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How to maintain Illustrator pen tool stroke settings (size, brush, etc.) for all new paths?

Forum|Forum|13 years ago
January 7, 2013
7 replies
75847 views

I'm a newbie, so this is probably obvious, but I can't find it in any tutorials or documentation. In Illustrator I want to maintain the stroke settings while creating several paths with the pen tool. However, every time I start a new path, the stroke settings revert to what must be a default. E.g. I set 16pt + Variable width profile + Basic and stroke a path. When I start a new path, the settings revert to 1pt + Uniform + Basic, and I have to reset back to my original. Other art programs I've used maintain the tool settings most recently used until they are manually changed. How can I get the settings to stay through multiple uses of the pen tool? Thanks.

Correct answer mjarrott

Hi Bion_s,

In the course of playing around in Illustrator to find a solution, I found that if you open your appearance panel (Window > Appearance), select the fly-out menu and deselect New Art has Basic Appearance.

I found that with this option unselected, you can select your stroke width and profile and draw multiple times without it reverting to the default stroke!

Please let me know if this works for you. I'm not sure how this might affect your workflow on other projects, but it did result in the behavior you seemed to want.

Cheers,

Michael

T

tobymikle

Inspiring

Evertime I get a new computer I have to search for this and have the hardest time finding it. Thanky you! So, in order to draw brush strokes with the pen or pencil, you have to opeen appearance then cilick the little part in upper right and disselect basic appearance. It is SO hidden, not ony that, but I tried everything to use the brush tool without lag and this actually works. I have no idea why the pencil tool with brush stroke has no lag but brush with brush stroke does or why this setting is so hidden.

K

kengita100

Participant

Hello,

Am trying to draw with the pencil tool.but once i draw, everything goes transparent, instead of creating a path

which can show me where to fill colour with the eyedropper tool. Help

Monika Gause

Community Expert

Uncheck the option "New art has basic appearance" in the appearance panel menu.

Then apply whatever you would like the stroke to look like. New paths would then have that appearance.

S

screen1234why

Known Participant

Thank you!!! I've been googling this for days now and finding nothing - how does one even express in google-search terms what the problem is!!? anyway, this is probably exactly what I needed. Thank you

S

SeanE.

Participant

Hello! I am on CC 2019 illustrator and I am having this same or similar problem. I unchecked the option mentioned above but the pen tool changes settings everytime I click a different shape. Is there a way to maintain the pen tool settings no matter what object you click?

Monika Gause

Community Expert

What exactly is your issue? What exactly does change? Which settings are you referring to?

Summit Heino

Participating Frequently

None of this worked for me. my pen tool wont stay in the basic line type and keeps changing back to the previously used one. It wont maintain the thickness or line type i command and its ruining my project. Pen tool is literally useless.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

What do you mean with "Basic line type"? A brush?

Are you really using the pen tool? Or is it the brush tool?

What exactly are you doing there? Step by step?

Summit Heino

Participating Frequently

sorry *paintbutsh tool*

mjarrottCorrect answer

Adobe Employee

Hi Bion_s,

In the course of playing around in Illustrator to find a solution, I found that if you open your appearance panel (Window > Appearance), select the fly-out menu and deselect New Art has Basic Appearance.

I found that with this option unselected, you can select your stroke width and profile and draw multiple times without it reverting to the default stroke!

Please let me know if this works for you. I'm not sure how this might affect your workflow on other projects, but it did result in the behavior you seemed to want.

Cheers,

Michael