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LiamCarlin
Inspiring
November 29, 2019
Question

Scripting Tutorials for Beginners

  • November 29, 2019
  • 3 replies
  • 4422 views

Hey Guys,

 

I am starting to learn Javascript to code some tools for both Illustrator and After Effects (I primarly work in AE).

 

There appears to be a wealth of information and tutorials for scripting in After Effects but very little for Illustrator.

 

Does anyone know of any good sites dedicated to learning scripting for Illustrator?

 

I have googled and searched Youtube but there isn't too much out there.

 

I do have the Scripting PDFs from Adobe but ideally I am looking for some Illustrator specific tutorials.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Liam

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3 replies

CarlosCanto
Community Expert
CarlosCantoCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 1, 2019

ah I totally forgot about your editor, it's wonderful. But I was thinking more of a Tutorial type of resource were users with no programing skills could learn how to start with Illustrtor scripting.

    Inventsable
    Inventsable
    Legend
    December 1, 2019

    True! The editor is completely lacking there, though it'd make finding possibilities a lot easier rather than digging through documentation. The aenhancers site does have a few beginner-friendly sections and examples, though to be honest I had a hard time learning scripting until I just spent a few months in general web dev and Javascript. Once you get the basics of Javascript all together (where there's no shortage of beginner friendly material) it isn't hard to jump into Adobe scripting, but it's understandable if curious artists aren't willing to make that big of a leap.

     

    I've kept this in mind and would like to start doing beginner friendly tutorials eventually

      L
      LiamCarlinAuthor
      Inspiring
      December 2, 2019
      Hey Guys
       
      Thank you for your replies.
       
      Carlos these books look great. I’ll look into getting a copy of Adobe Scripting: Your visual blueprint for scripting in Photoshop and Illustrator as it mentions Javascript.
       
      Yeah I imagined there would of been some videos on YouTube as I assumed Illustrator is more widely used that After Effects.
       
      Invensable. This code editor looks great. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea this existed either. I have been setting up VSC but struggling to get the typescript definitions to work.
       
      You mention this…
       
      I had a hard time learning scripting until I just spent a few months in general web dev and Javascript. Once you get the basics of Javascript all together (where there's no shortage of beginner friendly material) it isn't hard to jump into Adobe scripting, but it's understandable if curious artists aren't willing to make that big of a leap.
       
      That is currently where I am at. I’m just not quote making sense. Which resources did you learn for Javascript? w3 schools?
       
      Thanks for your time.
       
      Liam
      Inventsable
      Inventsable
      Legend
      December 1, 2019

      Hello, I made an online code editor with typescript support for all Adobe apps (shows the app DOM as you type):

       

      Also has a curated list of resources per app in the drawer, though there's a lot more for AE than AI:

       

       

      My personal favorite for both AE and AI scripting is aeenhancers, here's the Illustrator version with a lot of examples per method/property.

        CarlosCanto
        Community Expert
        CarlosCantoCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        November 30, 2019

        I don't think there are any web sites dedicated to illustrator scripting. I remember seeing a intro tutorial video on youtube but I couldn't find it. 

        All you need is the official references and this forum, if you have questions just post them here and we'll do our best to help you get started.

         

        if you're into books, there are 2 of them. They're super old but so is the Scripting DOM, they're still relevant.

         

        https://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Illustrator-Scripting-Visual-AppleScript/dp/0321112512

         

        https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764524550/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

        Inventsable
        Inventsable
        Legend
        December 1, 2019

        Hey Carlos, there is ai.aenhancers, which is online Read-The-Docs format for Illustrator's DOM with a bunch of examples. I prefer this to PDFs and books because it's so easily searchable

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