Adobe Illustrator: Create diagram - how it works
Adobe Illustrator is an extensive program that you can use to create vector graphics. A diagram can also be drawn quite easily and adapted to your requirements. We show in our practical tip how this works.
How to draw a diagram in Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator provides extensive tools that you can use to quickly create diagrams. Depending on your requirements for the finished graphic, you only have to choose a layout and enter the values - Illustrator then creates the diagram independently.
- First open Adobe Illustrator and create a new artboard.
- On the left in the toolbar you will find a button with a bar chart. Right-click on it to display all diagram types.
- For example, you can choose between a bar, a circle or a line digram. In our example, we create a vertical bar chart.
- Go to the drawing area with the diagram tool and draw a rectangle to the size you want your diagram to have. Of course you can change the dimensions later.
- Then the window for data entry opens. The structure is similar to an ordinary spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel. Enter the data for your diagram in the table. You can also use the arrow button to import data from other files.
- Click the little check mark in the upper right to apply the data. Illustrator now draws the basic structure for your diagram.
Adjust diagram in Illustrator - here are the options:
Illustrator now offers numerous options for optically adapting the diagram:
- You can switch back to the selection tool first. Click on the diagram to mark it.
- You can then right-click to show various options. For example, select the "Type ..." item to open a new settings window.
- Here you can change the diagram type later, adjust the axes or determine the width of bars and groups.
- If you want to change the values of the diagram later, you can do this by right-clicking and using the "Data ..." option.
- To adjust the colors of individual bars, for example, you can use the direct selection tool. Click on a single element in the diagram and use the color palette to determine a new fill color.
- Other graphical effects such as drop shadows or distortions can also be applied to the diagram. The data contained can still be changed later.
These instructions refer to Adobe Illustrator CC (2015). The next practical tip will show you how to put different objects together in Illustrator.