Creative Tools in Illustrator 9 - Part 1

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by Don Herion

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The one advantage programs like Illustrator, Corel Draw and Freehand have over raster based programs is their very powerful vector tool set. This article will give you a sampling of the drawing tools that come with Illustrator 9 and how they give designers the power to create complex graphics.

Pencil Tool Options
This tool set has three options . They are the 'Pencil,' 'Smooth' and 'Erase' tools

Pencil Tool
This tool works just like a pencil. You draw across your document and when you release the mouse button or Wacom pen a path is formed with anchor points. To draw a closed path, start drawing your path, then hold down the - Alt - key and when you stop a closed path is created. You can adjust the shape using the 'Direct Selection Tool' . Simply select the path, and then drag the anchor point or one of the 'direction lines' to alter the shape.

Pencil tool	Direct Select tool

You can adjust the sensitivity of the 'Pencil' tool by 'double clicking' it. A preferences window opens giving you the power to change the tool.

Smooth Tool
This tool gives you the ability to smooth out a section of a path by simply running the tool over a curve. If you double click the tool you can adjust its parameters.

Erase Tool
The erase tool allows you to remove a particular area of a path by rubbing across it.

Erase tool