Pen Tool Tutorial Illustrator

Probably the single most important tool in Adobe Illustrator is the Pen Tool. This versatile tool allows for drawing straight lines and Bezier Curves. I can remember hating trying to learn this tool some 20 years ago, but now I can't imagine not using it. Following is an overview of the Pen Tool icons you will see in Illustrator. Below is a link to an Illustrator document for use with the pen tool. Feel free to download it, open it in Illustrator and experiment.

	Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool Exercies
	PenTool - Creates points and Bezier curves. Click to create a point or points; click [hold] and drag mouse to create smooth curves. Hold down shift to constrain to 45 degree angles when clicking.
	Add Anchor Point Tool - Adds a point to an existing line.
	Delete Anchor Point Tool - Deletes an existing point on a line.
	Convert Anchor Point Tool - This tool can convert straight lines and angles to curves. Also used to change directions of a line path.
The following icons are noticeable when drawing with the Pen Tool.
	Indicates you are making the first click.
	Indicates you have started the line and continuing the path.
	Indicates you are about to close the line path by clicking on your starting point.
	Indicates you are about to close the line path by clicking on your starting point.
	Direct Selection Tool - Move points, handles and re-adjusts existing curves.

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