Adobe Illustrator CS4 - Manual (Page 178)

171 USING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
Painting
Create new brush libraries
1 Add the brushes you want to the Brushes panel, and delete any brushes you don’t want.
2 Choose Save Brush Library from the Brushes panel menu, and place the new library file in one of the following
folders so that it will appear in the Brush Libraries menu when you restart Illustrator:
• (Windows XP) Documents and Settings/User/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe IllustratorCS4 Settings/Brush
• (Windows Vista) User/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator CS4 Settings/Brush
• (Mac OS) Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator CS4/Brush
Note: If you place the file in a different folder, you can open the library by choosing Window
> Brush Libraries > Other
Library and selecting the library file.
Apply brush strokes
You can apply brush strokes to a path created with any drawing tool, including the Pen tool, Pencil tool, or basic shape
tools.
❖ Do one of the following:
• Select the path, and then select a brush in a brush library, the Brushes panel, or the Control panel.
• Drag a brush onto the path. If the path already has brush strokes applied to it, then the new brush replaces the old
brush.
If you want to apply a different brush to the path and want to use the brush stroke settings used with the original brush,
hold down Alt (Win) or Option (Mac OS) when clicking the new brush you want to apply.
Draw paths and apply brush strokes simultaneously
1 Select a brush in a brush library or the Brushes panel.
2 Select the Paintbrush tool .
3 Position the pointer where you want the brush stroke to begin, and drag to draw a path. A dotted line follows the
pointer as you drag.
4 Do one of the following:
• To draw an open path, release the mouse button when the path is the desired shape.
• To draw a closed shape, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag. The Paintbrush tool displays
a small loop . Release the mouse button (but not the Alt or Option key) when you are ready to close the shape.
Illustrator sets down anchor points as you draw. The number of anchor points is determined by the length and
complexity of the path and by the Paintbrush tolerance settings.
To adjust the shape of a brushed path after you finish drawing it, first select the path. Then position the Paintbrush
tool on the path, and drag until the path is the desired shape. You can use the technique to extend a brushed path as
well as change the shape of the path between the existing end points.
Paintbrush tool options
Double-click the Paintbrush tool to set the following options:
Fidelity Controls how far you have to move your mouse or stylus before Illustrator adds a new anchor point to the
path. For example, a Fidelity value of 2.5 means that tool movements of less than 2.5 pixels aren’t registered. Fidelity
can range from 0.5 to 20 pixels; the higher the value, the smoother and less complex the path.