The Pen Tool

The Pen Tool The most powerful and versatile illustration tool there is!
Required Viewing You need to know our Illustrator Fundamentals to get through the rest
Why Use the Pen Tool? A little visual proof: Mac Lab Posters
Project Preview Download the Starter Files
0910 Self-Portrait Gallery | 1011 Self-Portrait Gallery | 0910 Self-Portrait Video |
All You Need to Know Master the fundamentals and you can trace anything
The Basics Part I A journey begins with a single step
The Basics Part II Click, Shift-Click, and Command-Click
The Basics Part III Click, Click, and Command-Click
The Basics Part IV The joy of Command-S (and the pain of not using it)
The Basics Part V Click and Drag
The Basics Part VI Click and Drag with no cheat sheet
The Basics Part VII Editing anchor points and control handles with the White Arrow
The Basics Part VIII You have the OPTION to change directions
The Basics Part IX Exercising your OPTIONS
The Basics Part X Wax on. Wax off.
The Basics Part XI Wax on. Wax off… Again. And again.
The Maze Part I Putting the basics to work
The Maze Part II Think about your strategy
The Maze Part III Connecting the dots
The Maze Part IV Don’t get loopy!
The Maze Part V Two points for continuous curves
The Maze Part VI What else is expected
Afterword A few other things you should think about