Filter vs. Effect
Among Illustrator 9’s new usability enhancements is the addition of an “Effect” menu just right of the familiar and useful “Filter” menu from previous versions. A glance at each reveals a large similarity in options.
The strikingly similar Filter and Effect menus in Illustrator 9
Why the need for two menus that seem to offer much of the same functionality? The big difference is re-editability. The commands available under the Effect menu do not change the substance of the target object; that is, the object looks different, but it isn’t. Think of the gel metaphor, only instead of different colors, we can use all the power offered by Photoshop‘s filters (and more) on our objects. In contrast, the Filter menu works just as it does in Photoshop: When you apply it, your object is permanently altered (save for the well-timed Undo command, which is only good until you close the file).
Possibly most noteworthy among the Effects is the ability to generate and tweak text outlines without sacrificing the editability of the original text. When getting to know this feature and all its implications, you may feel something like a child first grasping the concept of a door: Many of us grew up with the understanding that converting text to outlines was the Final Step — the closing of a door — and once done, editing was impossible. Nobody asked why, it just was. With the Effect menu, however, Adobe shows us that we’re free to walk through the doorway when we like. Effects are also managed through the Appearance palette.
Enough talk, then: Let’s make a dynamic button:
- Bring up the Appearance palette again if it’s hiding from you. If you’re starting directly from the first exercise be sure to clear out your Appearance settings by clicking on the Clear Appearance button — a circle with a slash through it located at the bottom of the Appearance palette. Then set the basic fill to black in the Tools window.
- Create a simple line of text comprising a word or two. In the Appearance palette first select the Fill attribute and apply a rich color. Then select the Text attribute and assign it a color to complement the fill. It’s important to assign the Appearance attributes in this order or your text color will reset after you perform the next step.
Although it may seem odd, a Type Object can have separate color for both the text and fill attributes. - Select the Fill attribute and choose Effect > Convert to Shape > Rounded Rectangle… from the main menu. Within the dialog box choose Relative, give yourself about 12 pt of extra width and height and an 8-pt corner radius. Click OK. The effect should show as part of the Fill attribute, which now has a collapsible arrow.
The rounded fill is defined as one of the Appearance attributes.
There you have it. The text now has a dynamic box applied to it. To see the effect in action change your text to word of a different length. The box automatically grows or shrinks in relation to the text. No need to go back and manually adjust your artwork anymore.
The outside box stretches automatically to accommodate however much text you enter.
Now suppose you (or, unlikely as it may seem, your client) decides that the rounded corners just aren’t rounded enough. Rest easy, young Illustrator, because herein lies the true power of the live Effect. Just double-click on the Rounded Rectangle effect name in the Appearance palette and the dialog pops up, ready for new settings. For a more rounded button, we’ll enter 24 pt as the corner radius. Try adding a Gaussian Blur effect to the object as well (Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur…).
Live bitmap-type effects in Illustrator … believe it. And the text is remains editable. You can also create soft shadows and feather-edges.
If you experiment with reordering your layers, you’ll notice how including the effect within the Fill attribute just blurs the fill object but having it live on the top level of the object blurs everything — even the text. But the door to text editing remains wide open.
Here I moved the Gaussian Blur effect within the Fill attribute. Now the text is crisp while the outside shape remains blurred. This is the level of control the Appearance palette provides.
Effects take the idea of creative freedom over the top. No more having to commit to a filter you’ve applied and living with it. No more having to recreate text from scratch just to incorporate a minor change. Effects allow designers to take creative freedom to a new level. Effects can be applied, edited, and layered just as easy as fills and strokes within the Appearance palette.
And fortunately Adobe didn’t even stop there. All these these features are wrapped together neatly with an easy method of saving your combination of fills, strokes, effects, etc. — with the ability to apply them to other objects with the click of a button.
Styles to Go
The power of Illustrator’s Styles palette should be easy to see for anyone using other Adobe software, such as Photoshop or LiveMotion. Just as painters might have a crib sheet that details their often used paint mixes, the Styles palette allows you to save appearance attributes and then apply the set to other objects, groups, or layers at any time. A style can be made up of any combination of color, fill, pattern, stroke, transparency, blend mode, effect, or transformation. More than one instance of each attribute can be used in a style, meaning you could create a style that included three fills, two strokes, and a handful of effects. And remember: Styles applied to type objects do not change the underlying text characteristics.
The Styles palette is an easy-access storage area for the complex Appearance combinations you create.
- To save a style as a set, select an object that includes your Appearance attributes and click the New Style button located on the bottom of the Styles palette (Window > Show Styles).
- To apply a saved style, select any object, group, or layer and click on the style swatch or name of the desired style in the Styles palette. Alternatively, you can drag-drop the style onto the object.
Go Out and Play
Whether you use a single aspect of Appearance palette or find yourself creating and managing several Appearance attributes at once, the often-overlooked Appearance palette is certainly worth the time to get acquainted with.
This article was last modified on July 20, 2021
This article was first published on July 25, 2001
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