Illustrator: The basics - What's the difference between the Solid Black Arrow and the Outlined White Arrow?

Hello everybody. I was thinking of starting a series of tutorials on Illustrator Basics. And now I am!

I hope to keep these tutorials very short, but packed full of helpful stuff that will take you out of your Pinto and put you in a Pantera... not quite a Ferrari just yet. I say that only because I intend for these tutorials to truly be the basics and my hope is that they will target those of you who are just beginning and get you to the next step (potentially Illustrator: "How'd you do that?" The next step).

I should mention that I don't know how many tutorials there will be. For one, I would like to see what kind of following this will have. And two, we could potentially have a lot seeing as there are 'basics' when it comes to all of the different tools and components in Illustrator. My hope is that I can give people a better understanding and build their base of Illustrator knowledge so that they can continue to develop on their skills.

Without further adieu, the first tutorial.

What's the difference between the Solid Black Arrow and the Outlined White Arrow?

The solid arrow is called the 'Selection Tool'. The outlined arrow is called the 'Direct Selection Tool'. The main differences are as follows.

*Definitions: Path: A path is the outline of an object (closed or open). Object: Any closed path (a path that returns to where it began). *

The 'Selection Tool' (solid arrow) allows you to:

• Move an object
• Resize an object (proportionately or disproportionately)
• Rotate an object
• Enter into a designated group view
• Select multiple objects
• Move and/or rotate multiple objects (all manipulations above apply)
• Manipulate 'handles' (not efficient, therefore not recommended)

The 'Direct Selection Tool' (outlined arrow) allows you to:

• Move an object or path
• Select any one or multiple points of an object or path
• Manipulate any one or multiple points of an object or path
• Manipulate 'handles'

Simply put, the 'Direct Selection' tool is for specific alterations and the 'Selection Tool' is for more bulky work.

An example? Sure.

If you wanted to move your artwork (all of it) "more to the right", you would choose the 'Selection Tool', click and drag to highlight all of your work, then simply click and hold the selected items, move them to where you like, and release.

If you had created a path with the pen tool, and you wanted the points to be closer together, you would chose the 'Direct Selection Tool'. This would allow you to click on the point of your choice and simply move that one singular point in whatever direction you like (independently of the other point).

There are a variety of examples that I could give you on these two tools and they are some of the most frequently used tools on the roster. However, for that very reason, you're going to gain more experience and a better understanding with these tools and their quirks faster than any other by just using them.

Advice: if you don't know, try it, see what happens.

Again, I want to keep these tutorials super simple. But I'd love to hear some feedback on how I could make them better. If there's something specific that your having a problem with, comment and let me know what the issue is... maybe I'll throw it into the next tutorial. Otherwise, I'll do my best to help you out with the best reply I can give.