{"id":1860,"date":"2018-08-21T21:06:14","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T21:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/?p=1860"},"modified":"2022-01-11T01:26:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T01:26:55","slug":"creating-a-comparison-line-graph-in-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/?p=1860","title":{"rendered":"Create a Comparison Line Graph in Illustrator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1861\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG00.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"130\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG00.jpg 600w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG00-300x65.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><br \/>\nThis tutorial is similar to the last one, except it uses a line graph to compare quarterly sales between two years.<br \/>\n<!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1880\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Comparison-Line-Graph.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"707\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Comparison-Line-Graph.jpg 707w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Comparison-Line-Graph-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><br \/>\n1. <strong>Create a new artboard<\/strong> in the same document as your other tutorials<br \/>\n2. From the Graph Tool on the toolbar, select the <strong>Line Graph option<\/strong> and draw a large square on the artboard.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1862\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG01.jpg 383w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG01-300x262.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 271px) 100vw, 271px\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1863\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"214\" \/><br \/>\n3. <a href=\"https:\/\/drexel0-my.sharepoint.com\/:x:\/g\/personal\/nac352_drexel_edu\/EW88CkWO1sJDv8pt69ih1bYBpa23Dgx6asfO_8BprRrA6Q?e=DMX7by\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Open this Excel spreadsheet<\/strong><\/a> and copy the data, then paste it into the Illustrator Data Window, make sure to select the upper left cell. Click the checkbox and close the window.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1864\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1034\" height=\"629\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG03.jpg 1034w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG03-300x182.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG03-768x467.jpg 768w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG03-1024x623.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1034px) 100vw, 1034px\" \/><br \/>\n4. With the graph still selected, <strong>change the typeface<\/strong> to Bebas Neue Regular and the size to 18pts.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1865\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG04.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"826\" height=\"634\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG04.jpg 826w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG04-300x230.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG04-768x589.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px\" \/><br \/>\n5. With the graph still selected go to the OBJECT menu &gt; GRAPH &gt; TYPE and click on the Graph Options drop down to reveal <strong>Value Axis<\/strong>, change Tick Marks Length to Full. Click on the drop down again to reveal <strong>Category Axis<\/strong> and change Tick Marks to Full. Click OK.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1866\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"862\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG05.jpg 862w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG05-300x161.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG05-768x412.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px\" \/><br \/>\n6. With the Group Selection Tool (the White Arrow with the Plus Sign next to it) <strong>double click on one of the horizontal tick marks<\/strong> and go to the WINDOW menu &gt; GRAPHIC STYLES and select the Dotted Line style from the earlier tutorial. Deselect everything by clicking out in a blank area of the screen then double-click on one of the vertical tick marks and apply the same style.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1867\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG07.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG07.jpg 754w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG07-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><br \/>\nSimilar to the previous tutorial, we are going to change components of the graph to clearly describe their meaning. We will create two line styles for the graph as well as two markers to designate peeks and valleys.<\/p>\n<p>7. <strong>Type D on your keyboard<\/strong> to get to your default colors. Then, <strong>draw a short straight line<\/strong>, the size and length doesn&#8217;t matter. Open the Appearance Panel &#8211; WINDOW menu &gt; APPEARANCE. With the line selected, change the fill to none and the stroke to Blue 1 with a weight of 6 pts.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1868\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG08.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"490\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG08.jpg 908w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG08-300x214.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG08-768x549.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px\" \/><br \/>\n8. With the line still selected, click on the <strong>add new stroke icon<\/strong> at the bottom of the Appearance Panel (or from the panel&#8217;s menu) and change the top stroke to white and the weight to 2pts.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1869\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG09.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"507\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG09.jpg 924w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG09-300x166.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG09-768x424.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 507px) 100vw, 507px\" \/><br \/>\n9. <strong>Copy the line.<\/strong> In this copy, change the base stroke to Blue 3.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1870\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"906\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG10.jpg 906w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG10-300x145.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG10-768x371.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px\" \/><br \/>\n10. With the new stroke selected,\u00a0go to the WINDOW menu &gt; GRAPHIC STYLES panel and click on the <strong>New Graphic Style<\/strong> <strong>icon,<\/strong> then double click the thumbnail of your new style and name it <em>Year 1 Line Style<\/em>. Do the same for the previous line style and name it <em>Year 2 Line Style.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1871\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"827\" height=\"515\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG11.jpg 827w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG11-300x187.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG11-768x478.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 827px) 100vw, 827px\" \/><\/em><br \/>\n11. <strong>Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/drexel0-my.sharepoint.com\/:u:\/g\/personal\/nac352_drexel_edu\/EVA1tCngEtJIl7ixbNLB4uABnadBq-GLWbg-3XCeNlYekw?e=MILBXp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coffee Cup.ai<\/a> <\/strong>file, open it and copy the icon into your Comparison Line Graph artboard. <strong>Double click the scale tool<\/strong> on the toolbar and scale it down 50%.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1873\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"365\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG13.jpg 617w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG13-281x300.jpg 281w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px\" \/><br \/>\nGive the cup a <strong>white stroke of 1 pt<\/strong> and set the <strong>stroke to Outside<\/strong>. This will be used as the marker for our graph.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1874\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG14.jpg 535w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG14-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><br \/>\n12. <strong>Zoom into one of the markers<\/strong> on the graph, with the Group Selection Tool single click on a marker and then go to the EDIT menu &gt; COPY. Move to an empty area of your artboard and paste it there. Change the fill and the stroke of the marker to None.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1872\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG12.jpg 632w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG12-300x256.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/><br \/>\n13. Move the coffee cup icon so that the marker is inside the cup area. If you cannot see the marker because it is invisible, go to the VIEW menu &gt; VIEW OUTLINES and move it to the correct position.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1875\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG15.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"168\" height=\"153\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG15.jpg 355w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG15-300x273.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 168px) 100vw, 168px\" \/><br \/>\nWith the coffee cup selected go to the OBJECT menu &gt; ARRANGE &gt; BRING TO FRONT. Go back the VIEW menu &gt; GPU PREVIEW to <strong>get out of outline mode.<\/strong><br \/>\n14. ALT\/OPT drag a copy of the cup and the marker and <strong>change the fill<\/strong> of the new cup to Blue 1.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1876\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG16.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG16.jpg 288w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG16-176x300.jpg 176w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 174px) 100vw, 174px\" \/><br \/>\n15. <strong>Select the first cup and marker,<\/strong> then go to the OBJECT menu &gt; GRAPH &gt; DESIGN, add it as a New Design and then rename it <em>Year 1 Marker<\/em>. Click OK. Do the same with the second marker and name it <em>Year 2 Marker.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1877\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"361\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG17.jpg 714w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG17-300x259.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 361px) 100vw, 361px\" \/><\/em><br \/>\n16. With the Group Selection Tool, <strong>triple-click on one of the black lines<\/strong> within the graph and apply the <em>Year 1 Line Style<\/em> from the Graphic Styles Panel. Deselect. Triple-click on one of the gray lines and apply the <em>Year 2 Line style<\/em>. Deselect everything again.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1878\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG18.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"517\" height=\"391\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG18.jpg 517w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG18-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 517px) 100vw, 517px\" \/><br \/>\n17. With the Group Selection Tool, <strong>triple-click on one of the markers<\/strong> on the darker line then go to the OBJECT menu &gt; GRAPH &gt; MARKER and select the <em>Year 1 Marker<\/em>. Deselect. Triple-click on one of the markers on the lighter line then go to the OBJECT menu &gt; GRAPH &gt; MARKER and select the <em>Year 2 Marker.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1879\" src=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG19.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"782\" height=\"644\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG19.jpg 782w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG19-300x247.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/CLG19-768x632.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><\/em><br \/>\n18. Select the Comparison Line Graph and <strong>drag it into the Asset Export window<\/strong> and export as a JPG and PNG.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This tutorial is similar to the last one, except it uses a line graph to compare quarterly sales between two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,13],"class_list":["post-1860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-illustrator","tag-infographics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2897,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions\/2897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nickcassway.com\/designblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}