Clean up line work in Adobe Illustrator. Join paths, trim excess line segments from intersecting paths, and close any gaps between two open paths.

Light green umbrella sits on the ground in the rain.

Analyze the artwork

Our sample illustration was created using the Pencil tool and has many paths that should be joined together. Some of these paths must be joined where they intersect, while others have gaps between them that should be closed to create clean-looking artwork.

Light green umbrella sits on the ground in the rain.

Select the Join tool

You’ll first add the Join tool to your Basic toolbar. Click the Edit Toolbar icon (three dots) at the bottom of the Basic toolbar. The All Tools drawer appears, which holds all the tools available in Illustrator.

To add the Join tool, you can drag it anywhere onto the toolbar or drag it onto a tool group to nest it. For now, drag it to the bottom of the toolbar.

Tip: To remove a tool, drag it from the toolbar to anywhere in the All Tools drawer. You can also choose Reset in the drawer’s options menu.

The Join tool is added to the basic toolbar by clicking the Edit Toolbar icon and dragging the Join tool to the toolbar

Join intersecting paths

In the practice file, a couple of areas in the artwork have two paths crossing over each other. Locate the area shown, and then drag over the excess portions of the paths. When you release the mouse, the two paths will be joined at their intersection into a single, complete path with the excess trimmed.

The Join tool is used to intersect two paths on the umbrella and remove the excess lines.

Close a gap between two open paths

Locate the area of the artwork shown, which has a small gap between two paths. Enlarge your view with the Zoom tool before you join the lines. Select the Join tool and draw a line to connect the two paths.

The Join tool is used to close a gap between two paths by drawing a line between them.

Practice

You may notice other areas in the artwork where paths need to be joined or trimmed. Practice using the Join tool to clean up the illustration.

Light green umbrella sits on the ground in the rain.

Great going! Now you can draw and edit your quick sketches without breaking a sweat.

 Adobe

Získajte pomoc rýchlejšie a ľahšie

Nový užívateľ?

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

14. – 16. októbra Miami Beach a online

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

14. – 16. októbra Miami Beach a online