Illustrator Tutorial: How to use the Pen Tool

The pen tool is a great way of creating shapes, outlines for drawings or photographs. I frequently use the pen tool to create shapes or outlines for a drawing that I have scanned onto the computer. Today I will be helping you develop your understanding of how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator.

Creating straight lines

1.  Once illustrator is open and a blank document is displayed, click on the pen tool. It should look like this:

2.  When on the pen tool. Move to the blank document and click once

(A small dot should appear on the page. This dot is an anchor point which can be manipulated to create an outline)

(Anchor point)

3.  Now, travel with your cursor away from the anchor point in a straight line, once you are happy with the distance, click again to create another anchor point. By click again a line should appear connecting the two anchor points together.

You may notice that your line is not very straight. A straight line can be created by holding SHIFT when making the next anchor point.

4.  Travel down the anchor point you have just created to make another anchor point from the second anchor point made. This time, hold SHIFT to create a straight line.

You can see that the line is completely straight because you held SHIFT while creating the third anchor point.

5.  Make one more anchor point below the first to form the sides of a box.

6.  Complete the box by making another anchor point at the original point.

You have now designed a box using the pen tool!

HELPFUL TRICKS

If you do not like one of your anchor points, you can always alter it using the 'Direct Selection Tool' (white arrow). 

1. Select the 'Direct Selection Tool'
2. Click on the first line that you drew that was not completely straight because we did not hold the SHIFT key. The whole box will be highlighted.
3. Click on the top left hand corner of the box where we made the original anchor point. 
4. Once the top line is select, hit the 'delete' key on your keyboard. We will remove the line to start over.
5. Select the pen tool again.
6. Click on one of the anchor points up the top of the box (By clicking on the anchor point, it means the next anchor point will connect together)
7. Holding SHIFT complete the box again.

Creating a circle

The key to creating a good circle is to only have 4 anchor points. The less anchor points can be better at times because it makes it more simple if you ever need to alter the anchor points later on.

1.  Select the pen tool

2.  Click on the page anywhere to create the first anchor point

3.  Click, hold and drag for the next anchor point. When you have clicked for the second anchor point to make a curve, drag your cursor directly up and this will create the curve.  

(We need to click, hold and drag because we need to create the curve of the anchor point).

(Click and drag the cursor directly up to create the curve)

4.  Now you can create another anchor point by doing the same process however you will be clicking to make an anchor point directly above the original anchor point you make and will be dragging your cursor straight out to the side to make the curve.

(Click and drag the cursor to the side to create the circle)

5.  Complete the circle by using the same principles

6.  When complete your circle may look like something similar to mine. Though this does not look like a circle, we are able to fix this.

7.  Select the 'Direct Selection Tool'.

8.  Click on one of the anchor points that you think needs to be adjusted. You can adjust the shape by clicking on that anchor points 'hands'. This is the two lines that come off the anchor point. 

Here is an example of how to fix your anchor points.

You have now learnt how to use the pen tool to create a circle!

Try the exercises below to help practise using the pen tool