Working with the Color Guide Panel in Adobe Illustrator CS4
The Color Guide panel can provide color inspiration while you create your artwork. It helps to pick harmony rules such as color tints, analogous colors, and much more.
In this panel, you can also access the Edit Color/Recolor Artwork feature, which allows you to edit and create colors. Next you will use the Color Guide panel to select different colors for the logo, and then save those colors as a color group in the Swatches panel.
- With the Selection tool, drag a marquee around the aquo logo. Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) a copy off the artboard on the right side.
- Select the Zoom tool in the Tools panel and click twice on the copied logo to zoom in. Choose Select > Deselect.
- With the Selection tool, click the red background shape of the copied logo.
Make sure that the Fill box is selected in the Tools panel.
- Click the Color Guide panel icon on the right side of the workspace to open the panel. Click the Set As Base Color button.
This allows the Color Guide panel to suggest colors based on the color showing in the Set As Base Color button.
Next you'll experiment with the colors in the logo.
- Choose Right Complement from the Harmony Rules menu.
- Click the Save Color Group To Swatches panel button to save the colors in the Right Complement harmony rule in the Swatches panel.
- Click the Swatches panel icon. Scroll down to see the new group added. You can apply these colors to the artwork or edit them.
- Click the Color Guide icon to open the Color Guide panel.
Next you'll experiment with the colors.
- In the color variations in the Color Guide panel, select the color in the third row, fourth color from the left.
Notice that the copied logo changes color. Click the Set As Base Color button to try a new group of colors using the Right Complement harmony rule.
- Click the Save Group To Swatches panel button to save the colors in the Swatches panel.
- Choose File > Save.