If you want to draw an illustration
From the industry-standard Pen tool to versatile brushes and symbols, Illustrator supplies tools that support your illustration style: - Use the Pen tool to draw precise paths--smooth, flowing curves or straight lines--or use the dynamic pencil to draw on-screen as easily as you do on paper. (See Drawing precise paths with the Pen tool and Drawing freeform paths with the Pencil tool.)
- Use the specialized shape tools to draw rectangles, circles, arcs, grids, spirals, stars, and more. (See Drawing simple lines and shapes.)
- Use brushes to create hand-drawn effects, such as calligraphic strokes, and paint patterns that flow along a path. Customize the brushes or edit the strokes at any time to fine-tune the image. (See Using brushes.)
- If you start an illustration by sketching it on paper, simply scan your drawing and place it into Illustrator as a template layer. Then use the Auto Trace tool to automatically trace the image. (See Tracing artwork.)
- Use symbols to add individual design elements to an illustration or create natural-looking masses of repeating elements such as foliage or crowds. (See Drawing with symbols and Using the symbolism tools.)
- Create complex shapes quickly by combining simple shapes into compounds. Then edit the compounds if you need to without redrawing the original shapes. (See Combining objects into complex shapes.)
- Reshape objects with the Illustrator transformation tools. You can apply the changes interactively, or enter specific settings to control the results precisely. (See Choosing a reshaping method.)
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