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Learning_Illustrator
Learning_Illustrator
Participating Frequently
June 16, 2011
Answered

Newbie learning illustrator -why can't I paint?

  • June 16, 2011
  • 4 replies
  • 56997 views

Hi!

Im trying to learn Adobe Illustrator, but I'm having trouble right from the start. I made a video to better illustrate my issue, which in short is that I'm not able to use the paint brush tool.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJesz-1ZFtU

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Monika Gause

    You didn't select a brush for the paintbrush, but a width profile. You have to select a brush tip in the brushes panel.

    4 replies

    Learning_Illustrator
    Learning_IllustratorAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    June 16, 2011

    Thanks for helping (except for the RTFM guy).

    Monika was right, I needed to select a brush from the brushes panel. That's certainly confusing for a newbie, since looking at the top panel it looked like I already had a brush selected. My previous experience with other Adobe programs certainly didn't help me realize the problem there. Small things like this make the Illustrator learning curve quite steep.

    As a side note to the guy who decided to reply with "RTFM": I'm not posting only to gain knowledge, but to also show the areas that produce problems for newbies in Illustrator. This kind of information might be usefull to Adobe if their goal is to make Illustrator more accessible for a wider range of people.

      Jacob Bugge
      Community Expert
      Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 16, 2011

      For my small part you are welcome, Learning.

      I believe the need to select a brush is a new feature/bug.

      At least in some older versions, a default Brush (such as 3pt Round) applies, which means that you (can) use the default unless some other has been chosen (when you apply the Brush, you can, or at least could, see it selected in the Brushes palette/panel).

      Obviously I was fooled by that, unable to imagine such a strange change.

      Maybe in the next version you will have to click a Start Drawing button to be able to start drawing.

        Jacob Bugge
        Community Expert
        Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        June 17, 2011

        Why does it have to be like that? Does Adobe think a user who opens a jpeg into Illustrator doesn't want to use any brushes or is there some logical explanation for this kind of un-intuitive behaviour?


        Learning, Monika, others,

        So:

        If you stumble upon a photograph looking through some obscure folder somewhere on the harddisk or in a DVD/Floppy drive, you will have to wakr Illy up, browse to wherever the photograph is, and File>Place,

        instead of just opening the file with Illy, which in itself wakes her up, and relax while everything gets loaded in the right way.

        Great change in CS(2).

        Why have the option of opening the file if it fails to work properly?

        This is just the way Illustrator works

        And this part of the reason for my saying here, and in other threads, that you have to build a knowledge before you can use the instructions (and I am quite certain the issue mentioned here is nowhere to find in the Fine Manual/Helpfile).

        I am afraid you are bound to get stuck quite a few times in the beginning, whichever way you learn to know Illy.

          Monika Gause
          Community Expert
          Monika GauseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
          Community Expert
          June 16, 2011

          You didn't select a brush for the paintbrush, but a width profile. You have to select a brush tip in the brushes panel.

          Jacob Bugge
          Community Expert
          Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          June 16, 2011

          Learning,

          As you have realized, the Helpfile (the Fine Manual) is written by and for someone with a certain knowledge about Illy; some instructions simply imply something that a new user has no way of knowing. Illy herself is actually very helpful.

          If the layer had been locked, that would have been a reason.

          In a case like this, you may be stuck with corrupt preferences.

          To try out whether that is the case without sacrificing your preference settings unnecessarily, you may close Illy and Move the folder.

          If that does not help, you may move the folder back, and try the Other options; Item 7 is a lsit of usual suspects which may disturb Illy and prevent her from helping you.

          Edit: Hi PrepressPro.

            PrepressPro1
            PrepressPro1
            Legend
            June 16, 2011

            Did you RTFM?

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