1 00:00:01.00 --> 00:00:03.06 - Everyone knows I love an old fashioned trip 2 00:00:03.06 --> 00:00:06.08 down the artistic rabbit hole, and we've had a few. 3 00:00:06.08 --> 00:00:08.06 But let's face it, at the end of the day, 4 00:00:08.06 --> 00:00:10.00 you have work to do. 5 00:00:10.00 --> 00:00:13.01 And as much fun as chasing that beautiful bunny may 6 00:00:13.01 --> 00:00:15.01 be, every once in a while, you have 7 00:00:15.01 --> 00:00:18.08 to take a step back and say, enough rabbit, enough. 8 00:00:18.08 --> 00:00:20.07 Which is why I dedicate this chapter 9 00:00:20.07 --> 00:00:23.00 less to the joy of creating awesome stuff 10 00:00:23.00 --> 00:00:25.02 in Illustrator, and more to the joy 11 00:00:25.02 --> 00:00:27.09 of how you can spend less time doing it. 12 00:00:27.09 --> 00:00:29.02 Because the more streamlined you 13 00:00:29.02 --> 00:00:31.06 are with the tools, the more time you have left 14 00:00:31.06 --> 00:00:34.00 to contemplate the artwork itself. 15 00:00:34.00 --> 00:00:36.00 To this end, we'll be examining two 16 00:00:36.00 --> 00:00:38.00 of Illustrator's foremost efficiency 17 00:00:38.00 --> 00:00:40.09 features, Libraries and Actions. 18 00:00:40.09 --> 00:00:43.03 At its most basic level, the Libraries panel 19 00:00:43.03 --> 00:00:45.08 lets you upload any object or group, 20 00:00:45.08 --> 00:00:49.02 or layer, or group of layers to the Creative Cloud. 21 00:00:49.02 --> 00:00:51.01 After that, you can recall the graphic 22 00:00:51.01 --> 00:00:54.06 any old time you'd like, directly inside Illustrator, 23 00:00:54.06 --> 00:00:56.05 you can bring it into another program 24 00:00:56.05 --> 00:00:59.00 such as Photoshop or InDesign, or you 25 00:00:59.00 --> 00:01:02.03 can share it as an asset with a coworker or client. 26 00:01:02.03 --> 00:01:04.08 That's allowing them to either view your library 27 00:01:04.08 --> 00:01:07.00 or directly edit its contents. 28 00:01:07.00 --> 00:01:09.02 Meaning that you can use the Libraries panel 29 00:01:09.02 --> 00:01:12.03 to collaborate with anyone anywhere, 30 00:01:12.03 --> 00:01:14.04 so long as they have an internet connection 31 00:01:14.04 --> 00:01:16.06 and a Creative Cloud account. 32 00:01:16.06 --> 00:01:19.00 Next, we have Actions, which are Illustrator's 33 00:01:19.00 --> 00:01:21.01 most essential form of automation. 34 00:01:21.01 --> 00:01:23.08 Simply put, an Action is a recorded sequence 35 00:01:23.08 --> 00:01:26.09 of events that you can play back with a single click. 36 00:01:26.09 --> 00:01:29.05 Record an action, test to make sure it works, 37 00:01:29.05 --> 00:01:31.09 and it may serve you well for years to come, 38 00:01:31.09 --> 00:01:35.02 even from one version of Illustrator to the next. 39 00:01:35.02 --> 00:01:38.00 Libraries allow you to expedite the creation 40 00:01:38.00 --> 00:01:39.09 and development of your graphic elements 41 00:01:39.09 --> 00:01:41.09 and designs, Actions allow you 42 00:01:41.09 --> 00:01:44.08 to replay commonly-performed tasks. 43 00:01:44.08 --> 00:01:47.02 together, they promise to make your life 44 00:01:47.02 --> 00:01:48.07 a heck of a lot easier. 45 00:01:48.07 --> 00:01:50.09 And to think, the only action you have 46 00:01:50.09 --> 00:01:54.06 to take is to sit back and watch the next movie.