masks 
Topic 4C: Simplify Paths 
Topic 4D: Create Blends 
Topic 4E: Share Graphic Styles 
Topic 4F: Create 3-D Effects
Lesson 5: Working with Graphs
Topic 5A: Create a Graph 
Topic 5B: Format a Graph
Lesson 6: Working with Variables
Topic 6A: Create Variables 
Topic 6B: Create Data Sets
Lesson 7: Outputting Documents
Topic 7A: Create an Artboard 
Topic 7B: Set Up Color Management 
Topic 7C: Preview an Overprint 
Topic 7D: Apply Spot Colors 
Topic 7E: Print a Composite Proof 
Topic 7F: Create Color Separations 
Topic 7G: Create an Adobe PDF File
Lesson 8: Exporting Graphics for the Web and Mobile Devices
Topic 8A: Convert Colors to Web-Safe Colors 
Topic 8B: Work with Actions 
Topic 8C: Export a File as an SWF File 
Topic 8D: Create Slices 
Topic 8E: Add Interactivity to an SVG File 
Topic 8F: Preview an Illustration for Mobile Devices
Appendix A: New Features in Adobe Illustrator CS4
Appendix B: Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Objectives Mapping