Page 37 - CC2017_AI_Look_Inside

mAnAge multiPle lAyers
When you create artwork in Illustrator, you almost always end up with more than
one object on the artboard. In many cases, a completed file has dozens or hundreds
of objects, arranged in specific order on top of one another. As files become more and
more complex, it can be difficult to find and work with exactly the pieces you need.
Illustrator layers are one of the most powerful tools available for solving this problem.

1. In the open icons.ai file, open the Layers panel.
By default, all files have a single layer, named Layer 1.

When you place an object as a template, it’s added to the file on a separate, non-printing
layer that is partially grayed, making it easier to work with. Your file has four additional Note:
layers — the template layers — below Layer 1. Template layers are locked by default, If you don’t see all four
which means you can’t select or modify objects on those layers.
locked template layers,
Click in this column to you forgot to check the
show or hide a layer. Double-click the layer Template option when
thumbnail to open the you placed one of the
Click in this column to Layer Options dialog box. images. You can select
lock or unlock a layer.
and delete the placed
file from the artboard,
2. In the Layers panel, click the Layer 1 name and drag it below all four then replace the necessary
template layers in the stack. image as a template.
The top-to-bottom position of objects
or layers is called the stacking order. Click and drag a
Objects and layers typically appear in the layer to move it in Note:
the stacking order.
stack based on the order in which they For a template layer, the
are created — the first-created is at the Visibility icon is a small
bottom, the last-created is at the top, and so on in between.
square instead of an eye.
Placed template objects are the exception; these layers are placed below the currently
selected layer (i.e., lower in the stacking order). In this case, the rectangle shapes are
filled with a color, which obscures the template images on the underlying layers. To
see the template images, you need to move the template object layers above the layer
containing the background shapes. Rather than moving four layers above Layer 1, you
can save a few clicks by moving Layer 1 below all of the template layers.

3. In the Layers panel, click the Lock icon for the Template picnic.jpg layer.
Because you need to move the placed template object into the correct position, you first
need to unlock the layer where that object resides.

Click here to
unlock the
template layer.

Project 1: Campground Icons 49