Thanks to all who came to the chat last night! We talked about my new Ink & Paint Adobe Illustrator class and even had a helpful discussion about ergonomics! Everone had great suggestions on how they deal with long hours at the computer.
For some it was taking breaks, practicing yoga, and there was even a participant who uses a tabletop easel with their Wacom tablet. I swear by my keyboard platform. It allows me to keep my tablet and keyboard low, so it hovers above my lap. A common complaint was that desks are too high, and chairs are hard to fit if you aren't very tall, (I'm 5' 4") so the keyboard platform has helped me customize my standard height desk.
The next chat will take place January 18th, and it's open to anyone enrolled (past or presently) in any of my classes. I'll have Illustrator running for the chat, so I'll be able to do some demonstration, and we'll even talk about the repeat pattern from the end of the Ink & Paint class - it's a complex pattern, so it will give us a chance to talk about it in more detail.
I'm switching gears for a couple of days to do some singing gigs for holiday parties and then I'll be back to Illustrator. I'll have a new post coming with a new Illustrator tip for you. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the season!
Last night's chat was great since it's the first interaction I've had with other AI users since I started my online classes. All I can say is wow! Laura is just as nice "in person" as she is informative in her classes! Ink and Paint is gonna be great and I look forward to that extended class on repeating patterns {pretty please} too!
Cheers!
Ellen
Posted by: Ellen | December 15, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Thanks Ellen! I've been thinking about that since the chat - a good idea for a future workshop!
Posted by: coyleart | December 16, 2011 at 10:33 AM
I breezed through the Ink & Paint class today but I'm stuck at the very last {and most important to me} lesson! I can't seem to find the instructions anywhere in Mods 1 or 2 for finding the center of a group! I know it must be easy but either I'm cross-eyed from spending the entire day on this or I'm getting terribly impatient! I haven't started Mod 2 yet so it must be there! Can you please direct me? Thanks so much,Ellen
Posted by: Ellen | December 28, 2011 at 08:03 PM
Got it! Duh! Whew!
Posted by: Ellen | December 28, 2011 at 08:23 PM
Glad you found it! Yes, I breeze through it in Ink and Paint, but the step is there for using the reference point and transform for the x and y on the control bar. Whew! I know the feeling!
You can also use smart guides if you find those helpful. The examples in Illustrator 2 start more slowly to get you into making repeats, so hang in there, the one in Ink & Paint is more intricate.
Posted by: coyleart | December 28, 2011 at 08:54 PM
Is this chat still available in an archive on reneepearson.com? I missed this one for some reason I can't remember. :-)
Posted by: Jacqueline | January 26, 2012 at 05:49 PM
Hi Jaqueline!
Yes, you can find the chat on the Ink & Paint class description page - an orange link that says "watch" on "The Details" tab. Here's the page: http://www.reneepearson.com/classes/inkpaint.php
Posted by: coyleart | January 30, 2012 at 10:35 AM