Illustrator vs Photoshop: When and Why to Use Each Program

Illustrator vs Photoshop selection can leave you quite baffled. Especially if you are new in the industry as a designer, you might also be facing a hard time to find differences between two and when and why to use each program? while choosing among Illustrator vs Photoshop since both these software are among the famous and are essential graphics design software. So here in this comparison between Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe Photoshop, I will rest down all the debate and guess what? Oops, I almost slipped it out, read on to find the catch for yourself.

Illustrator vs Photoshop: What are they and which is better?

This is a kind of comparison where “why” there is a difference is more important than “what” is the difference. The basic difference between the two lies in the purpose for which both the software are designed. In this comparison, I have discussed it later in more detail.

What is Illustrator?

Illustrator , a popular name among logo design software, is basically a vector graphics editor, that was originally designed and marketed by Adobe Inc. for Apple Macintosh. Since its development in 1985, it has released numerous versions. The latest version, released in October 2018 is the 23rd generation update in its line of products.

What is Photoshop?

Photoshop, unlike Illustrator is a raster graphics editor. It was originally designed by Thomas and John Knoll in 1988 for Windows and macOS. Feb 19, 1990, marked its initial release 29 years ago. The recent release was CC 2019 in August 2019.

Illustrator vs Photoshop: Which one to use and when?

As discussed earlier, here is the answer to “Why” there are differences and hence a comparison needs to be done. While Photoshop is the tool mostly and widely used for image editing purposes, Illustrator is mostly and widely used for image creation purposes. Let us now discuss these points in-depth further.

When to use Illustrator?

When you want to literally “create” a design or image from scratch, just based upon your own perception.

If you need more flexibility, for example, if you want to create some design you would like to have a free hand to produce the best possible results.

To support the above point let us say you want to create a logo that you have only just thought in your mind. Now Illustrator comes with plenty of tools and new updated features to help you to bring your ideas to life.

If you want to work on any vector-based projects such as logos, designs or similar others where you want smooth edges, freedom from resolution issues and need zooming capabilities, etc, Illustrator is a must-have software.

When you want to create documents such as annual reports, brochures, etc, Illustrator can prove to be of great use.

It plugins will help in making a blank web page into a brilliant looking web page.

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When to use Photoshop?

If your primary goals are related to image editing or enhancement, then Photoshop can prove to be the best option for you. It comes with various tools and features for that purpose.

Apart from basic editing, if you want corrections to any existing work such as adding a border, re-touch, blemish removals, etc, Photoshop comes in handy with new upgraded features that constantly keep releasing.

When your artwork is pixel-based or in other words, you are using raster-based graphics, then go for it.

It is also useful in a way that apart from raster graphics manipulations, basic vector artworks can be modified too.

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I assume that by now you are clear how and why they are different and now you must be sure about their working style as well. Why this two software are the talk of the town? The answer lies behind awesome features and plugins that constantly keep enhancing the use of the software.

What is Illustrator vs Photoshop Pricing?

Photoshop: As per the official Photoshop purchase page, the standalone Adobe Photoshop application can be availed at $20.99 on a per month subscription basis.

Illustrator: As a single app, Illustrate is priced at $239.88 on a per year subscription basis according to its official purchase page.

Illustrator vs Photoshop: What are some useful features?

Here at TemplateToaster web design software blog, I will now be discussing some interesting features of Illustrator vs Photoshop which will lead to more clarity regarding their capabilities. So let’s have a look at them.

Illustrator useful features:

Work on any scale : With Illustrator you have the capability to scale up or scale down your work at any time during your project. It assists you in working to a finer level with your project. Your beautifully crafted designs can serve as a great resource for various IT industries. Say in Web designing, Best graphical illustrations and representations can help to easily grab a better number of audiences.

: With Illustrator you have the capability to scale up or scale down your work at any time during your project. It assists you in working to a finer level with your project. Your beautifully crafted designs can serve as a great resource for various IT industries. Say in Web designing, Best graphical illustrations and representations can help to easily grab a better number of audiences. Create designs, Innovate with some text: Yes, the text is not just a text here, apply whatever style or creativity comes to your mind even to the text matter. Who knows combining them might lead to some awesome textual designs as well.

Yes, the text is not just a text here, apply whatever style or creativity comes to your mind even to the text matter. Who knows combining them might lead to some awesome textual designs as well. Dynamic ways to create: This software allows you more ways to work with designs such as importing and giving them a re-touch with your color scheme, drawing to append your own style with the art and many more.

This software allows you more ways to work with designs such as importing and giving them a re-touch with your color scheme, drawing to append your own style with the art and many more. Collaborate with other tools of Adobe family: You are not restricted to just create inside the extent of this software. Combine the functionalities of other graphic software of Adobe such as InDesign, XD, and Premiere Pro to obtain more efficient results. You may also read Inkscape vs illustrator.

Photoshop useful features:

Ease of use: You must already be aware of the popularity of this software. But ever thought how it has reached a great number of users? The reason is simple but obvious, yes, the ease of use. A beginner can easily pick up with the working style of Photoshop. The remaining is all upon the creativity of his mind. So basically, anyone can use it to create whatever he wants.

You must already be aware of the popularity of this software. But ever thought how it has reached a great number of users? The reason is simple but obvious, yes, the ease of use. A beginner can easily pick up with the working style of Photoshop. The remaining is all upon the creativity of his mind. So basically, anyone can use it to create whatever he wants. Awesome editing, unbelievable transformations: We talked a lot about the creative capabilities of Illustratrator earlier, but photoshop is also no less. Import any image to Photoshop, and the tools and options provided can literally transform it. As if it was literally created. Adobe Stock Images are full of such examples. you can also see free stock photo sites.

We talked a lot about the creative capabilities of Illustratrator earlier, but photoshop is also no less. Import any image to Photoshop, and the tools and options provided can literally transform it. As if it was literally created. Adobe Stock Images are full of such examples. you can also see free stock photo sites. Free-handed creativity: Use tools such as paintbrush, markers, pencils, etc to create smooth and clear illustrations. Though the illustration capability is less than illustrator since this software is meant for a different purpose, a little illustration touch can totally redefine your artwork.

Use tools such as paintbrush, markers, pencils, etc to create smooth and clear illustrations. Though the illustration capability is less than illustrator since this software is meant for a different purpose, a little illustration touch can totally redefine your artwork. Covering a greater range of devices: With the ever-increasing popularity of photoshop, Adobe is all set to increase its capabilities and provides more tools and functionalities for a wide range of devices as well. With portable devices such as iPhone or iPad, you become a creator on the go.

Illustrator vs Photoshop: What are tools and plugins to use?

Additional plugins provide a more upper edge of any software. We will have a look at some of the famous plugins and their functionalities. With illustrator you can create logo it is among best logo makers .

What are the tools and plugins of Photoshop vs CorelDraw?

Illustrator Plugins:

Illustrator started supporting plugins originally with the release of Illustrator 7 in 1997. It quickly extended its abilities with it. Some of the best illustrator plugins re listed here:-

Astute Graphics Illustrator Bundle Plugin: With its one package, it gives access to all of its plugins. Using this plugin extends your functionalities by providing features such as intuitive vector sketching, live stipple effect, etc. The updates released are provided to you free of cost, hence it is only one time paid plugin.

With its one package, it gives access to all of its plugins. Using this plugin extends your functionalities by providing features such as intuitive vector sketching, live stipple effect, etc. The updates released are provided to you free of cost, hence it is only one time paid plugin. Cineware for Illustrator: This one is a boon for the product designers and those users who like experimenting with 3D. You can import any 3D video to adjust the elements such as view and lighting, thus enable you to integrate any 3D element coherently.

This one is a boon for the product designers and those users who like experimenting with 3D. You can import any 3D video to adjust the elements such as view and lighting, thus enable you to integrate any 3D element coherently. Gold Rush for Illustrator: Are you a designer who likes some experiments with your design? This plugin can be of much use to designers who want to incorporate a shiny texture to their design but cannot find any stock plugin good enough for the purpose. With this plugin, you can give a powerful and metallic glitter texture wherever required in your design.

Are you a designer who likes some experiments with your design? This plugin can be of much use to designers who want to incorporate a shiny texture to their design but cannot find any stock plugin good enough for the purpose. With this plugin, you can give a powerful and metallic glitter texture wherever required in your design. Fontself: Not satisfied with the already available stock fonts? Well, make a font of your own here and give a personalized font touch to your design.

Apart from the above plugins, you can get more Adobe recommended Illustrator plugins on their official website.

Photoshop Plugins:

Plugin’s journey for Photoshop started in 1991. They are a boon for creators with the out of bound creativity which can’t be comprehended by stock plugins alone. So, which are some of the most used and what are their additional functionalities, let’s check them out.

Pexels Photoshop plugin: As photoshop can sometimes be used as creation purposes as well, this plugin can provide you a great pool of stock images. Import them in photoshop and you can experiment or create with them by using effects and tools provided by default by photoshop or other plugins.

As photoshop can sometimes be used as creation purposes as well, this plugin can provide you a great pool of stock images. Import them in photoshop and you can experiment or create with them by using effects and tools provided by default by photoshop or other plugins. Fontself Maker for Photoshop: Just like photoshop, you can create your own fonts in photoshop as well. This plugin allows you to customize and create your own fonts if you want to add your personalized text touch to your projects.

Just like photoshop, you can create your own fonts in photoshop as well. This plugin allows you to customize and create your own fonts if you want to add your personalized text touch to your projects. Chameleon Adaptive Palette: This another photoshop plugin with an important usage. As the name suggests, the constituent colors of this palette change according to the color chosen by you. Thus this plugin can be very useful for artists and designers working on some duotone based graphic projects.

This another photoshop plugin with an important usage. As the name suggests, the constituent colors of this palette change according to the color chosen by you. Thus this plugin can be very useful for artists and designers working on some duotone based graphic projects. Aurora HDR’19: As the name suggests, it’s a plugin related to improving the definition and resolution of any image or video being edited in photoshop. If you are an HDR photographer, this plugin can assist you in modifying various aspects of your image or projects, to give you a result just the way you want.

I hope that you definitely found some of these plugins to be of great usage, however, you can try some of the Adobe recommended photoshop plugins through their official website. For a free alternative, just check out Gimp vs Photoshop. you may also read Affinity designer vs Illustrator, Indesign vs Illustrator, Illustrator vs Photoshop, GIMP vs Photoshop and best logo design software.

Illustrator vs Photoshop: Compatible with other Adobe Family Software?

Yes, talking about Illustrator, it has compatibility with its open-source counterpart “Inkspace”. The SVG format exported by Inkspace is supported by Illustrator. It can also import “.ai”(Adobe Illustrator) files natively.

Coming to Photoshop, its “.PSD” file(the extension for the format), can be imported for use effectively by other Adobe apps as well such as Adobe Illustrator, After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro and its open-source counterpart Gimp.

Illustrator vs Photoshop Comparison table (2019)

Illustrator vs Photoshop differences Categories Illustrator Photoshop First Release March 1987, Apple Macintosh Feb 1990, Windows & macOS Graphics Type Vector Raster Primary Purpose To “Create” images/illustrations. To “Modify/Edit” images. Beginner -Friendly Less than Photoshop More than Illustrator Plugin Support Yes, started in 1997 Yes, started in 1991 Selections Complete Entity at once Allows partial selection as well Resolution Same while zooming in or out Changes while zooming in or out Layers A Layer can contain multiple objects A Layer Contains copies of a single object Used mostly in Logos, Vector Art, Comic Art, etc. Photography, Videography manipulations Website Illustrator page Photoshop page Illustrator vs Photoshop detailed differences Table by TemplateToaster Blog

Illustrator vs Photoshop: Which has upper hand?

So as I conclude this comparison article, I hope that I was able to justify the points throughout this Illustrator vs Photoshop Comparison. Since both of these website design software are quite popular ones from the Adobe Family, it becomes important to build a comparison so as to give a clear idea to the users regarding usage, features and purpose to use. Through difference sub-heading such as plugins, purpose and which one to choose and when I tried to answer your maximum queries in a straight forward way this will help you do design a website. you can create photography website with good designing software and get website design ideas. So please leave your feedback below regarding how clear our information is and how you made use of it.You can also read best video editing software, infographic makers video compression software ,Indesign vs Illustrator, web design trends and Wireframe tools

Illustrator vs InDesign, what’s the difference and which is better

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The Adobe Creative Suite has various software pieces with three of the largest software packages being InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.

A good designer should know which one of the three is the best in what circumstances.

This article will be concentrating on the differences between Illustrator vs InDesign.

A frustration many creatives have is when the wrong piece of software was used to create a file and they need to decipher it. This could be using InDesign instead of Illustrator for a logo or a print layout that was created using Photoshop.

Professional designers and artists might be aware of the differences between Illustrator vs InDesign or Photoshop. Beginner designers or individuals that are not constantly using these apps might not be aware of which one to use in what circumstances. Every program has its strong points and has better tools for different applications.

When you understand the dynamics of InDesign software and the purpose of Adobe Illustrator then you will be able to let the creative juices flow. In the Illustrator vs InDesign comparison, you will notice each has benefits and unique tools. Our comparison will make it easier for you to understand the dynamics of these apps.

Illustrator vs InDesign: Which one is better?

What is Adobe InDesign?

Adobe InDesign is a publishing software for desktops. It is a sophisticated design program that enables users to create multiple pages without the need to have separate files for every project. It is feature-rich including pre-flight tools that ensure your document is perfect for printing.

In addition, InDesign can also gather the required files with their packaging feature. This allows the user to have the files together. A top feature that InDesign has too is combining artwork from both Photoshop and Illustrator to create multiple layouts and page spreads.

InDesign is typically used for PDF presentation, multiple-page documents, and larger file types.

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Most newcomers wonder “what is the difference between InDesign and Illustrator?” Illustrator is a vector artwork Illustration software. It works with simple layouts without the need for multiple color spaces and it is excellent for graphic images, managing and creating logos.

It has a great collection of tools that give the user excellent control over strokes and paths. It also uses perspective grids for more complex artwork. It allows a user full manipulation of links and text when working with external artwork. While it has top features in its own, it is not quite what it was designed for and should you avoid working on multiple page-layouts.

Illustrator is a powerful software when you want to create adverts and flyers, but users should keep in mind that this software is designed to create single-page files. For every new file that you want to create, you would need to create new pages.

Considering this, it is known that Illustrator is not very consistent. When you use this program, you do not have a master page for example when you create a document that requires hundred of pages, like a magazine. It is a painstaking job when you need to create each page individually while keeping a uniform design.

When to use Adobe InDesign

The purpose of Adobe InDesign is laying out printed materials. It could include a wide spectrum of projects ranging from books, business cards, ads, newsletters, and brochures.

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You can use it for any design project that contains a combination of artwork, photos, and text blocks The purpose of Adobe InDesign is to take the elements created in Photoshop and Illustrator and put it in one place.

When to use Adobe Illustrator

It is important to compare InDesign vs illustrator and see that the name Illustrator which already tells you what it does. It creates and edits vector-based images like branding and logos, among others.

Logo creation and manipulation

You can use Illustrator for logo creation, as these images are ready to suit all sizes and maintain its quality.

Illustrator has another valuable feature that blends well with logo manipulation and that is its typesetting features. This feature enables the software to shape text to an organization’s preference. Comparing Illustrator vs InDesign, InDesign is good in text-related projects, while not quite up to the level of Illustrator.

Single and multi-page projects

Comparing Illustrator vs InDesign, you will see they both handle multi-page and single-page projects. Therefore, it is important to make the best decision and weigh the benefits of each. Illustrator has the upper hand when it comes to print projects and single-page documents.

When you use Illustrator, posters and business cards are excellently designed as it manipulates text size and image size. The visual features are perfectly handled with Illustrator. While you can create multi-page jobs with Illustrator, InDesign is the go-to software for multi-page jobs.

It is largely because it features a Master Page feature, which enables individuals to edit multiple pages without the need to do individual editing.

InDesign is thus your go-to software when you have more than one page and large jobs as your pages will be numbered automatically.

Beneficial Integrations

Another main aspect that you need to consider when choosing your software is to see how it syncs with other programs. As far as integrations are concerned, Adobe InDesign blends well and works perfectly with important systems. An important integration is that of Canto DAM with InDesign.

DAM is a comprehensive file storage program and features a centralized location where all assets are stored. It connects to InDesign and enables you to access images via InDesign’s media library. This is an important feature especially for businesses and industries that uses cloud storage and InDesign.

Comprehensive Drawing Features

You might have noticed now that Illustrator offers better drawing software, but it is still important that you understand the deeper differences when comparing Illustrator vs InDesign. You need to know where Illustrator lacks too.

Choose Illustrator when you want to create enhanced and creative designs. It incorporates various options that give you more than enough space to create crisp and clear designs.

InDesign, on the other hand, has drawing options like a pencil tool as well as lines and shapes drawings. When you create a drawing in Illustrator, you will be able to import it to InDesign. This is a great feature as it allows for multiple page projects to be completed in InDesign instead.

Ending thoughts on Illustrator vs InDesign

Professional designers know and understand the differences between Photoshop vs InDesign vs Illustrator and use all three to their full advantage. When you only want to design a small pamphlet, use Illustrator as it has loads of tools and art brushes. When you have a project with multiple pages, you need to use InDesign.

InDesign creates multiple pages, Illustrator can only make one page per file.

Illustrator does graphics editing, InDesign has numerous editing tools, except for vector graphics.

Illustrator creates single-page projects like posters and flyers. InDesign collect multiple pages in a single file and create great brochures, newsletters, and multi-tiered publications.

If you enjoyed reading this article about Illustrator vs InDesign, you should read these as well:

Types of Adobe Illustrator Tools

Introduction to Adobe Illustrator Tools

Adobe Illustrator has colossal assortments of tools fused in it, and when Adobe Illustrator is launched then we go over certain tools which we use to apply the changes; the various instruments utilized here are clarified beneath with representations, and this Adobe Illustrator Tool is about the selection of items from the pictures and comprises of various sub tools such as draw tool, a type tool, paint tool, magic tool, modify the tool, navigate tool, artboard tool, layers panel and A most significant aspect regarding this is we can utilize shortcuts to initiate these tools.

Adobe Illustrator Tools

One of the most important things about this is that we can use shortcuts to activate these tools.

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1. Select the tool

The “artboard” tool is activated by pressing Shift + Q; in this, we can select and modify there within the selection.

2. Draw

When it’s the time to show the talent and draw an image in Illustrator, then all needed tools are bonded together in this tool. From the Pen tool to Pie Graph, we can take startup by using all of these tools. While drawing, we need some of the easy blended tools like polygon, start tool, ellipse tool, rounded rectangle tool, and rectangle. We just have to click on this tool, and we can make use of these ready-made shapes.

There are some other tools for making and editing symbols and graphs; we don’t have to play with the tools used above. Here we can place a symbol and edit by 8 different types of tools just for the symbol. To show some mathematical values, we need to place a pie chart or bar graph, then we get the readymade tools where we just have to enter the values, and the graph is ready. We can modify it in the way we want and adjust the values as per.

3. Type Tool

This Adobe Illustrator Tool is used to enter the text in between the illustrations wherever we want. We get a chance to write anything anywhere, and mainly, we can write in any position we want as we have a vertical type tool, Vertical type on path tool, Type on path tool, and Vertical area type tool. One of the lovely tools is the Touch-type tool; by using this, we can click anywhere on the screen and write text there; also, we can access this tool by pressing Shift + T.

4. Paint tool

The Paint tool consists of the Gradient tool, mesh tool, shape builder tool, live paint bucket, and lives paint selection tool. The gradient tool is used to show the shades of color and can make a new one by mixing two or more colors. Similarly, to help this tool, it has a live paint bucket that even consists of combining various colors.

5. Modify Tool

The modification is a key part of the software as it has to make changes in the existing without affecting the original object. Here in this, we can do lots of changes like rotate, making the mirror of the original, scaling images, reshaping the existing shapes, adjusting the width & height, and warping it.

The tool which I like is a Twirl tool; as in this tool, as long as we hold our click, the more twirl we’ll come to see. This twirl is used to create more complex shapes by repeating them again and again. We can use it on the edges of the circle also; we can change the options by double-clicking on the tool.

Even there is a Warp tool which is used to deflate the object by controlling the points. Further Pucker tool can be used to squash everything towards the center.

6. Navigate Tool

Here we go with the navigation tool, which we can say plays an eternal part, as it is used every minute. If we make some changes in the design, then we need to zoom in and zoom out the illustration to see how changes affect. While applying the effects or while applying the colors, we need a hand tool for panning objects. As we need these tools continuously in command, we can access these by pressing “H” and “Z”.

7. Artboard Tool

It is the tool which is the platform for the printable section or a platform for an object to be exported. Before creating the artboard, we can choose different preset sizes or define our own custom artboard. We can create a seamless artboard for a single document and can modify its size, width, and length and can place it anywhere on the screen.

To access this tool, we need to open this tool and directly add objects by dragging and dropping them. Each artboard is bounded by a thick solid line and shows the maximum printable area. The canvas is the region outside the artboard that can be extended up to a 220-inch square window.

8. Layers Panel

Usually, in any photo editing software’s layers are the common tool which is used to make a duplicate copy of the image or illustration. By using this tool, we can keep the original copy unaffected by the changes. As if we didn’t like any changes made, we don’t have to do undo all the time; we can directly remove the layer and can start with the fresh work.

Another use of the layer is that we can hide, lock and can save the appearance. We can even create the template of layers that we can use to track the artwork and exchange layers with the other softwares like Photoshop.

Usually, in layers, Adobe Illustrator assigns a special color to each layer as it can be done up to 9 different colors. The same color has been reflected in the window of the box, path, anchor points and center of the object.

We can see in the below image how the different layers are created and how they are named. We can see the four columns as well named from the left side of the page as 1. Visibility column 2.Edit column 3.Target column 4.Selection column. We can control the characteristics by clicking on them.

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This has been a guide to know What is Adobe Illustrator Tools. Here we have discussed the basic concepts and the characteristics. You may also look at the following articles:

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