Page 35 - CC2017_AI_Look_Inside

imPort temPlAte imAges
Many Illustrator projects require you to start with something that has already been
captured — a sketch, photograph, or low-resolution image (which is the case in this
project). In this exercise you will place existing digital files to use as templates for your
new artwork.
1. With icons.ai open, choose File>Place. Navigate to your WIP>Camping
folder and click picnic.jpg to select that file.

2. At the bottom of the Place dialog box, check the Link and Template options.
When you check the Link option, the placed file does not become a part of the actual
file where you’re working; for the file to output properly, Illustrator must be able to
locate the linked file in the same location (hard drive, flash drive, etc.) as when you
placed it. If the Link option is not checked, the placed file is embedded — it becomes
part of the file where it’s placed; the original external file is not necessary for the artwork
to output properly. We will explore the details of placed files in later projects.

In the case of this project, you are going to delete the template images after you create
the artwork; it doesn’t matter if the images are embedded.

Make sure this
option is checked.

3. Click Place.
When you place an object into Illustrator as a Template, it is automatically centered in
the current document window. In our example, you can see that the placed image is
mostly hidden by the background shapes; you will correct this issue in the next exercise.

The Control panel shows information
about the placed image.

Template images are
automatically placed in
the center of the
document window.

Project 1: Campground Icons 47