How to Make Swish in Illustrator
A swish is a curved shape that appears to be in three dimensions, like the trail that might be left behind by a basketball as it swishes through a net. You can make a swish in Adobe Illustrator by first making a crescent, then transforming it using the Free Distort effect. For simplicity, make the swish in a new document first, then incorporate it into your design project.
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Instructions
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Launch Adobe Illustrator and create a new document by clicking "File" and “New.”
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Press “D” on the keyboard to set the foreground and background colors to their default values of black and white. Locate the small, double-sided arrow between the Foreground and Background Color icons in the toolbox. Click that arrow to change the foreground color to black.
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Click the “Ellipse Tool” in the Toolbox. Drag the tool across the canvas while holding down the “Shift” key to draw a circle.
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Hold down “Ctrl" and press "C” to copy the circle, then hold down “Ctrl" and press "V” to paste a copy on top of the first circle.
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Click the “Arrow” between the Foreground and Background Color icons in the Toolbox to change the foreground color back to white. The top circle becomes white.
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Drag the top circle so it is slightly beneath the top circle, creating a thin black crescent moon shape. Hold down “Ctrl" and press "A” to select both circles.
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Reveal the Pathfinder Panel by clicking “Pathfinder” under the Window menu. Click the “Trim” button in the bottom row of the Pathfinder Panel. The two circles are merged into one shape. Press “Shift," "Ctrl" and "G” together to separate them.
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Click any blank area of the document to deselect the circles, then click on the white circle to select it by itself. Press “Delete.” The black crescent remains.
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Click the “Effect” menu, select “Distort,” then click “Free Distort.” The Free Distort window opens with an editable preview window.
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Click the bottom right corner of the crescent in the preview window and drag it to the bottom of the window. Click the top right corner and drag it towards the center of the top line to change the crescent into a swish. Click “OK.” The crescent becomes a swish.
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