Adobe Creative Cloud Design Tools All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 5: Using the Pen Tool and Placing Images

In This Chapter

• Familiarizing yourself with the Pen tool
• Creating paths, closed shapes, and curves
• Using the hidden Pen tools
• Tracing some artwork
• Using the Image Trace feature
• Placing images in Illustrator CC

You've seen illustrations that you know are made from paths, but how do you make your own? In this chapter, we show you how to use the Pen tool to create paths and closed shapes.

Using the Pen tool requires a little more coordination than using other Illustrator tools. Fortunately, Adobe Illustrator includes features to help make using the Pen tool a little easier. After you master the Pen tool, the possibilities for creating illustrations are unlimited. Read this chapter to build your skills using one of most popular tools in the creative industry: the Pen tool's Bézier curve capabilities.

Pen Tool Fundamentals

You can use the Pen tool to create all sorts of elements, such as straight lines, curves, and closed shapes, which you can then incorporate into illustrations:

• Bézier curve: Originally developed by Pierre Bézier in the 1970s for CAD/CAM operations, the Bézier curve (shown in Figure 5-1) became the underpinnings of the entire Adobe PostScript drawing model. You can control the depth and size of a Bézier curve by using ...