Cleverly using AI to solve shadow, border, and position problems in wine box design, super practical!
Adobe Illustrator (hereinafter referred to as "AI") is an industrial standard vector illustration software applied to publishing, multimedia, and online images. As a very good vector graphics processing tool, the software is widely used in the design and production of printed materials such as advertising flyers and brochures. However, there may be some problems when using it, which can be solved with the help of another function. In this article, the author will provide examples of the actual situations in the design and production of three wine boxes.
Image shadow issue
When designing and producing a certain wine box, it is necessary to design a black shadow at the bottom right of the picture in order to achieve a three-dimensional effect, highlight the product features, and create a certain visual impact. At this point, shadow effects can be created in AI or PS, but PS production can be cumbersome, so AI is generally used.
First, select the target object, then choose Effects → Stylish → Projection from the menu, and enter relevant data based on the pop-up window to create a black shadow effect in the lower right corner. In batch printing, it is usually necessary to assemble two wine boxes in one large plate to save paper and printing processes. When assembling two wine boxes, rotate the other box 180 degrees, and the shadow in the first picture will appear as the lower right corner, while the black shadow in the 180 degree rotated picture does not rotate with the rotation angle. When encountering this situation, after creating the correct black shadow, select the shadow and click on menu ->object ->expand appearance. This way, when assembling, if another image needs to be rotated 180 ° or any angle, the direction of the shadow will change according to the desired angle (as shown in Figure 1).
Image border issue
When designing and making a wine box, it is necessary to design a framed image on the front of the box. First, draw a box in AI, fill in the thickness of the box border, and then place the image inside the box. This way, the effect of a framed image is achieved.
However, in the typesetting process, the front image needs to be highlighted and the image size ratio needs to be adjusted according to visual aesthetics. Therefore, when the same framed image is used as a side image on the wine box, it needs to be smaller than the front image. Since the front and side images are the same, the front image will be directly scaled down proportionally and placed on the side. However, after scaling proportionally, it will be found that the border of the box has not changed thickness according to the proportion. The solution is to first select the border, then choose Effects → Object → Path → Contour Drawing from the menu, so that the thickness of the border becomes a vector shape. When proportionally reducing the side image, the border will change thickness according to the reduction ratio (as shown in Figure 2).
Pattern position issue
When designing and making a wine box, it is not only necessary for each display surface to have a beautiful effect and appropriate proportion, but also to highlight the product characteristics and achieve a dazzling effect. Therefore, other finishing techniques need to be applied to the surface of the wine box, with different process effects on each surface, such as a patterned screen printed crystal glue effect on the front and a full screen printed snowflake effect on the side. When making screen printing patterns in AI, converting the patterns into vector graphics can result in a large amount of memory for the entire file. Converting the bitmap to PS also requires a certain level of accuracy, and then inserting it into AI will still result in a large amount of memory. Therefore, when making regular patterns, the pattern editing function in AI will be used.
Firstly, create a vector pattern with a size determined by the desired dimensions, taking care to align it with the surrounding movement. Then select the pattern, choose Object → Pattern → Edit Pattern from the menu, enter the corresponding size in the pop-up dialog box, or visually adjust the spacing according to the desired effect. After meeting the requirements, click Confirm. After the sample pattern is made, it can be found in the color palette and directly filled into the frame of the front layout. But when filling two front patterns, it will be found that the positions of the two patterns are different. At this time, it is necessary to use one pattern as a reference and translate the relative distance to make the positions of the two patterns consistent.
First, select the pattern, choose Object → Transform → Move Tool from the menu, enter the data in the pop-up dialog box, and click Copy and Confirm. At this point, you will find that the position of the copied pattern is still different. The solution is to select the pattern, then choose Object → Transform → Move Tool from the menu, enter the data in the pop-up dialog box, check the Transform Object and Transform Pattern, and click Copy and Confirm again. The position of the copied pattern will be consistent (as shown in Figure 3).
Figure 3: Incorrect Copy Effect (Top) and Correct Copy Effect (Bottom)