Schedule
- Pen Tool Basics Demo (30 minutes)
- Demo 2, Gorilla Trace (45 minutes)
- In-class Logo Exercise (1 hour, 15 minutes)
Pen Tool Basics
Using the Pen tool is a bit like sewing — You go from point to point to create a line. However, with the Pen tool, you can also add curves to the line, rather than working only with small straight segments to define curves.
Notes:
- Click only once to put down an anchor point in a straight line. No double clicking.
- Click, hold and drag in the direction of the path to create curves (handlebars).
- Don’t worry if it is not perfect, you can also go back and edit the points and path with the “Direct Selection Tool” (the white arrow, second tool in the toolbar)
- Make sure that the “Stroke” colour is a darker colour (e.g. black) and the “Fill” colour is set to “none.” (Otherwise, the fill will block the image you are trying to trace)
- You can take breaks when tracing a path:
- Just use the “Selection Tool” (black arrow), and click on an empty part of the artboard.
- You can continue the path by using the “Pen Tool” again and hovering over the end of the path that you would like to continue,
- Select anchor points by dragging a selection rectangle around the general area of an anchor point or multiple anchor points.
- Turning on Smart Guides is helpful.
Here are some tracing exercises to get started. Copy and paste them into a “New Document” in Adobe Illustrator and follow the instructions.
from ic.arc.losrios.edu
These exercises create curves by using the handlebars at the ends of the curve, but you can also trace by having the curves starting from the middle (the hump or apex) of a curve as well.
Adobe Illustrator Documentation for Pen Tool
Pen+ , Pen- and the Anchor Point Tool
If you expand the “Pen Tool” by clicking and holding on the small white triangle at the bottom of the tool icon in the toolbar, you will see the following tools:
Pen+/Pen- Tool
- If you need to add a point to a path, use the “Pen+” Tool.
- Conversely, if you want to remove a point from a path, use the “Pen-” Tool. You can also select a point with the “Direct Select” tool and delete it, however, this will break the continuity of the path.
Anchor Point tool
- You can change the handlebars of an anchor point using the “Anchor Point Tool.” You can use this tool to move each handlebar individually.
- If you do a single click on an anchor point, you will remove the anchor points, creating a sharp point.
- You can drag new handlebars by click and dragging outwards on an anchor point.
Create a circle shape and try out these tools on its anchor points.
Demo 2: Gorilla Tracing
Instructions
- Cut and paste this image into a new document. (File>New)
- Turn on “Smart Guides”
- Make sure the Fill colour is transparent.
- Trace the lines with the Pen tool. Each circle is an anchor point on a path. Each colour dot is on a separate path.
- Start on a simple path. For example, the brow to the behind (beige circles).
- When intersecting one path with another, try to be right on the path so that the Smart Guides indicates “path” or “intersection”. This will make it easier later on when you use the Shape Builder Tool.
- Once you have finalized your paths, use the Shape Builder Tool to colour your shapes. (You may need to double click the Shape Builder tool icon in the toolbar to turn on “Gap Detection”. (Using the Shape Builder Tool: Select the paths you want the computer to use with the “Selection Tool”, then select the “Shape Builder Tool” from the toolbar, then select a swatch, and then clicked an enclosed area to colour.)
- Delete any stray lines left over from the “Shape Builder” tool.
Notes
- Don’t worry if your path is not perfect. You can always adjust it later using the white arrow selection tool, the “Direct Select” tool to select an anchor point and adjust its location and handlebars (curvature).
- Make sure your handlebars are going with the curve. It is easy to go in the wrong direction and make the tracing behave strangely.
In-Class Exercise
Repeat the last exercise with your own logo drawing.
Homework
Make a simple illustration with a mix of flat solid shapes and linework. See the imagery of Craig Frazier or Satoshi Hashimoto for inspiration. Think about the process and how you can construct your illustration using Adobe Illustrator.
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