A. Tutorial Series

This is a very good tutorial series. Please watch through it, especially the videos on Layout, Text, and Figures:

• Illustrator Tutorial Playlist

B. Setting Up Workspaces

These are the most common panels and tools I’ve used.

• Import the Figure Prep Workspace preset into the directory for Workspaces
  • Do not place it in Modified Workspaces
  • You can check the correct file location here: Illustrator Settings Guide
• Switch your workspace to Figure Prep
  • This can usually be done using the workspace menu or button in the top-right corner

C. Starting a New Document

Use the template I made for convenience, which includes:

• preset artboards
• layers
• text settings

The artboards are sized based on Nature and Science specifications for a full-width figure.

When finalizing figures for export, resize the artboard as needed:

• reduce to half-width if appropriate
• shorten the length as needed
• export in the required format, such as:
  • TIFF
  • PNG
  • PDF