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Pen Tool Paisleys in Illustrator
Learning to use the Illustrator Pen Tool and bezier curves takes time and practice. Practicing with paisleys can help you master smooth curves, S curves, smooth points and corner points. Then, you’ll be on your way to creating a groovy pattern.
While not a complete introduction to the Pen Tool, this video tutorial demonstrates using the Pen Tool to create a simple curved paisley shape. We modify the Pen with the opt/alt key to change a smooth anchor point to a corner anchor point with independent curve direction handles. I also demonstrate editing the anchor points and curve handles with the White Arrow and “borrowing curves” from standard circles and ellipse shapes.
This tutorial was created in CS6, but the Pen Tool works the same in other versions of Adobe Illustrator. Have some fun with the Pen — it’s the drawing tool that gives you the most control over your curves in Illustrator.
