This one is a biggie.
The Pen Tool is one of the two power houses of Illustrator and while there is a lot to learn it also takes time and practice to master this one.
This isn’t a quest to blow off but be ready to really work for this one. Its truly what makes Illustrator the Illustrator we know.
Learning pen tool fundamental is all about taking your time with these exercises. Follow along with these videos, repeat them as necessary, and practice patience with the special tool. These videos are very common videos for students repeat. Don’t feel silly repeating them as that means you are be accountable and will be rewarded when we begin to use the tool later on.
Download – Basics
Warning
Watching the videos may seem tedious and long, but it is a must to watch them all the way through. Take your time, slow and steady, and the tortoise will win in the end. Approach it like a race and you will lose. Follow along with the videos pausing as necessary to apply each step as demonstrated.
Document major skills in your sketchbook for later reference. Your sketchbook must be out while working on this challenge.
- Pen Tool Part 1 - find your file and your place
- Pen Tool Part 2 - the power of shift-Click
- Pen Tool Part 3 - click, click, cmd-click
- Pen Tool Part 4 - click and drag
- Pen Tool Part 5 - click and drag w/o cheaters
- Pen Tool Part 6 - edit anchors and handles with the white arrow
- Pen Tool Part 7 - you have options to change directions
- Pen Tool Part 8 - exercise your options
- Pen Tool Part 9 - different direction/same option
- Pen Tool Part 10 - practice makes perfect
Once you have successfully taken notes on major skills and new vocabulary ask Coulson to check out your worksheet to pass you off for quest completion.
Quest Vocabulary:
- Anchor Point
- Direct Selection tool (white arrow)
- Anchor Point Tool
- Bezier Handle
- Smooth Anchor point