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Tips for using brushes


    When you work with brushes, keep the following points in mind:

    • You can often use Scatter brushes and Pattern brushes to achieve the same effect. However, one way in which they differ is that Pattern brushes follow the path exactly, while Scatter brushes do not.
    Arrows in a Pattern brush bend to follow the path (left); arrows remain straight in a Scatter brush (right).
    Arrows in a Pattern brush bend to follow the path (left); arrows remain straight in a Scatter brush (right).
    • If you apply a brush to a closed path and want to control the placement of the end of the path, select the scissors tool and split the path. To change again, select the endpoints, choose Object >Path > Join, and use the scissors again. (See Splitting paths with the scissors tool.)
    • To select all brush stroke paths in the current artwork, choose Select > Object > Brush Strokes.
    • For better performance when creating a brush from art that contains multiple overlapping paths filled with the same color and with no stroke, use the Add filter in the Pathfinder palette before you create the brush. (See Creating a final shape quickly).