The two tools that I use the most in Adobe Illustrator are the Pen tool and the Direct Selection tool.
And I have a few tips and tricks for using these tools that I will share with you in this second installment of my "Quick Tips & Shortcuts" tutorial series. The first installment, "Quick Tips & Shortcuts: Custom Keyboard Shortcuts and Workspaces," we published earlier.
One of the most important things to know about any tool is its hotkey. In this case, the hotkey for the Pen tool is “P” and the hotkey for the Direct Selection tool is “A.”
The first trick in this tutorial comes when using the Pen tool. By holding “Ctrl” with the pen tool selected, you can temporarily toggle to the Direct Selection tool for on-the-fly anchor point selection.
After going over the some basics for each tool, I’ll show you how to use the Pen tool to quickly modify paths on the go by adding and removing anchor points and by removing what I call “arc memory” from anchor points.
Next, I will show you how to use the align options to easily line up and merge anchor points for precision paths. I will also show you how holding the “Shift” key while creating a new path will allow you to draw either perfect vertical, horizontal, or 45° diagonal line.
Finally, I will show you some tricks that come from the Anchor Point toolbar. I will show you how to convert a sharp angle into a smooth curve and a smooth curve into a round angle. I will also show you how to cut any anchor point in two and how to quickly merge two anchor points together.
By the end of this tutorial, you should know a few tricks that will speed you along your way when using the Pen tool, Direct Selection tool, and anchor points in Adobe Illustrator CS4.
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