Illustrator’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide
If you use Adobe Illustrator, then it’s almost certain that you use the Pen tool when creating your paths. This comprehensive guide aims to introduce or remind you of features, shortcuts, and methods for working with what is arguably Adobe’s most essential tool.
Functions
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Pen tool : Click on artboard to create paths with straight segments, click and drag to create paths with Bezier curves.
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Add anchor point tool : Click on a path segment to add anchor points.
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Delete anchor point tool : Click on anchor point to remove from path.
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Convert anchor point : Click on an anchor point and drag to create bezier handles where there were none, click on an anchor point with handles to a remove them.
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Scissors : Not part of the Pen tool group, but definitely associated with it. Click on a path segment to divide into two paths.
Keyboard Shortcuts
- Select Pen tool (P)
- Select Add anchor point tool (+)
- Select Delete anchor point tool (-)
- Select Convert anchor point tool (Shift + C)
- Select Scissors tool (C)
The Cursors
The pen tool takes on different forms depending on what you’re doing when you’re using it. Each one intuitively makes you aware of the action you are about to perform.
(Caps Lock to toggle between pointer and cross hair)
Prepared to begin path
Whilst midway through creating or editing a path
When mouse is pressed
When hovered over path section; to add an anchor point to path
When hovered over anchor point; to remove anchor point from path
When hovered over begin point of path; to close path
When hovered over endpoint of existing path; to continue path
When hovered over existing anchor point
Secondary Mouse Controls (with path selected)
- Pen tool hover over anchor point : changes to Delete anchor point tool
- Pen tool hover over path segment : changes to Add anchor point tool
- Pen tool hover over end anchor point : changes to Convert anchor point tool
Keyboard Controls
- Hold Shift to constrain movements to 45°, 90°, 135° or 180° whilst creating or editing anchor points and handles.
- Select anchor point with Direct selection tool and click Delete. Anchor and adjoining path segments are deleted leaving two paths.
- Pen tool + Option (Alt) : changes to Convert anchor point tool.
- Pen tool hover over bezier handle + Command (Ctrl) : allows editing of bezier curve.
- Pen tool + Option (Alt) whilst creating bezier curve : splits curve (unhinges handles).
- Pen tool hover over bezier handle + Option (Alt) : splits curve (unhinges handles).
- Scissors tool + Option (Alt) : changes to Add anchor point tool.
- Add anchor point tool + Option (Alt) : changes to Delete anchor point tool.
- Delete anchor point tool + Option (Alt) : changes to Add anchor point tool.
Preferences
(Illustrator > Preferences > Selection & anchor display)
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Tolerance: Radius of the selection area around anchor points. Must be between 1 and 8 pixels, 1px if you’re deadly accurate with your mouse or have a lot of anchors in close range of one another, 8px if you prefer less precision. 3px is the default value.
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Object Selection by Path Only : When checked, this option allows selection of objects only by clicking their paths. Clicking on their filled areas is ineffective, comparable to working in Outline mode (View > Outline).
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Snap to Point: Also checkable via View > Snap to Point, though via the Selection & Anchor Display dialogue the tolerance can also be determined from 1 to 8 pixels. This value again represents the radius around anchor points. When lining up two objects, anchor points from one will snap to points of the other should they be positioned within the specified range.
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Anchor Point and Handle Display: Determines the way in which your path anchor points and handles are displayed.
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Highlight Anchors on Mouseover: When checked, highlights anchor points when hovered over with cursor.
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Show Handles When Multiple Anchors are Selected: When checked, this options displays the handles of points when multiple points are selected. Otherwise, handles of multiple selected points are not displayed.
Other Shortcuts and Tips
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Select the Direct Selection tool before selecting the Pen tool. Press and hold Command (Ctrl) to give you access to the last tool selected (in this case the Direct Selection tool) for editing of paths and handles without deselecting the path.
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With path selected, use the Spacebar to give you access to the Hand tool. Move your screen without deselecting the path or changing tools.
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While creating or editing an anchor point, click and hold mouse + Spacebar to alter the position of the anchor point you’re working on.
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With Direct Selection tool select endpoint and starting point of path. Command (Ctrl) + J to Join.
- With Direct Selection tool select endpoint and starting point of path. Command (Ctrl) + Option (Alt) + Shift + J to join and average simultaneously.
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To smoothen a path by reducing the number of anchor points open the Simplify dialogue (Object > Path > Simplify) and adjust according to your needs.
- Conversely, should you want more anchor points to improve manipulation go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points. A new anchor point will appear after every existing anchor point on the selected path.
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To prevent the Pen tool from changing it’s function when interacting with other anchor points or paths, open the general preferences dialogue (Illustrator > Preferences > General) and check the Disable Auto Add/Delete option. The Pen tool will now only draw paths.
Best Practice Suggestions
- Drag handles from the first anchor point when beginning a curved path.
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Drag your handles around just one third of the curve you’re creating for a smooth path.
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Position anchor points on a curve where the paths begin to change direction, not in the middle of it’s curve.
- Be sparing with your use of anchor points, fewer points = neater path.
The Pen Tool Exercise
This is all well and good in theory, but while these tips are fresh in your mind why not put them into practice? Download the Pen Tool Exercise file and follow the guides to create precise paths, using the hints and shortcuts covered in this article.
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By Ian Yates
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Amazing great tips and brilliant exercise…Thank you very much.
Let me make a humble request. Could I use this exercise file for my students?
How do I work with the exercise files….Illustrator is not letting me perform any thing when I open it ?
What a great tutorial and the pen tool exercise was just brilliant. I loved it.
It really helped me, because for some reason I always have trouble with the pen tool.
Cheers.
I absolutely loved the excercise you provided. I was having a hard time with the pen tool but this excersice has helped. Thank you!
Great help, just teaching myself so totally lost without your help – thank you
Laali – I had the same problem then I saw that the layers were locked. After unlocking I could pen tool draw
awsome tips ….I can open the tutorial excersice but cant work with or copy it over.???????????????????? help please
goit it ! just had to click on the working layer in in layers …..sweeeet!
HAhaha,
I will post a tutorial on pen tool soon.
A few rules when you drag out those handles:
the one third rule is a very good starting point.
If your handles are a lot longer eg, they start to cross over, it means you need some extra points to control that section.
If they are very short, you will probably get better control if you delete some points.
For each section of line the handles at each end should be on the same side. If your handles are on opposite sides of the line, with an S shape in the middle, move them or add another point.
Now you should be able to get those curves to do exactly what you want with minimum frustration!
I’ve been using Illustrator since it first came out (in ‘87 I believe, by Aldus), and it never ceases to amaze me that I can still pick up pointers from even the most basic of tutorials. That’s why I will generally always stop to read one. I found a couple of choice ones from this one that might make explaining to my students a lot easier. Thank you.
Excellent!
Hey, thanks a lot! The exercise was such a great ideia! Thank you very much!
amazing, i really wanted to know some more details about pen tools than i already know and here they are. Thanks a lot buddy and thanks to vectortuts for this awesome tutorial.
super,i can Say that you are the king of Illustrator.
imazing……………….
^ not true
thank you,
this is very useful
Hi, thanks for this tutorial. I learned how to use the Pen tool in Illustrator but I’m certainly not a master of it. This will help me a lot. Funnily enough I only learned how to use the Pen tool in Photoshop AFTER I learned how to use the Pen tool in Illustrator. Illustrator’s Pen tool is more intuitive than Photoshop’s Pen tool in my opinion.
Excellent introduction, thanks a lot!
I’ve been having a hard time with the pen tool. This site explains
it best. BIG HELP.
Great article it helps me a lot thanks
(sigh)…good tutorial, but I miss FreeHand’s pen…
Very nice tutorial but I have one question.
Why in point 67 you make it difficult with alt and drag to draw a straight line to 68? Since it’s a straight line, the bezier handle is unwanted, i think.
I would do it this way:
66. click and drag left
67. to here and release. click on the anchor 66 again (to remove the unwanted bezier handle)
68. click
69. …
(I use the same technique when drawing the ‘O’…)
Maybe there’s a good reason why you do it the way you do. I wonder…
When I open the file and try to use the pen tool, I don’t get the correct icon. It’s an icon of a pen with a line through it, and it won’t let me use the pen tool. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Sounds like you may be on a locked layer. Check the little buttons beside the layers. There’s one to make them visible or invisible (eyeball) and one to lock or unlock a layer (pad lock). If your on a locked layer then the tool would show with a strike through it to indicate you can’t use it.
After years of playing around with Illustrator and finally needing to take it more seriously, this really helped put some things in perspective. Thanks.
Great tutorial to learn the basics, thanks for sharing!!!!
This tutorial and everything about this website just rocks! It’s been a valuable resource in my new understanding of illustrator! Thank you!
Brilliant approach!
OH MY GOD – this is exactly what I needed to find, man it’s tricky these curves.
due to the death of macromedia freehand i’m finally diving into the cesspool that is illustrator. I must say illustrator is possibly the worst program ever made. everything that can be done with 2 steps in freehand takes 6 steps in illustrator.
thanks for the tut.
Great Tutorial for Illustrator Pen!
Kwanta
i’ve completed pen tool exercise with lots of fun, it’s rocks!
It is very useful, now I realised how important is pen tool.
Really helpful!
Hello
This is a great practice.
But
I can’t do that.
Because My Pen tool doesn’t work on this artwork and I don’t know why?
can anybody help me?
thanks
it was very useful for me, thank you!
kuch b naye awain e hai. samaj to lagti naye. banda clear cut likhay.
Great tutorial. Ah.. Finally I fond comprehensive guide for pen tool. Always have problem when use it in both photoshop and illustrator
Great tutorial. Felicitaciones.
Really Nice!
one of the best tutorials i ever seen. this is really usefull to beginners.
great tuts! thank you.
Fantastic tutorial. I’ve been looking for an easy to follow reference I can refer back to from time to time!
Thanks! This is helping bigtime!
This was a great tutorial! I could never figure out how exactly to use the pen tool even after reading other tutorials but this one was very easy to understand and follow. Thanks!
I confess, I’m an “idiot” when it comes to using the Pen tool correctly and effectively in Illustrator! And this tutorial is awesome! Thanks so much!
When I open this in Illustrator and click the Pen Tool, I can’t draw any line. It shows a pencil with a line through it. Why?
This is by a mile the most useful resource for Illustrator that I’ve seen: thank you for putting it together. The pen tool exercise is fabulous. I think it has two small mistakes, however. First, at step 50, you say to hold option, but I don’t think you should. Secondly (and less seriously), you have two 64’s.
Anyway, brilliant stuff.