Convert brush strokes to outlines, Create or modify brushes – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual
Page 175
ILLUSTRATOR CS3
User Guide
169
Convert brush strokes to outlines
You can convert brush strokes into outlined paths in order to edit the individual components of a brushed line.
1
Select a brushed line.
2
Choose Object > Expand Appearance.
Illustrator places the components of the expanded path in a group. Within the group are a path and a subgroup
containing the brush stoke outlines.
Create or modify brushes
You can create new calligraphic, scatter, art, and pattern brushes based on your own settings. For scatter, art, and
pattern brushes, you must first create the artwork you want to use. Follow these guidelines when creating artwork
for brushes:
•
The artwork cannot contain gradients, blends, other brush strokes, mesh objects, bitmap images, graphs, placed
files, or masks.
•
For art and pattern brushes, the artwork cannot contain type. To achieve a brush-stroke effect with type, create an
outline of the type and then create a brush with the outline.
•
For pattern brushes, create up to five pattern tiles (depending on the brush configuration), and add the tiles to the
Swatches panel.
See also
“Create corner tiles for brush patterns” on page 191
Create a brush
1
For scatter and art brushes, select the artwork you want to use. For pattern brushes, you can select the artwork for
the side tile, but it isn’t necessary.
2
Click the New Brush button
in the Brushes panel. Alternatively, drag the selected artwork to the Brushes
panel.
3
Select the type of brush you want to create, and click
OK.
4
In the Brush Options dialog box, enter a name for the brush, set brush options, and click
OK.
Modify a brush
•
To change the options for a brush, double-click the brush in the Brushes panel. Set the brush options and click
OK.
If the current document contains brushed paths that use the modified brush, a message appears. Click Apply To
Strokes to change pre-existing strokes. Click Leave Strokes to leave pre-existing strokes unchanged, and apply the
modified brush to new strokes only.
•
To change the artwork used by a scatter, art, or pattern brush, drag the brush into your artwork and make the
changes you want. Then Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the modified brush onto the original
brush in the Brushes panel.
•
To modify a brushed line without updating the corresponding brush, select the line and click the Options Of
Selected Object button
in the Brushes panel.