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Creating line effects


    Using the Zig Zag and Add Arrowheads commands, you can create wavy and zig zag effects and add various arrowhead styles to lines.

    You can apply these commands as a filter or as an effect (see Using effects.)

    The Zig Zag command adds anchor points to an existing object and then moves some of the points to the left of (or upward from) the path and some to the right of (or downward from) the path. You can specify the number of anchor points to create and the distance to move them. You can also choose whether to create smooth anchor points for a wavy line effect, or corner anchor points for a jagged line effect.

    The Add Arrowheads command lets you add an arrowhead or arrow tail to any selected line. If applied as a filter, the resulting arrows can be edited like any other object, but they do not move with the line to which they are attached. If applied as an effect, the arrows are similar to brush strokes.That is, the arrows change location, direction, and color along with the line, but they cannot be edited separately.

    For information about creating stroked lines, see Using the Stroke palette.

To convert straight lines to Zig Zags:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To apply the command as a filter, select the object you want to convert. Then choose Filter > Distort > Zig Zag.
    • To apply the command as an effect, select an object or group in the artwork, or target an item in the Layers palette. (For more information on targeting, see Changing the appearance of artwork using the Layers palette.) Then choose Effect > Distort & Transform > Zig Zag.
  2. Select Relative to move points by a percentage of the size of the object or Absolute to move points a specific amount.
  3. For Size, enter the distance you want to move points on the line, or drag the slider.
  4. For Ridges per Segment, enter the number of ridges per line segment you want, or drag the slider.
  5. Select from the following options:
    • Smooth to create smooth points, resulting in a wavy line.
    • Corner to create corner points, resulting in a jagged line.
    • Preview to preview the line.
  6. Click OK.

To add arrowheads to a line:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To apply the command as a filter, select a line to which you want to add arrowheads. Then choose Filter > Stylize > Add Arrowheads.
    • To apply the command as an effect, select an object or group in the artwork, or target an item in the Layers palette. (For more information on targeting, see Changing the appearance of artwork using the Layers palette.) Then choose Effect > Stylize > Add Arrowheads.
  2. Choose from various arrowhead designs for each end of the line by clicking the forward icon or backward icon below the Start and End arrow boxes. The start and end of the line refer to the order in which the line was drawn.
  3. To rescale the size of an arrowhead, enter the percentage you want in the Scale text box. This scales the arrowhead relative to the stroke weight of the line.
  4. Click OK.