decorative banner

Drawing curved segments with the pen tool


    Draw curved segments by dragging the anchor points with the pen tool. Before you draw and modify curved segments with the pen tool, it's important to understand two elements that are associated with anchor points on curves. When you use the selection tool to select an anchor point connecting curved segments, the segments display direction lines which end in direction points. The angle and length of the direction lines determine the shape and size of the curved segments. Moving the direction lines reshapes the curves. A smooth point always has two direction lines that move together as a single, straight unit. When you drag the direction point of either direction line on a smooth point, both direction lines move simultaneously, maintaining a continuous curve at that anchor point. In comparison, a corner point can have two, one, or no direction lines, depending on whether it joins two, one, or no curved segments, respectively.

    Drawing with the pen tool
    Drawing with the pen tool

    Corner point direction lines maintain the corner by working independently of one another. When you drag a direction point on a corner point's direction line, the other direction line, if present, does not move. Direction lines are always tangent to (perpendicular to the radius of) the curve at the anchor points. The angle of each direction line determines the slope of the curve, and the length of each direction line determines the height, or depth, of the curve.

    The pen tools provide the most precise control over straight lines and curves. Using them, you can easily adjust the shape of the connecting paths. You can also quickly add points to or delete points from a segment, or change an anchor point from one type to another.

    Once you draw lines or curves, you can either leave the connecting segments open, meaning that the final segment does not return to the original starting point, or you can close the connecting segments by clicking the initial control point.

To draw curves with the pen tool:

  1. Select the pen tool.
  2. Position the cursor where you want the curve to begin. Hold down the mouse button.
  3. Drag to create direction lines that determine the slope of the curve segment you're creating. In general, extend the direction line about one third of the distance to the next anchor point you plan to draw. Shift-drag to constrain the direction line to multiples of 45 degrees.
  4. Release the mouse button.
  5. Note: The first segment will not be visible until you draw the second anchor point.

  6. Position the pen tool where you want the curve segment to end, and then do one of the following:
    • To create a "C"-shaped curve, drag in a direction opposite to the direction that you dragged to create the previous anchor point.
    Illustration of drawing the second point in a curve with these callouts: A. Starting to drag second smooth point B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a C curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
    Drawing the second point in a curve A. Starting to drag second smooth point B. Dragging away from previous direction line, creating a "C" curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
    • To create an "S"-shaped curve, drag in the same direction that you dragged to create the previous anchor point.
    Illustration of drawing an S curve with these callouts: A. Starting to drag new smooth point B. Dragging in same direction as previous direction line, creating an S curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
    Drawing an S curve A. Starting to drag new smooth point B. Dragging in same direction as previous direction line, creating an "S" curve C. Result after releasing mouse button
  7. Continue dragging the pen tool from different locations to create additional points.
  8. Complete the path by doing one of the following:
    • To close the path, position the pen tool over the first anchor point. Click or drag to close the path.
    • To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) anywhere away from all objects.

To create a curve within a straight segment:

  1. Select the selection tool.
  2. Select the segment you want to modify.
    • Position the cursor over the point in the straight segment where you want to create a curve and drag.