How to Draw Using Paths and Anchor Points in Illustrator

In Adobe Illustrator, drawing is done using paths and anchor points. A path is any line or shape that you draw with the drawing tools. An anchor is the point that defines where each line or each segment of a line starts or ends. These instructions apply to Adobe Illustrator 8. Procedures for other versions may vary.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Illustrator

1. Open or create a file in Adobe Illustrator.

2. Display the Tools palette by choosing Show Tools from the Window menu.

3. Select the Pencil tool from the Tools palette to draw a free-form path. Illustrator creates anchor points as you draw.

4. Draw a line with great precision by using the Pen tool. Click where you want the line to begin. Release the cursor and click where you want the second point of the line to appear. Illustrator fills in the space between the two points with a straight line. Control+click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) when you want to end the line.

5. Draw a curved line with the Pen tool by dragging the tool instead of releasing after creating the first anchor point. The pointer pulls one of two direction points. Drag in the direction that you want the curve to be drawn.

6. Draw squares, circles, polygons, eclipses and stars using the appropriate tools on the Tools palette.

Tips & Warnings

• Paths can be open paths or closed paths. The place where a path ends is called the endpoint.
• Use the Colors palette to change or modify the colors of shapes or lines.