Pen tool
THE PEN TOOL
The pen tool is, perhaps, the most bizarre and valuable tool Illustrator has to offer. It places anchor points which define a path that, eventually, becomes an object. Anchor points define the path by controlling the angle of a corner, or the shape of a curve. While it takes time to master this tool, it is worth every minute of effort. The shapes you end up with are clean and precise. ANCHOR POINTS: There are several kinds of anchor points - some are just dots, others may have seesaw-like "handles" that protrude from them. The most important thing to remember when editing points, or an object, is that it has to be selected before you can affect it. CORNER POINTS: Select the pen tool and click within your image area. Move the pen tool icon and click again. Clicking places corner points, and as you click around, Illustrator connects those points with lines, called "strokes" when they are assigned a color and weight, or "paths" when they define an object or shape. Adjust the position of anchor points with your WHITE arrow (direct selection) tool. CURVE POINTS: When you click and drag in one motion, the point you place will be a curve point one which changes the nature of the path from straight (as with corner points) to curved. The lines you see extending from a curve point as you drag are called handles. The handles anchor the nature of the curve. Use your hollow arrow tool to push and pull the handles, or to move the point along the path. As you continue to draw, your path takes shape. One good hint: you do not need a million points to create a path. One to define a corner, one to define a curve. If you try to define a curve with two or three (or more!) points, your line will be lumpy and bumpy and not great. Once you have completed your shape you can select anchor points with the WHITE arrow tool to adjust them. CHANGING DIRECTIONS: The pentool is automatically going to want to continue going in the direction of your first curve. To change direction click and drag the pen tool to create the first curve, then BEFORE releasing the mouse hold down ALT and change the direction of the handles to the direction of the new desired curve. ADDING, DELETING AND CONVERTING POINTS: If you've already drawn a shape that needs adjusting, there are three handy variations of the pen tool, hiding under it in the tool bar. You can choose add or delete anchor point, however if you just hover the pen tool over an existing point it will automatically change todelete anchor point. Hover over a path, not on a point and it will change to add anchor point. If a path looks BUMPY, try to delete anchor points and then just adjust the paths, points, and handles with the DIRECT SELECTION TOOL. YOU CAN ALWAYS ADJUST WITH THE DIRECT SELECTION ARROW. JUST GET THE PATH AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE AND ADJUST AT THE END. ANCHOR POINTS MAY ALSO BE ADDED OR DELETED IF NECESSARY. REMEMBER TO FILL A SHAPE YOU MUST HAVE A CLOSED PATH!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS TRACE OR DRAW WITH A STROKE A NO FILL!
Pen tool basics Set Stroke and Fill colors For line drawings choose no fill.
Which way do I drag?
Use the Pen tool to click, or click and drag at each anchor point Click and drag in the direction of the curve
Where do I put the anchors?
To remove anchors 1.Select the Delete Anchor Point tool from the pop-out set of pen tools. 2.Click with the tool on any point you want to remove.
Put anchors at the SIDES of curves, not at the tops. correct incorrect
How far do I drag?
The longer the arm, the steeper the curve
Note: The Pen Tool automatically • turns into the “Remove Anchor” tool over an anchor • turns into the “Add Anchor” tool over a line segment
Convert Anchor tool How many anchors do I need?
Use as few as possible to achieve the desired shape. correct incorrect
Editing Paths To adjust curves
Drag line segments using the Direct Select tool
Drag direction line anchors using the Direct select tool
coverts corner pointsto smooth points and vice versa. Note: The Pen Tool converts anchors when you hold down the ALT key on the keyboard.
Deleting parts of a path
remove.
To remove a line segment 1. Using the Direct Select Tool, click on the segment of line you want to You should see the endpoint handles for a curve, or if you click on a straight line segment, the anchors will be white. 2. Press the DELETE key. The segment will be dropped and you now have two paths.
To add to a path
If you switch tools while drawing, then return to the pen tool, a new object will be started. If instead, you want to add to a path that’s already on the page:
1.Position the pen tool over an anchor, you should see a slash under the 2.Click (or click and drag, as needed) then continue to draw.
To add anchors 1.Pop-out the Pen Tool set. 2.Choose the Add Anchor tool , the one that has a + next to it.
3.Click on any segment line to add anchor points.
To Split Paths 1.Click on a line segment with the Scissors Tool. 2.Get the Select tool and click on ant part of the shape, you’ll see that it is now two objects.
Pen Tool Guide
Corner point
by Daniel C. Fergus (www.danfergus.com)
Pen tool
Smooth-curve point
Corner-curve point
Delete anchor point tool
Add anchor point tool
Convert anchor point tool
The Convert Anchor Point Tool This is the real power tool. With this tool, corner points can be converted to smooth points and vice-versa (click on an anchor point to make a corner pt.; click-and-drag to create a smooth pt.). Smooth points can be converted to corner-curve points by "bending" one of the handles with this tool. Once the handles are disconnected this way, they can be manipulated independently with the Direct Selection Tool. This tool can be accessed from the pen tool by holding down the Option key.
Pen Tool Indicators Appears when you are about to start a new path.
Appears when you place your cursor over the anchor point of an open path. Click on the point to make the path active. Click and drag to draw out a handle. Appears when you place the cursor over the last (active) point created. Allows you to delete the leading handle or drag out a new one. Appears when you place the cursor over the first anchor point drawn. Clicking will close the path. Appears when you place the cursor over an existing open end point while drawing a path. Clicking will join two open paths together.
Pen Tool Tips • Drag handles approximately one-third the length of the curve being created. Handles that are too long can throw off the next handle and make the curve look awful. One third the distance between anchor points is a good rule of thumb. • Don't try to control a curve with only one handle. It's best to have two short handles on either side of a curve than one long one. Two handles give you much more control. • Handles should always be tangent to the curves they control. Or to put it another way, the handles should go in the direction of the curve, and should always be on the outside of the curve. Handles pull the curves towards themselves like magnets. • Drag out handles in the direction you want the curve to travel. So, if you want a curve that starts by heading south-west, drag the handle south-west. If it ends heading north-west, drag the next handle north-west, etc. • Place anchor points at the beginning and end of each curve. Anchor points should be used as transitional points, where a curve changes direction or size dramatically. Don't place points randomly along the curve. • Use as few anchor points as possible. The fewer the points, the smoother and more refined your art will look (of course, sometimes ragged lines are called for). Learn to use handles to create curves.
PEN TOOL cheat sheet Click to create points, each point will create a straight connecting line.
Click and PULL to create points with (bezier) handles that will form curved lines.
With the pen tool, hover over an existing point and the cursor will automatically change to the DELETE Anchor Point Tool.
With the pen tool, hover over an existing line segment and the cursor will automatically change to the ADD Anchor Point Tool.
To select and move a point , hold down the control key and the pen tool will change to the DIRECT SELECTION Tool.
To MAKE handles from a point that has none, hold down the ALT key; the pen tool will change to the CONVERT Anchor Tool . Click on the point and pull.
, hold To select and move a handle down the control key and the pen tool will change to the DIRECT SELECTION Tool. Click on the handle and pull or rotate.
To REMOVE handles from a point, hold down the ALT key; the pen tool will change to the CONVERT Anchor Tool. Click on the point, the handles go away.
Additional PEN TOOL notes
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Use the rectangle tool for the window and the ellipse tool for the wheels.
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A. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 1 to red dot at 2
E. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 12 to red dot at 13, then Alt-Shift-Drag from 13 to blue dot at 14
C. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 6 to red dot at 7, then Alt-Shift-Drag from 7 to blue dot at 8
B. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 3 to red dot at 4, then Alt-Shift-Drag from 4 to blue dot at 5
D. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 9 to red dot at 10, then Alt-Shift-Drag from 10 to blue dot at 11
G. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 18 to red dot at 19
F. Shift-Drag from anchor point at 15 to red dot at 16, then Alt-Shift-Drag from 16 to blue dot at 17
(Windows速: use Alt to activate the Convert Direction Point Tool) (Macintosh速: use Option to activate the Convert Direction Point Tool)
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F. Drag from anchor point at 15 to red dot at 16
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2 A. Drag from anchor point at 1 to red dot at 2 B. Drag from anchor point at 3 to red dot at 4, then Alt-Drag from 4 to blue dot at 5
11 C. Drag from anchor point at 6 to red dot at 7, then Alt-Drag from 7 to blue dot at 8
8 D. Drag from anchor point at 9 to red dot at 10, then Alt-Drag from 10 to blue dot at 11
14 E. Drag from anchor point at 12 to red dot at 13, then Alt-Drag from 13 to blue dot at 14
Use the PEN TOOL to trace the letters above. Outline around letters so they can be filled. All letters of the same word should be the same color. Each word should be a different color. All letters should have a different colored outline.
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