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southwestform
Inspiring
February 26, 2018
Question

Basic Pen Tool Questions

  • February 26, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 783 views

1. I have a shape that is not complete and when I place the Pen over an anchor the minus sign appears, though when I click I am able to continue drawing the shape and complete it. Is this the correct way to continue drawing an incomplete path/shape? When does it continue drawing VS. delete anchor points?

2. Generally, when might you go to the Pencil tool VS. using the Pen? Are things like hair generally better suited for the Pencil?

3. Are there any guidelines regarding how many anchor points should be used to draw any given portion of a path?

Thanks.

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    2 replies

    Ray Yorkshire
    Ray Yorkshire
    Participating Frequently
    February 26, 2018

    Deke McClelland,chart from Linda.com  might help

    In Illustrator by default the Pen tool has an Auto Add and Delete enabled

    It trys to workout what you are going to do next on a selectd path.

    Eg if you hover over a mid anchor point, it thinks you probably want to delete that point and  so changes from the pen tool to it's sub tool the Delete Anchor point  tool,

    I that have behaviour  turned off

    Preferences > General > Dissable Auto Add and Delete

    ie checked, as that feature just gets in my way.

    If you want to delete a point  it's easy enough with the shift key , or just select the Delete anchor point  tool itself

    Doug A Roberts
    Community Expert
    Doug A RobertsCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 26, 2018

    1. assuming auto add/delete is on (in General preferences), if you hover over a mid-point in a path, the pen will show a little minus symbol and a click will remove the anchor point. if you hover over an end point, you'll see a little upside-down V, and clicking will continue the path.

    2. use the pencil tool when you want to draw completely freehand. use the pen when you want to define precise curves (or the curvature tool).

    3. if you're drawing curves, try to use as few as possible. otherwise, it depends what you want.

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