Adobe Illustrator Tutorial: Digital Photography Flyer - Document Setup to Change Text Color

Step 01: Document Setup

To begin, locate the Menu Bar and select File > New.

This will bring up the New Document Window.
Adobe Illustrator New Document Window

In the Artboard Setup, set Units to "Inches" and set Size to "Letter", which is 8.5 by 11 inches.

Select the first button next to Orientation

to set the Canvas to Portrait.

In Color Mode select "RGB Color". Click OK.

Step 02: Draw Rectangle 1

We will construct the Colored Background with 2 Rectangles.
Select the Rectangle Tool Adobe Illustrator Rectangle Tool

from the Tool Box. To set the dimensions of the Rectangle that you wish to draw, click once on the Canvas to open up the Rectangle Dialog Box. Adobe Illustrator Rectangle Dialog Box

Set Width to "4.25" and Height to "11". Click OK. Drag the Rectangle in to the proper place on the Canvas.

Step 03: Draw Rectangle 2

Use the Selection Tool Adobe Illustrator Selection Tool

to select the 1st Rectangle, then hold down the "Alt" key so that your cursor turns into a Double Arrow Adobe Illustrator Arrows

. Drag and release to make a Copy of the 1st Rectangle. Put it on the right side of the Flyer. Digital Photography Flyer Rectangle Background

The Rectangles will look like this:

Step 04: Color Rectangle 1

To the right of the screen should be the Color Palette. This should be docked with several other Palettes - Swatches, Graphic Styles, Stroke.

Double click on the "Black Arrows" to the left of the Color Palette.

This should give you the options to enter "RGB" values. Adobe Illustrator RGB Color Window

Select the Fill Icon, which is the "Black" Square in this Image, and either click on the "Black" Color to the bottom right or type in R=0, G=0, B=0 and hit "Enter".

Do the same thing for the Stroke Icon, which is the "White" Square next to the Fill Icon with the red line running through it. Make the Stroke, "Black".

Step 05: Color Rectangle 2

Select Rectangle 2, set the Fill to the Color "Maroon". Do this by setting R = 128, G = 0, and B = 0. Hit "Enter".
Digital Photography Flyer Colored Rectangle Background

Digital Photography Flyer Colored Rectangle Background

Repeat these settings for the Stroke Color.

The Flyer's background will now look like this:

Step 06: Add Text

Select the Type Tool Adobe Illustrator Type Icon

from the Tool Box. Click anywhere on the canvas and start typing. Start with the Flyer Title which is "Aiden's Digital Photography".
Adobe Illustrator Type Menu

To make changes to the Text, go to Window > Type > Character.

This brings up the Character Palette, which sets the Font and Format for the selected characters.

Step 07: The Character Palette

The Character Palette is also tabbed together with the Paragraph Palette and the Open Type Palette.
Use the Selection Tool Adobe Illustrator Selection Tool

to select the Text. Then select the down arrow next to "Myriad" to change the Font. Here it is set to "Disko" which is a free Font that was downloaded at .

The Font Style should be set to Regular.
Adobe Illustrator Font Size Icon

Set the Font Size to "48pt".
Adobe Illustrator Leading Icon

Set the Leading or Line Spacing to "50pt".

Step 08: The Paragraph Palette

Select the Paragraph Tab and click on the Align Center Icon, which is second Icon on the first row.

Step 09: Change Text Color

Using the Select Tool, select the Text then go to the Color Palette and click on the Fill Icon.

Select the Color "White" or set R to "255", G to "255" and B to "255". Then hit "Enter".

The Text will look like this. Disko Text

Step 10: Add New Text

Next we can add the remaining Text to the document.

The Font used is "Segoe Print" which you can also get at .

Set the Fill to "White".