Vector Map Tutorial

Getting Started

• A new document
  
  Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new document by left-clicking "File," selecting "New" from the drop-down menu, and clicking "OK" in the New Document dialog box.
  
  

Creating Brushes

• The first line, the Brushes Palette and the New Brush dialog box
  
  Select the "Line" tool from the Tools Palette. Hold down the "Shift" key. Left-click, hold and drag your cursor across your document to draw a straight line. Left-click the black arrow next to "Stroke" and left-click the color "Sunshine." Type "15" into the text box next to the "Stroke" color picker. This will make your line a thick orange-yellow. This line will represent the highways in your map.
  
  Left-click the "Brushes" tab in the Brushes Palette. Left-click your line to select it. Left-click the black arrow in the top right corner of the Brushes Palette and select "New Brush" from the window. The New Brush dialog box will appear. Left-click the radio button beside "New Art Brush." Type "Highway" in the text box. Left-click "OK." The new brush appears in the Brushes Palette.
  
  Repeat these steps to make more brushes to represent main roads, secondary roads and back roads. Remember to reduce the thickness of your lines to correlate with the types of roads they represent. For example, a main road will be a thicker line than a secondary road or back road. When you're done creating your brushes, left-click, hold and drag your cursor across all of your lines and press the "Delete" key to remove them from your document.
  
  

Drawing the Map

• Map box, roads and Brushes Palette
  
  Left-click the "Rectangle" tool in the Tools Palette. Press and hold the "Shift" key. Left-click, hold and drag your cursor to draw a square. This square will contain your map. As you draw your map, refer to an existing map for accuracy.
  
  Left-click the "Pen" tool in the Tools Palette. Work on the roads in order of hierarchy. Find a major highway on your reference map. Draw a line with the "Pen" by left-clicking once outside your map. Left-click for the next anchor point. Create an anchor point for each curve in the road until you run off the other edge of your map. (You'll get rid of the lines outside the map later.) Your line will be a zigzag at first.
  
  Left-click and hold your cursor over the "Pen" tool. Select the "Convert Anchor Point" icon from the menu. Left-click and drag each anchor point to create a curve. Left-click the "Direct Selection" tool on the Tools Palette. Adjust the curves in the line by left-clicking and dragging the direction handles. Add the brush to your line by left-clicking it in the Brushes Palette. You have just created the first road in your map.
  
  The Layers Palette should be visible in your workspace; if you do not see it, left-click "Window" in the top menu and select "Layers" from the drop-down menu. Adobe Illustrator automatically creates Layer 1. Your first road is drawn on this layer. Double-click the name "Layer 1" in the Layers Palatte and type a name for your layer, such as "Highways."
  
  When you are done creating all of the highways in your map, left-click the check box to the left of your layer name in the Layer Palette. A padlock will appear in the check box indicating you have locked this layer. Create a new layer by left-clicking the "Create New Layer" icon on the bottom toolbar of the Layers Palette. Rename this layer "Main Roads" and begin drawing your main roads.
  
  Continue adding lines and applying your brushes to create each road in your map. Create a new layer for each type of road. Don't forget to lock your layers before working on a new one. Arrange your layers in the Layers Palette according to the hierarchy of the road. To move the layers up and down the list, left-click, hold and drag each layer.
  
  

Adding Symbols

• Symbols in place and the Symbols Palette
  
  Adobe Illustrator has some premade symbols that will help you label your map. Left-click the "Symbols" tab in the Brushes Palette. To load the map symbols, left-click the black arrow with the circle around it in the top right corner of the Symbols Palette. Hover your cursor over "Open Symbol Library." Left-click "Maps." Left-click any symbols you find useful to add them to the Symbols Palette.
  
  Create a new layer in the Layers Palette and rename it "Symbols." Remember to lock all of your other layers. Left-click, hold and drag the symbols from the Symbols Palette and place them on your map where needed. Use different symbols to label things like highway exits and highway names. Left-click "Selection" in the Tools Palette. Left-click any symbol to select it for resizing. Anchor points appear around the selected symbol. Press and hold the "Shift" key. Left-click, hold and drag one of the anchor points on the corner to resize the symbol. Once your have created all the symbols you need, lock the Symbols Layer.
  
  

Adding Labels

• Completely labeled map
  
  Create a new layer in the Layers Palette and rename it "Labels." Left-click the "Text" tool in the Tools Palette. Configure your text in the "Text Options" bar above your document. Left-click the black arrow next to the font name and select an appropriate font. This tutorial uses Arial. Left-click the black arrow next to the font size and select an appropriate size.
  
  Type the names to all of the roads, highways and exits that run horizontal on your map. Vary the size of your font, the same way you differentiated the thickness of the lines representing your roads. Rotate your road names where needed to match the angle of your roads. To do this, left-click the "Selection" tool. Left-click the road name you want to work on. Left-click "Rotate" in the Tools Palette. Left-click, hold and drag the road name to tilt it one way or the other to match the angle of the corresponding road. Use this method to label the vertical roads on your map.
  
  

Finishing Your Map

• The Clipping Mask and Layers Palette
  
  Trim the roads that extend past your map by using a Clipping Mask. Left-click "Selection" in the Tools Palette. Left-click the map's rectangular container. Press "Ctrl+C" to copy it. Press "Ctrl+V" to paste the duplicate container in your workspace. Left-click the new container. Hold and drag to place it over the original container. Press "Ctrl+A" to select your entire map. Left-click "Object" in the top menu. Hover your cursor over "Clipping Mask" and select "Create." The extra lengths of road are now contained within your map. Save your map as you would any other file.
  
  

More Tips

• To enlarge your image while you're working, left-click "Zoom" in the Tools Palette and left-click in your workspace until you are comfortable with the magnification. To zoom out, press and hold the "Alt" key and left-click in your workspace. To move around your workspace without zooming in and out each time, left-click the "Hand" tool in the Tools Palette. Left-click, hold and drag using this tool to move around in your workspace.
  
  When creating a map, don't add more routes than are needed. Not every road needs to be pictured to make your map effective and accurate.