Typically,
when working in Adobe Illustrator, artwork is created and edited in Preview
Mode (Control-Y), where full color, gradients, effects, and more are not
only in full view but are repeatedly rendered every time changes or additions
are made. The alternative to Preview Mode is a handy method of viewing
artwork known as Outline Mode (Control-Y), previously called Artwork
Mode. It’s essentially a path-only, wire frame view of vector work.
It can
look like a crazy jumbled mess of lines, depending on the style of vector work
you create, or be a beautiful alternative to the colorful lines seen within a
final, exported image. Regardless of what your wire frames look like, I find
them to be wonderfully interesting. Let’s take some time to break down most
everything we can about wire frames within vector graphics.
How
to View Outlines
This
part is fairly simple. When working with a document in Adobe Illustrator,
hit Control-Y to toggle the default Preview Mode to Outline
Mode. You’ll be treated with that path-only view, seeing past the design
you may have created with a variety of shapes, effects, gradients, or meshes.
Interestingly, this mode can be saved, but not easily exported.
Often, users
must use a screenshot as their means of sharing wire frame views of artwork, or
download a plug-in for the program that allows for exporting the file in Outline
Mode as a PNG, JPG, or other file format.
How
are Wire Frames Useful?
When
working with a gradient or effect-heavy vector design, each change made takes
time and virtual memory to render again and again. To minimize the time it
takes for simple changes that may not need to be seen in Preview Mode
(moving layers or objects, for example), making such edits in Outline Mode
is surely the way to go.
Wire frames
are useful for understanding how much of your design is pure vector versus
being rendered or even rasterized. Knowing what’s “under the hood”, so to
speak, of your vector work allows for complete control (as well as knowing how
a document will print or look at other resolutions; if it’s scalable, it’ll be
versatile). Additionally, users can see what components are stroked paths
(perhaps a pattern or scatter brush), which paths are closed or left open, and
if there are extraneous anchor points or bits of paths.
Wire Frames
in Action: Objects, Gradients, and Meshes
Let’s
take a gander at a no-frills design created without gradients or effects. Note
the simplicity of the artwork the wire frame. Even while working in Preview
Mode, you know exactly what the underlying structure of the vector artwork
is.
In
the case of gradient-laden artwork, it resembles simple, flat vector when
viewed in Outline Mode. While any edits or additions won’t inform the
user of the color, gradient type, gradient angle, levels of opacity, etc., it
can allow the user to focus on what the shape of each object actually is
(similar to working with a simple sketch) versus the lighting, depth, or
modeling that gradients can create.
Gradient
meshes, however are a different story. While many colors and various attributes
can be applied to the mesh, the lines that define the object shape (and then
some) are easily seen in Outline Mode.
In this case, I find it
educational, as mesh objects often look like raster paintings versus vector
graphics. Not only can seeing the outline help a user sort out objects within
their document, but easily seeing each mesh’s paths make reproducing the look
of an illustration or technique that much easier.
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Wire Frames in Action: Brushes,
Effects, and Clipping Masks
Brushes
in Illustrator are highly customizable tools allowing the user to apply
patterns, stamp-like designs, or rendered brush effects to stroked paths. As
such, the look of the outlines for brush-heavy designs will often be a single
path or be comprised of a few paths, hiding the complexity of the final design.
Working in this manner (with brushes) allows the user to have smaller file
sizes (within reason, as some pattern brushes can be RAM-intense) or to quickly
alter to movement of a brush’s path without it being a series of individual
objects that have to be altered.
In
the case of effects (such as Drop Shadow or various Warp effects), the outline of the shape that it has been applied to will
be all that shows in Outline Mode.
Now, it’s quite true that if you have other objects within your design they
will show up too.
Take for instance this kiwi design. It shows up as a single
ellipse versus the complex design that it really is. Everything within the
design is set up as a stroke, fill, or effect within the Appearance panel (a rather powerful panel in case you’re
unfamiliar).
Another
design with a similar idea (low object count, high complexity within the
design) is this avocado vector piece. The outline shows the basic avocado
shape, but other aspects of the design are applied in the Appearance panel. Both of these tutorial pieces show the
versatility of Illustrator when it
comes to creating vector designs and how their wire frames can differ greatly
from the exported or printed product.
Finally, we’re on to the
most deceptive style of vector artwork: clipping masks. When you view the
artwork in Preview Mode, the lines,
background, or frame of such work seem very clean and organized. When viewing
in Outline Mode, however, it’s the
complete opposite.
Textures show up, or shapes piled on top of each other, or a
whole world of design that is hidden by the mask (“clipped” if you will). The
difference shown in the wire frame versus final artwork not only gives a user
full control over their work, but also can show students or curious artists (or whomever you may be) more insight
into the process of design and illustration.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve toggled our viewing
modes and checked out various vector types from clean-cut objects to meshes and
clipping masks, you should have a good idea how useful, beautiful, and
downright informative looking at a vector’s wire frame can be. As such, we’re
interested in seeing your wire frames as well. Head on over to the community
project Melody Nieves has set up and let’s deconstruct vector art and show off your work.
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