Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool Tips! Year 1 Tech

A few things to remember when using Adobe Illustrator to trace a photo:

1. USE LAYERS:
a) Put your photograph on layer 1, lock it so it doesn't move around and then make a new layer to trace the parts of the photograph.
b) Use a new layer for each segment of the object you are tracing so that you can easily control, arrange and manipulate each layer.
c) Rename and label each layer so you know what's on it. ie. Head, facial features, ears etc.

2. USE AS FEW POINT AS POSSIBLE WITH THE PEN TOOL
a) Try clicking each time your line changes direction and not every few millimetres (which will give you hundreds of annoying little nodes that will make you crazy!)
b) Use the pen tool to create curves. You will have better control if you learn to use anchor points and handles to create your vector illustrations.

CLICK HERE for a tutorial on using the pen tool in Illustrator if you need extra help. (Note: this tutorial will also show you how to use the pen tool in Photoshop and InDesign, but for our purposes, you can just watch the Illustrator part for now)
AND/OR ask Ms. Silverman for extra help if you need it!