1. Select the Ellipse Tool (L).

2. Double-click the tool tip on your canvas to open the ellipse Options dialog box.

3. Enter easy to remember numbers for Width and Height. E.g., 200 for Width and 50 for Height.

4. Select Selection Tool (V). Bring it over the ellipse you have just drawn and press the Alt key. Your tool tip should display Double Arrows. This means you are ready to duplicate your ellipse.

5. Click and drag your ellipse to pull away a duplicate copy.

6. Select the Rectangle Tool (M).

7. Double-click the tool tip on your canvas to open the rectangle Options dialog box.

8. Enter the same Width that you have used for the Ellipse. E.g., 200 for our example.

9. Enter any Height you want.

10. Position the two ellipses roughly on the top and bottom edges of the rectangle. Don’t worry if they do not line up perfectly to resemble a 3-D cylinder.

11. Open your Align palette (Shift + F7).

12. Left click your Selection Tool (black arrowhead) and drag over all 3 objects to select them.

13. Click the Horizontal Align Center button to align the centers of both ellipses and the rectangle perfectly over the center line.

14. Click and select the upper ellipse. Press the down or up arrow as needed until its sides line up perfectly with the top edge of the rectangle.

15. Click and select the bottom ellipse. Press the down or up arrow as needed until its sides line up perfectly with the bottom edge of the rectangle.

16. NOTE: The ellipse will be perfectly aligned with the rectangle when the white boxes on both sides of the ellipse's radius lines up with the corners of the rectangle. Or, you can also select View > Snap to Point feature from the main menu. That way, when you bring a circle/ellipse over a rectangle with the same diameter and width, they will snap on easily.

17. Click and select the top ellipse.

18. Right click and from the pop-up menu select Arrange > Bring to front. The top of your cylinder is done.

19. Select the Direct Selection Tool (A).

20. Click on the bottom edge of the rectangle and press Delete. The bottom of your cylinder is also done.

21. Select the bottom ellipse and the rectangle and select Object > Group from the menu to group them into a single graphic object.

22. Now color it any way you want.

23. Then select the top ellipse and color it separately. It will overlap rectangle and hide its top edge.

24. Now select everything on your canvass (Control + A) and select Object > Group from the menu to group everything as a single graphic object.

Your cylinder is ready. You can now transform and use this vector drawing anyway you want without losing anything from its resolution.