Illustrator Stroke Tutorial

Create arrows and other line symbols using Illustrator's stroke tools.

Adobe Illustrator allows users to create great looking graphic art with a few mouse clicks. Part of what makes Illustrator so useful is the ability to embellish your artwork after creating it, allowing you to create complex final designs out of relatively simple shapes and lines. Illustrator's stroke options are an example of how a simple line can turn into a stunning piece of graphic art.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Adobe Illustrator software

Instructions

1. Open Illustrator and create a new document from the welcome screen beneath the "Create New" heading.

2. Draw an object on your artboard using one of the drawing or shape tools (Pencil Tool, Rectangle Tool, Line Segment Tool, etc.) from the tools panel to the left of the workspace.

3. Open the "Appearance" palette to the right of your workspace. Change the color of the stroke by clicking on the color swatch next to "Stroke" and selecting a new swatch. You can also adjust the weight of the stroke by adjusting the drop down menu to the right of the swatch selector.

4. Click "Stroke" within the "Appearance" palette to pull up more advanced stroke options. You can adjust how the ends of lines or segments appear by toggling between the different "Cap" options, and you can add arrows or ends by selecting from the "Arrowheads" drop down menu. Check the "Dashed line" box to convert your solid stroke to a non-contiguous one. You can set the size of each dash and the spaces between in the fields below.

5. Select the "fx" icon at the bottom of the "Appearance" palette to adjust your stroke further. Experiment with different effects, such as drop shadow, which is customizable and can be accessed in the "Stylize" portion of the effects menu.

6. Save your work by selecting "File > Save As. "

References

• Adobe Illustrator CS4: Stroke an object
• Adobe Illustrator CS4: Fill and Stroke controls