Get started with the fundamentals of drawing with precision using the Pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. You’ll create straight and curved paths while becoming more comfortable with this powerful tool.
What you'll need
What you learned
Set the stroke and fill
Before drawing, with the Pen tool selected, in the Properties panel, set the stroke weight to 1 pt, the color to black, and the fill to none.
Create straight lines
To create straight lines with the Pen tool, click and release to create an anchor point. Move the pointer, click and release to create another anchor point. Continue clicking and releasing in different areas to create more points.
Create curves
To draw a curve, drag to make a point rather than click. Dragging creates direction lines that let you control the path's curve as you drag.
Create corner points (change path direction)
To change the direction of a path while drawing, drag to create a curve. Release the mouse button. Move the pointer over the end of a direction line, press the Option key (macOS) or Alt key (Windows), and drag the end of the direction line to split them.
Remove direction lines
To remove a direction line as you draw with the Pen tool so you can go from a curve to a straight line, click back on the last anchor point created to remove the direction line. Then continue drawing.
Back to: Draw with the Curvature tool | Up next: Pen tool practice
