How to Use the Flash Pen Tool

Use the Flash Pen Tool

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Flash's pen tool lets you draw scalable vector artwork controlled by defined points with curves between. It's a little hard to get used to at first, but once you do, you'll find yourself using it with no difficulties.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

A working installation of Flash.

Step1

To begin, click on the Pen Tool in the left-hand Tools menu of Flash. It's the third button down on the left column of buttons and looks like the tip of a calligraphy pen. When the tool is active, the mouse cursor will change to the same calligraphy-pen icon when over the working area of the stage.

Step2

To begin drawing with the pen tool, click on the stage at your starting point to create your first vector point. If you just click and release, you'll create a static point, or a "corner" point that either acts as an anchor for curves controlled by another point or else acts as an anchor for straight lines with no curve. If you click and drag, you'll draw out "handles" that will later allow you to use this vector point to control the curves of the lines to either side of it.

Step3

To create a line from that point, choose another point on the stage and click again to create a new vector point. Each time you click, you'll create another point that can either be set as a corner (straight lines), Bezier corner (straight line to one side, curve to the other), or curve (curves to both side). If you create each point as part of a curve, you can draw quickly and haphazardly and worry about editing later.

Step4

If you have a fill selected, as you start to define a closed shape the pen tool will often paint the enclosed with the fill color.

Step5

Once you've drawn multiple vector points, you can change the type of a point from a curve to a corner by mousing over it with the pen tool until a small icon appears next to the pen tool cursor that looks like a line drawing depicting an angle. Click on the point and the lines surrounding it will immediately turn straight.

Step6

To delete a vector point from your line, mouse over it with the pen tool until a small icon appears next to the pen tool cursor that looks like a minus sign. Click the point and it will disappear.

Step7

To add a point anywhere on a curve, mouse over the curve with the pen tool until a small icon appears next to the pen tool that looks like a plus sign. Click on the curve and a new vector point will appear.

Step8

To adjust curves, click on the Subselection Tool (the white arrow) in the Tools menu. With this tool you can "grab" handles of vector points to adjust them.

Step9

Click on a vector point. You'll see two (or one, if it's a Bezier corner) lines radiating out from the point, each tipped by another point. These aren't actually part of your line but are instead "handles" controlling the curves to either side of the point. You can drag these out, make them longer or shorter or change their angle to affect the size, steepness and direction of the curves anchored by that point. Experiment with the handles to see how they affect the curves.

Step10

You can also use the Subselection Tool to move vector points; just click on the point and drag it to the new position. Drag over multiple points to select them all at once before clicking and dragging to move them.