"Change is not made without inconvenience, even worse to better."Richard Hooker (1554-1600), British theologian.
I started drawing wtih Adobe Illustrator 6 back in 1996. Since then, I have adjusted to 7, 8, 9, 10, CS1, CS2, and this spring I will try my hand at CS3. Some version changes have been wildly exciting, while others have been mildly annoying. For instance, somewhere between versions 9 and CS2 the Styles palette was renamed the Graphic Styles palette. I know that sound inconsequential, but to this day, it takes me an extra 4 or 5 seconds to find graphic styles in the Windows menu, because I am looking alphabetically between Stroke and Swatches instead of between Gradient and Info. This is not the only naming convention that has thrown me off my game. I still struggle with opening files in the Bridge instead of in the Browser. I sometimes suspect some changes are designed specifically to make me feel old and addlepated.
Some of the finer changes that I have seen over the years include upgrades in the paintbrush and reshape tools (Illustrator 7), Smart Guides (8), Appearance Palette (9), Symbols Palette and tools (10), the ever spectacular 3d (CS) and Live Trace capabilities (CS2). These and other changes have made the suffering that comes with change worthwhile.
So what improvements are we going to see with the advent of CS3 in my classroom? Well, for one, the palettes have been "enhanced." In fact, they have been so enhanced that they are no longer even called palettes. Suddenly, the word palette seems to have become passe and the new, improved name will be panel. It will take me a year to purge the word "palette" out of all my lesson plans, worksheets, PowerPoint slides and projects and then another five years to remember to say "panel" instead of "palette." Of course by then, they will probably have renamed them goober boxes.
The new panels are more flexible and easier to tuck out of the way. Palettes have a tendency to mess up a screen. In a good drawing frenzy you can end up with so many palettes showing that you can't see the drawing board. The best solution for this is two monitors side by side. This is a sweet solution. You can keep all the palettes over on one monitor and work on the other. Sadly, this isn't a practical solution for everyone. When I get frustrated with all the open palettes, I often hit the Shift/Tab, which temporarily hides them, or I choose Window>Workspace>Default. This is like having Mary Poppins clean your room--palettes are magically returned to their proper places spit-spot and painlessly.
The Control panel has been enhanced to give you some anchor selecton control and direct access to other options such as Envelop Distortion. You can also change the size and shape of anchor points. This will be a great advantage for those folks who stubbornly refuse to zoom in on objects.
The opening screen offers new workflow types (create new: print document,Web document, Mobile and Devices Document, etc.) I usually check the little box on this screen that reads "Don't show again," so this innovation is not going to rock my world.
I think I am most excited about the new interactive Eraser tool. Anything that makes it easier to take back my mistakes is a real winner in my book. Ther eraser erases any vector objects but won't inadvertently erase anything outside of a selection.
Other improvements include:
- An Interactive Crop Tool. This was a long time in coming.
- Live Color. This will call for a total overhaul of my current color lessons, but it looks intriguing.
- Symbol. The workflow in the Symbols PANEL (as opposed to palette) will now operate more like the one in Flash.
- Enhancements aimed at improving integration with other Adobe programs. (support for digital video workflows, dynamic and input text.)
Am I excited to start working with CS3? Not really. The older I get, the less patient I am with change. But, I am hopeful that a year from now I will wonder how I ever put up with that "Dinosaur" CS2 and will have all but forgotten those painful months of transition. Fortunately, age destroys memory at about the same rate as it does patience.
A few reviews on CS3
Note: I used Live Trace on Newt and applied the Swatch palette "forest" onto the image. Newt recently experienced a change. He moved from Missouri to Chicago, Illinois. We still keep in touch and he is greatly missed (Except by the other two cats.)
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