Hold down the Shift key to constrain the tool to multiples of 45°.

(You can adjust one or both sides of the direction line later.) In general, extend the direction line about one third of the distance to the next anchor point you plan to draw.

Drag to set the slope of the curve segment you’re creating, and then release the mouse button.

Position the Pen tool where you want the curve to begin, and hold down the mouse button. The first anchor point appears, and the Pen tool pointer changes to an arrowhead.

Instead, draw widely spaced anchor points, and practice shaping curves by adjusting the length and angles of the direction lines. Using too many points can also introduce unwanted bumps in a curve. The length and slope of the tangent direction lines determine the shape of the curve.Ĭurves are easier to edit and your system can display and print them faster if you draw them using as few anchor points as possible. You can create a curve by adding an anchor point where a curve changes direction, and dragging the direction tangent lines that shape the curve. You can also simply press Enter or Return to leave the path open.

To leave the path open, you can also press Esc, select a different tool, or choose Select > Deselect.

To leave the path open, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (macOS) anywhere away from all objects.

A small circle appears next to the Pen tool pointer when it is positioned correctly.

To close the path, position the Pen tool over the first (hollow) anchor point.

Complete the path by doing one of the following:.

Previously defined anchor points become hollow, and deselected, as you add more anchor points.

The last anchor point you add always appears as a solid square, indicating that it is selected.

Continue clicking to set anchor points for additional straight segments.Click again where you want the segment to end ( Shift-click to constrain the angle of the segment to a multiple of 45°).If direction lines appear, you’ve accidentally dragged the Pen tool choose Edit > Undo, and click again.The first segment you draw will not be visible until you click a second anchor point.Position the Pen tool where you want the straight segment to begin, and click to define the first anchor point (do not drag).

Pen tool illustrator