How To Use Curvature Tool In Illustrator

Illustrator User Guide
Get to know Illustrator
1. Introduction to Illustrator
  1. What's new in Illustrator
  2. Common questions
  3. Illustrator system requirements
  4. Illustrator for Apple silicon
2. Workspace
  1. Workspace basics
  2. Create documents
  3. Toolbar
  4. Default keyboard shortcuts
  5. Customize keyboard shortcuts
  6. Introduction to artboards
  7. Manage artboards
  8. Customize the workspace
  9. Properties panel
  10. Set preferences
  11. Touch Workspace
  12. Microsoft Surface Dial support in Illustrator
  13. Recovery, disengage, history, and automation
  14. Rotate view
  15. Rulers, grids, and guides
  16. Accessibility in Illustrator
  17. Safe Fashion
  18. View artwork
  19. Employ the Touch Bar with Illustrator
  20. Files and templates
3. Tools in Illustrator
  1. Tools at a glance
  2. Select tools
    1. Option
    2. Direct Selection
    3. Group Choice
    4. Magic Wand
    5. Lasso
    6. Artboard
  3. Navigate tools
    1. Hand
    2. Rotate View
    3. Zoom
  4. Pigment tools
    1. Gradient
    2. Mesh
    3. Shape Builder
  5. Text tools
    1. Type
    2. Type on a Path
    3. Vertical Type
  6. Describe tools
    1. Pen
    2. Add Ballast Point
    3. Delete Anchor Indicate
    4. Anchor Signal
    5. Curvature
    6. Line Segment
    7. Rectangle
    8. Rounded Rectangle
    9. Ellipse
    10. Polygon
    11. Star
    12. Paintbrush
    13. Hulk Brush
    14. Pencil
    15. Shaper
    16. Slice
  7. Modify tools
    1. Rotate
    2. Reflect
    3. Scale
    4. Shear
    5. Width
    6. Free Transform
    7. Eyedropper
    8. Alloy
    9. Eraser
    10. Scissors
Illustrator on the iPad
1. Introduction to Illustrator on the iPad
  1. Illustrator on the iPad overview
  2. Illustrator on the iPad FAQs
  3. System requirements | Illustrator on the iPad
  4. What you can or cannot practice on Illustrator on the iPad
2. Workspace
  1. Illustrator on the iPad workspace
  2. Affect shortcuts and gestures
  3. Keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator on the iPad
  4. Manage your app settings
3. Documents
  1. Work with documents in Illustrator on the iPad
  2. Import Photoshop and Fresco documents
4. Select and suit objects
  1. Create echo objects
  2. Blend objects
5. Drawing
  1. Draw and edit paths
  2. Describe and edit shapes
6. Blazon
  1. Work with blazon and fonts
  2. Create text designs along a path
  3. Add together your own fonts
7. Work with images
  1. Vectorize raster images
8. Colour
  1. Apply colors and gradients
Deject documents
1. Basics
  1. Piece of work with Illustrator cloud documents
  2. Share and collaborate on Illustrator cloud documents
  3. Upgrade cloud storage for Adobe Illustrator
  4. Illustrator cloud documents | Common questions
2. Troubleshooting
  1. Troubleshoot create or save issues for Illustrator cloud documents
  2. Troubleshoot Illustrator cloud documents issues
Add and edit content
1. Drawing
  1. Drawing basics
  2. Edit paths
  3. Draw pixel-perfect art
  4. Draw with the Pen, Curvature, or Pencil tool
  5. Draw simple lines and shapes
  6. Paradigm Trace
  7. Simplify a path
  8. Ascertain perspective grids
  9. Symbolism tools and symbol sets
  10. Adjust path segments
  11. Design a flower in five easy steps
  12. Perspective drawing
  13. Symbols
  14. Describe pixel-aligned paths for web workflows
2. 3D furnishings and Adobe Substance materials
  1. About 3D effects in Illustrator
  2. Create 3D graphics
  3. Map artwork over 3D objects
  4. Create 3D objects
  5. Create 3D Text
3. Color
  1. About colour
  2. Select colors
  3. Use and create swatches
  4. Adjust colors
  5. Use the Adobe Colour Themes panel
  6. Color groups (harmonies)
  7. Color Themes panel
  8. Recolor your artwork
4. Painting
  1. About painting
  2. Paint with fills and strokes
  3. Alive Paint groups
  4. Gradients
  5. Brushes
  6. Transparency and blending modes
  7. Utilise stroke on an object
  8. Create and edit patterns
  9. Meshes
  10. Patterns
5. Select and arrange objects
  1. Select objects
  2. Layers
  3. Group and aggrandize objects
  4. Motion, align, and distribute objects
  5. Stack objects
  6. Lock, hibernate, and delete objects
  7. Duplicate objects
  8. Rotate and reflect objects
6. Reshape objects
  1. Crop images
  2. Transform objects
  3. Combine objects
  4. Cut, divide, and trim objects
  5. Puppet Warp
  6. Calibration, shear, and distort objects
  7. Blend objects
  8. Reshape using envelopes
  9. Reshape objects with furnishings
  10. Build new shapes with Shaper and Shape Architect tools
  11. Piece of work with Live Corners
  12. Enhanced reshape workflows with touch back up
  13. Edit clipping masks
  14. Live shapes
  15. Create shapes using the Shape Builder tool
  16. Global editing
7. Type
  1. Add together text and work with type objects
  2. Create bulleted and numbered lists
  3. Manage text surface area
  4. Fonts and typography
  5. Format type
  6. Import and export text
  7. Format paragraphs
  8. Special characters
  9. Create type on a path
  10. Grapheme and paragraph styles
  11. Tabs
  12. Text and type
  13. Find missing fonts (Typekit workflow)
  14. Update text from Illustrator ten
  15. Standard arabic and Hebrew type
  16. Fonts | FAQ and troubleshooting tips
  17. Create 3D text effect
  18. Creative typography designs
  19. Scale and rotate type
  20. Line and character spacing
  21. Hyphenation and line breaks
  22. Text enhancements
  23. Spelling and language dictionaries
  24. Format Asian characters
  25. Composers for Asian scripts
  26. Create text designs with blend objects
  27. Create a text affiche using Image Trace
8. Create special effects
  1. Work with effects
  2. Graphic styles
  3. Create a drop shadow
  4. Appearance attributes
  5. Create sketches and mosaics
  6. Drib shadows, glows, and feathering
  7. Summary of effects
9. Web graphics
  1. Best practices for creating web graphics
  2. Graphs
  3. SVG
  4. Create animations
  5. Slices and paradigm maps
Import, export, and save
1. Import
  1. Place multiple files
  2. Manage linked and embedded files
  3. Links information
  4. Unembed images
  5. Import artwork from Photoshop
  6. Import bitmap images
  7. Import Adobe PDF files
  8. Import EPS, DCS, and AutoCAD files
2. Creative Cloud Libraries in Illustrator
  1. Creative Deject Libraries in Illustrator
3. Save
  1. Relieve artwork
4. Export
  1. Use Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
  2. Consign artwork
  3. Collect avails and export in batches
  4. Package files
  5. Create Adobe PDF files
  6. Extract CSS | Illustrator CC
  7. Adobe PDF options
  8. File information and metadata
Printing
1. Gear up for printing
  1. Prepare upward documents for printing
  2. Modify the page size and orientation
  3. Specify crop marks for trimming or aligning
  4. Get started with large sheet
2. Printing
  1. Overprint
  2. Print with colour management
  3. PostScript press
  4. Print presets
  5. Printer's marks and bleeds
  6. Impress and salve transparent artwork
  7. Trapping
  8. Print color separations
  9. Impress gradients, meshes, and colour blends
  10. White Overprint
Automate tasks
1. Information merge using the Variables panel
2. Automation with scripts
3. Automation with actions
Troubleshooting
1. Crash issues
2. Recover files subsequently crash
3. File problems
4. Supported file formats
5. GPU device driver problems
6. Wacom device problems
7. DLL file issues
8. Memory problems
9. Preferences file problems
10. Font bug
11. Printer problems
12. Share crash written report with Adobe
13. Better Illustrator operation

The simplest path you can draw with the Pen tool is a directly line, made by clicking the Pen tool to create two ballast points. By continuing to click, you create a path made of directly line segments continued past corner points.

Select the Pen tool ().

Position the Pen tool where y'all want the straight segment to brainstorm, and click to define the first anchor signal (do not drag).

Notes:

The first segment y'all draw will not be visible until you lot click a 2nd anchor signal.
If direction lines announced, you've accidentally dragged the Pen tool; cull Edit > Undo, and click over again.

Click over again where yous desire the segment to end (Shift-click to constrain the angle of the segment to a multiple of 45°).

Proceed clicking to set anchor points for boosted straight segments.

The last anchor point y'all add together always appears every bit a solid square, indicating that it is selected. Previously defined anchor points get hollow, and deselected, as you lot add more anchor points.

Complete the path by doing one of the following:

To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point. A small circle appears side by side to the Pen tool pointer when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.
To leave the path open up, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) anywhere away from all objects.
To go out the path open, you tin can besides select a different tool, or choose Select > Deselect. You tin likewise simply printing Enter or Return to get out the path open up.

Yous create a curve by adding an anchor point where a curve changes direction, and dragging the direction lines that shape the curve. The length and slope of the direction lines determine the shape of the curve.

Curves are easier to edit and your system can display and print them faster if you draw them using every bit few anchor points as possible. Using too many points can also introduce unwanted bumps in a curve. Instead, depict widely spaced anchor points, and practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the management lines.

Position the Pen tool where you want the bend to begin, and hold down the mouse button. The get-go ballast point appears, and the Pen tool pointer changes to an arrowhead.

Drag to fix the gradient of the curve segment you're creating, and so release the mouse button.

In general, extend the direction line about one third of the altitude to the adjacent anchor point you plan to draw. (You tin can accommodate one or both sides of the direction line later.)

Hold down the Shift primal to constrain the tool to multiples of 45°.

Drawing the first point in a curve — Drawing the commencement indicate in a curve

A. Positioning Pen toolB. Starting to drag (mouse push pressed)C. Dragging to extend management lines

Position the Pen tool where you want the curve segment to end, and do one of the post-obit:

To create a C‑shaped curve, drag in a direction opposite to the previous direction line. Then release the mouse button.

Drawing the second point in a curve — Drawing the second betoken in a curve

To create an South‑shaped bend, drag in the same direction as the previous direction line. Then release the mouse button.

Drawing an S curve — Drawing an Due south curve

Press Command/ Ctrl while dragging the handles of a polish bespeak, to make them inequal in length when you're drawing a curve.

Drag-inequal-handles — Drag diff handles while cartoon curves

A. Opposite handles are equal and pairedB. Cmd/Ctrl pressed, opposite handles are diff and paired

Continue dragging the Pen tool from unlike locations to create a series of smooth curves. Note that yous are placing anchor points at the beginning and cease of each curve, not at the tip of the curve.

Alt-drag (Windows) or Selection-drag (macOS) management lines to break out the management lines of an anchor bespeak.

Complete the path by doing i of the following:

To shut the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor bespeak. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer when it is positioned correctly. Click or drag to close the path.
To get out the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) anywhere away from all objects.
To leave the path open up, you can too select a different tool, or choose Select > Deselect.

You tin can make effectively adjustments to the endmost curve:

Press the spacebar while closing a path to reposition the closing anchor point.
Press Option/ Alt, and break the pairing of handles of the closing anchor indicate.

Control-closing-paths — Control endmost paths

A. Reposition the endmost anchor pointB. Break the paired handles to adapt the closing anchor point

Reposition anchor points equally you draw

Afterward y'all click to create an anchor point, continue the mouse button pressed down, hold down the spacebar, and drag to reposition the ballast indicate.

Finish cartoon a path

Consummate a path in ane of the following ways:

To shut a path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) ballast bespeak. A small circle appears next to the Pen tool arrow when it is positioned correctly. Click or elevate to close the path.
To leave a path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) anywhere away from all objects.

To leave the path open, you tin also select a different tool, or cull Select > Deselect.

Draw straight lines followed past curves

Using the Pen tool, click corner points in two locations to create a straight segment.

Position the Pen tool over the selected endpoint. In Illustrator, a convert-bespeak icon appears adjacent to the Pen tool when it is positioned correctly. To gear up the slope of the curved segment you'll create next, click the anchor point, and drag the management line that appears.

Drawing segments — Cartoon a straight segment followed by a curved segment (part 1)

A. Direct segment completedB. Positioning Pen tool over endpointC. Dragging direction point

Position the pen where you desire the side by side anchor indicate; and so click (and drag, if desired) the new anchor point to complete the curve.

A. Positioning Pen toolB. Dragging management lineC. New curve segment completed

Depict curves followed by straight lines

Using the Pen tool, elevate to create the first smooth point of the curved segment, and release the mouse button.

Reposition the Pen tool where you want the curved segment to terminate, drag to complete the curve, and release the mouse button.

A. Start shine point of curved segment completed and Pen tool positioned over endpointB. Dragging to consummate the bend

Position the Pen tool over the selected endpoint. A convert-signal icon appears next to the Pen tool when it is positioned correctly. Click the anchor betoken to catechumen the shine betoken to a corner signal.

Reposition the Pen tool where you lot want the directly segment to end, and click to consummate the directly segment.

A. Positioning Pen tool over existing endpointB. Clicking endpointC. Clicking next corner signal

Describe ii curved segments connected by a corner

Using the Pen tool, elevate to create the first smooth point of a curved segment.

Reposition the Pen tool and drag to create a bend with a second smooth point; then press and hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and drag the direction line toward its opposing end to set the slope of the next curve. Release the key and the mouse button.

This process converts the polish point to a corner signal by splitting the direction lines.

Reposition the Pen tool where yous want the second curved segment to end, and drag a new smoothen point to complete the 2nd curved segment.

A. Dragging a new smooth pointB. Pressing Alt/Option to split management lines while dragging, and swinging direction line upwardlyC. Result after repositioning and dragging a third time

The Reshape Segment cursor supports reshaping with affect input on bear on-based devices and affect workspace. To use it with the Pen tool, follow these steps:

While using the pen tool, press the Alt / Pick cardinal.

When you hover the pointer over a path segment, the cursor changes to the Reshape Segment cursor.

Dragging a segment will reshape the path segment

A combination of the path segments, reshaped using the Pen tool

A. Original shapeB. The Reshape Segment cursor indicates a reshape-prepare segmentC. When the Reshape Segment cursor is visible, alter the shape of the segment by clicking and dragging.D. Reshape equally many segments equally requiredEastward. Concluding shape when reshaping tasks are complete

To continue drawing with the Pen tool, release the Alt / Selection key.

To create a semi-circular segment hold the Shift fundamental while reshaping a segment. Holding the Shift modifier constrains the handles to a perpendicular direction, and ensures that the handles are of equal length.

The Curvature tool simplifies path creation and makes drawing easy and intuitive. This tool enables you to create, toggle, edit, add, or remove smooth or corner points. You don't have to switch between different tools to work quickly and precisely with paths.

Select the Curvature tool ().

Drop two points on the artboard, and then view the rubber band preview brandish the shape of the resulting path depending on where yous hover your mouse.

Note: Rubber-banding is turned on by default in the tool. To turn it off, use preference setting: Preferences > Pick & Anchor Display > Enable Rubber Band.

Utilise the mouse to drop a bespeak or tap to create a smooth point. To create a corner bespeak, double-click or press the Alt fundamental while clicking or tapping.

curvature-tool

A. By default, smooth points are created for curvesB. To create a corner point, double-click or press the Alt key while dropping a indicate

You tin can perform several actions:

Choice (macOS) / Alt (Windows) + click to continue adding points to an existing path or shape.
Double-click or double-tap a point to toggle the signal between smooth or corner points.
Click a indicate or tap it and then drag the signal to movement information technology.
Click or tap a point and printing Delete to delete the point. The curve is maintained.
Press the Esc cardinal to cease drawing.

Y'all can enable the Real-Time Drawing and Editing feature to enhance the live appearance of objects when you work on them. To enable this feature:

[Windows] Cull Edit > Preferences > Functioning > Existent-Time Drawing and Editing.

[macOS] Choose Illustrator > Preferences > Performance > Real-Time Drawing and Editing.

Condom Band preview

The Pen tool and the Curvature tool display a preview of the path that will be drawn from the previous anchor point to the electric current position of the pointer.

Using the Pen tool or the Curvature tool, click once on the artboard to depict a shine betoken, and drag the mouse to create the handles equally required.

Note: When yous draw a smooth point, the reverse handles are e'er equal and paired. Printing Control / Ctrl while dragging the handles of a shine bespeak, to create handles that are unequal in length (pairing remains intact).

Release the mouse push. When you move the mouse arrow across the artboard, a path is displayed indicating what will exist drawn if yous choose to drop an anchor point at the location of the mouse pointer.

RubberBand

A. First ballast point and its handlesB. Rubber Band preview of the path between the first anchor point and the mouse pointer

When the preview displayed is the path that yous wanted to describe, click the location, and Illustrator draws the path as previewed.

When the preview is on, pressing Esc stops showing the preview and ends the path. This is the same activity as striking the keyboard shortcut P while working with the Pen tool (with the preview feature off).

Turn the Rubber Band preview on or off:

Open thePreferences dialog (Ctrl + Chiliad)

Browse to thePick and Ballast Display tab

Select or clear the desired option(s):

Enable Rubber Band for Pen Tool
Enable Rubber Band for Curvature Tool

RubberBand_Preferences_2

The Pencil tool lets you draw open and closed paths as if you were drawing with a pencil on paper. It is nearly useful for fast sketching or creating a paw-fatigued expect. In one case you draw a path, yous can immediately change information technology if needed.

Anchor points are prepare down equally y'all draw with the Pencil tool; you do not make up one's mind where they are positioned. However, you lot can adjust them once the path is consummate. The number of anchor points prepare downward is adamant by the length and complexity of the path and by tolerance settings in the Pencil Tool Preferences dialog box. These settings control how sensitive the Pencil tool is to the movement of your mouse or graphics-tablet stylus.

Click and hold the Shaper tool (). Select the Pencil tool.

Pencil-tool_tools-panel

Position the tool where you want the path to begin, and elevate to draw a path. The Pencil tool () displays a small ten to indicate drawing a freeform path.

As you drag, a dotted line follows the pointer. Anchor points appear at both ends of the path and at various points along it. The path takes on the current stroke and fill attributes, and remains selected by default.

Draw constrained or unconstrained direct segments using the Pencil tool

You tin can apply the pencil tool to describe constrained or unconstrained direct segments.

Constrained straight segments: Agree the Shift key, and so use the Pencil tool to draw direct segments constrained to 0, 45 or 90 degrees. While cartoon a straight segment, the directly-segment cursor () is displayed.

Unconstrained directly segments: Hold the Option/ Alt key to draw unconstrained straight segments. Notwithstanding, to depict a polyline path:
1. Draw a line segment.
2. Exercise i of the post-obit:
- Keeping the Shift or Option/ Alt primal pressed, place the cursor at the endpoint of the line. When the path-continuation cursor () is displayed, click the mouse button and draw some other line.
- Keeping the mouse button pressed, release and printing the Shift or Option/ Alt key, and describe the adjacent segment.

Select the Pencil tool ().

Position the tool where you want the path to begin, and starting time dragging to describe a path.

Subsequently y'all've begun dragging, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS). The Pencil tool displays a pocket-size circle () to indicate that you're creating a closed path.

When the path is the size and shape you lot want, release the mouse button (but not the Alt or Choice key). After the path closes, release the Alt or Option key.

You don't have to position the cursor over the starting bespeak of the path in order to create a closed path; if you release the mouse button in another location, the Pencil tool will close the shape by creating the shortest possible line dorsum to the original point.

Y'all tin can edit any path using the Pencil tool and add freeform lines and shapes to whatever shape.

Add together to a path with the Pencil tool

Select the Pencil tool ().

Position the pencil tip on an endpoint of the path.

You can tell yous're close plenty to the endpoint when the small-scale x next to the pencil tip disappears.

Drag to go along the path.

Connect two paths with the Pencil tool

Select both paths (Shift-click or drag around the two with the Selection tool).

Select the Pencil tool ().

Position the arrow where yous want to begin from i path, and start dragging toward the other path. The Pencil tool displays a minor merge symbol () to bespeak you're adding to the existing path.

Drag onto the endpoint of the other path and release the mouse button.

For all-time results, drag from ane path to the other every bit if y'all were only continuing the paths in the direction they were created.

Reshape paths with the Pencil tool

Select the path you lot want to alter.

Position the Pencil tool on or near the path to redraw.

You can tell you're close enough to the path when the modest ten disappears from the tool.

Drag the tool until the path is the desired shape.

Using the Pencil tool to edit a airtight shape

Depending on where y'all begin to redraw the path and in which management you drag, you may become unexpected results. For example, you may unintentionally change a closed path to an open path, modify an open up path to a closed path, or lose a portion of a shape.

Double-click the Pencil tool () to set any of the post-obit options:

Pencil-tool-options_1

Allegiance

Controls how far y'all have to move your mouse or stylus before a new ballast point is added to the path. The Fidelity slider has v presets you can choose from. The leftmost slider preset (Accurate) is most accurate for cartoon paths. The rightmost slider preset (Shine) creates the smoothest paths. Choose a preset that suits your drawing needs best.

Fill New Pencil Strokes

Applies a fill up to pencil strokes y'all draw afterwards selecting this option, only not to existing pencil strokes. Remember to select a fill before you draw the pencil strokes.

Alt/ Pick Key Toggles To Shine Tool Option

With this checkbox enabled, while using the Pencil tool or the Brush tool, you can press Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) to switch to the Smooth tool.

Close Paths When Ends Are Inside: _ Pixels

When the endpoints of a path yous are drawing are in shut proximity and inside a sure predefined number of pixels of each other, the path-shut cursor () is shown. When you release the mouse button, such a path is airtight automatically.Y'all can set the predefined number of pixels using this choice.

Edit Selected Paths

Determines whether or not you lot tin can alter or merge a selected path when you are within a certain distance of it (specified with the next option).

Within: _ pixels

Determines how close your mouse or stylus must be to an existing path in order to edit the path with the Pencil tool. This option is simply available when the Edit Selected Paths selection is selected.

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