Introduction to CS6

With the advent of CS6, users have a choice of purchasing hard copies by downloading or by accessing the programs through the Adobe Creative Cloud™. It is necessary to understand how these two methods for purchasing programs work. Let's first look at the Creative Cloud. The Creative Cloud isn't only for accessing programs. It is a way to keep everything you do in the "present." In other words, as you create a document and change it, the change is already reflected in the document in the Cloud so that if you are sharing documents, the latest will be immediately available. The same is true with programs. If you use a tablet, you are already familiar with apps. Your work can be stored in the Cloud so if you are away from your desktop computer or laptop and create an image on your tablet, you can save it to the Cloud to be accessed later on your desktop or on any other appropriate mobile device. Think of the CS6 Master Collection as a series of apps. For $49.99 per month with a years commitment, updates and programs will always be available. These programs will be continually and continuously updated. New features will even be released between major upgrades. There will be programs that will only be available from the Cloud as well as services. If you join by August 31, 2012, you only pay $29.99 per month with a one year contract. As Adobe states on their website: Get the world's best tools, Store and Share, Publish apps and websites, and Stay a step ahead. Also, current Creative Suite users save $20/month for the first year on Adobe Creative Cloud membership. The offer is good for all registered users with CS3 or later. You can think of the Creative Cloud as both a hub for working on all your devices and with all your team as well as a storage repository.

If you are not sure what suite you want, click on the Comparison Guide link to see the list of suites and the programs that comprise them. Following this introduction, I will be reviewing the programs that comprise the CS6 edition of Design and Web Premium. I am using a downloaded version of the suite that is not from the Cloud. As I review the programs, I will include a link to the review in this introduction. Acrobat X Pro was already reviewed when it first was released.

When I started reviewing graphic programs over 20 years ago, one could be a generalist, i.e., be familiar with and use creatively most of the products. As time has progressed and more content has been added, one needs to be more of a specialist in each field, creating or adapting images, setting up layouts in print, and setting up websites not only for the desktop and laptop but especially for mobile devices. Then, we cannot forget being skilled in using programs such as Flash and all the video editing programs available from Adobe. Each time I review, I find so much material that is new and in certain areas material that is totally new to me.

If I had to describe the programs in CS6 Design and Web Premium, I would say they are all about designing for mobile devices, whether you are creating fluid layouts in InDesign or multiple layouts in Dreamweaver; speeding your workflow through more responsive interfaces and enhanced panels in all programs, especially the new interface in Photoshop and Illustrator; having even more integration between programs; and never having to leave a program to preview web elements in Fireworks or create forms in InDesign.

Review of Illustrator CS6

Illustrator now shares the same sleek looking dark interface as does Photoshop CS6. A number of new features have been added to this version. A major one is the new Adobe Mercury Performance System. If you have a 64-bit system, you can now use the 64-bit version of Illustrator and access more RAM as well as speed up many of the functions. If I could generalize, I would say that many of the new features are enhancements to existing panels and the workability of the general program and interface. However there are some exciting new additions such as the ability to easily create patterns as well as work with gradients on strokes.

The interface of Illustrator CS6 is now similar to Photoshop CS6.

As I did with Photoshop, I changed it to a medium grey. In addition in Preference, you have the ability to match any other user interface's brightness level by choosing a shade of grey or you can customize it with the slider.

Not only is the interface new, but many familiar tasks are now streamlined through inline editing in panels, inclusion of more options on panels, and a more efficient Control panel.

Below is a quick look at some of the changes and new features to a few more of the panels.

Illustrator CS6 has a new tracing engine. The procedure is named Image Trace. The Tracing panel looks more streamlined than in earlier versions. By changing the settings, you can make the trace as complicated or as simple as you wish. Each time you make any change, everything is reconfigured. You can setup a workspace emphasizing tracing by accessing the workspace and choosing Tracing.

New to Illustrator CS6 are two exciting features. These are pattern creation and gradient on strokes. Pattern creation opens up a myriad of possibilities. Mixed with Image Trace, you can create all sorts of interesting patterns which can be tiled. Once saved, they go into the Swatches Pattern Library.

Gradients on strokes is another exciting addition to Illustrator CS6. You can now combine strokes with gradient fills to create amazing effects. This is just a quick sample of what can be done.

Below are some more examples using linear gradients and radial gradients. Notice how the effects vary.

And lastly a look at the new Gaussian Blur effect. The effect now takes place on the artboard so you can see exactly how it will look.

System requirements

Windows

  • Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor
  • Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 3 or Windows 7 with Service Pack 1
  • 1GB of RAM (3GB recommended) for 32 bit; 2GB of RAM (8GB recommended) for 64 bit
  • 2GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
  • 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
  • DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs
  • Some features in Adobe® Bridge rely on a DirectX 9–capable graphics card with at least 64MB of VRAM
  • This software will not operate without activation. Broadband Internet connection and registration are required for software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† Phone activation is not available.


Mac OS

  • Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
  • Mac OS X v10.6.8 or v10.7
  • 2GB of RAM (8GB recommended)
  • 2GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices)
  • 1024x768 display (1280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card
  • DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs
  • This software will not operate without activation. Broadband Internet connection and registration are required for software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.† Phone activation is not available.

† This product may integrate with or allow access to certain Adobe or third-party hosted online services ("Online Services"). Online Services are available only to users 13 and older and require agreement to additional terms of use and Adobe's online privacy policy. Online Services are not available in all countries or languages, may require user registration, and may be discontinued or modified in whole or in part without notice. Additional fees or subscription charges may apply.

The cost of Illustrator CS6 for a full version is US $599.00 with an upgrade starting at US $249.00. One can try Illustrator CS6, by clicking on the link.

The new Gradients on Strokes and Pattern Creation, I feel, are especially significant because they increase the scope of Illustrator CS6 by a lot. Being able to create strokes that incorporate gradients can significantly widen the illustration field as can being able to create patterns easily and quickly and save these patterns as swatches. Now you can not only create them, but you can re-edit them. But we cannot forget that Illustrator CS6 is now 64-bit and much faster when working with complicated images. For more information on Illustrator CS6, click on this link. Also, go to the Adobe website to read about more of the changes not only to the programs but to computing in general, i.e., the Creative Cloud..