Trapezoid

[Defeated]

Hello, I haven't used a graphics program for a while and last time it was Freehand 3.0 !
I need to use Illustrator to create something and can't see how to do it.
I want to create a rectangle (like a For Sale sign outside a house) which will have some colours on it and some writing. It will comprise a few rectangles of different colours grouped together with some text on it. (That bit is okay!)
The bit I can't get is ... how do I distort it(the grouped object) so it has perspective?
Thanks very much for any help.

 

[dmacster]

Use the shear tool.

 

[itchybug]

Defeated:

What version of Illustrator are you using?

There are several tools that will do this for you, beginning with the oldest, the transform tool. It is located in the toolbox below the scale tool in CS (that's why mentioning the version is handy), and it will give you transformation handles, which you can click and drag while using different combo's of Alt, Shift and Ctrl to get various perspective options;

Another option (since v10) is the Envelope tool, which is located under Object>Envelope Distort;

Another possibility is to go to Effect>Distort & Transform>Free Transform.

Hope that gets you started. Don't feel overwhelmed, we're here to help if you get stuck, please feel free to ask more.

What I would suggest, is to go to the Manual (also incorporated largely in the Help files) and read up a bit on the stuff I mentioned.

HTH

Bert

Bert Philippus -

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[Defeated]

Thanks very much for your replies.
Using a combination of the shear tool and envelope distort thing I am getting the perspective I need.
Can you edit the text after it has been sheared and distorted? Ungroup is greyed out.
Thanks again.

 

[itchybug]

If you are using an envelope, you can choose Object>Envelope Distort>Edit Contents, or the shortcut is Ctrl-Shift-V

HTH

Bert

Bert Philippus -

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[itchybug]

dmacster:

Can you make a trapezoid using the shear tool?

Bert

Bert Philippus -

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[Defeated]

Brilliant. Thanks again.

 

[dmacster]

Bert -

Generally I'd use the rectangle tool and then shear to get the effect - or the pen tool to draw exactly what I wanted.

Wasn't sure how much cleanliness/detail Defeated needed.

 

[itchybug]

I think you're thinking about a parallelogram, big d...

Bert Philippus -

http://www.itchybug.com

 

[dmacster]

About the same thing -

http://www.mathleague.com/help/geometry/polygons.htm