Vectors from Google

Importing points from Google Earth to Adobe Illustrator brings an added bonus: high-resolution vector icons make the journey, too.

In the life of a busy cartographer, Google Earth is a handy tool.

Google Earth is an effective environment to map points-of-interest or to finetune the positions of points you export from Adobe Illustrator via Avenza MAPublisher.

GOOGLE’S ICONS

But here’s a surprise: when importing a Google Earth .kml/.kmz file into Illustrator, Google’s playful icons enter your map file as editable icons.

Here’s what you can do to them.

Google icons on a map in Adobe Illustrator
Google icons on a map in Adobe Illustrator

Read more

Google Earth as the Crow Flies

Google Earth can make creating radius rings on a map quick and easy. The trick is using the Show Ruler tool. When you’ve finished, you can import the rings into Adobe Illustrator or into Google Maps where you can share them on a map with others.

With Google Earth Pro as a free download, mapmakers now have additional tools at hand. One tool is Google Earth Pro’s Show Ruler tool. With it you can draw radius rings and save them as .kmz files you can then import into Adobe Illustrator using Avenza’s MAPublisher plug-ins.

Google Earth's Ruler dialog box
Google Earth’s Ruler dialog box

Read more