How to make Smooth Lines in Illustrator
This may seem trivial to a good many of you, but when I first started using Illustrator, it seemed to present itself as a serious challenge. I want to show you a couple different ways to make your linework a little smoother in Illustrator. With a couple easy tool settings, you’ll be making smooth lines in seconds baby!
Illustrator can be a very intimidating program to learn because of the complexity and wide variety of tools. I know that smooth lines are something we all either need or want at some point or another. At first I started using the handlebars to try my best to smooth out my paths. Little did I know, I was wasting a lot of valuable time, when all I needed to do was get a little more familiar with Illustrators tool options. I’ll show you 2 really easy ways to smooth out your lines.
1. Pencil and Paintbrush Tool Settings
Double Click on the Pencil tool in the tools palette, and you will get the Pencil tool preferences pane. From here you can set the amount of smoothness you wish to achieve. I always drag both sliders to the maximum setting when I’m going for smooth. The smoothness option is pretty strait-forward, but the higher the fidelity, the fewer anchor points Illustrator will create. (correct me if I’m wrong about that).
Now click ok and see how smooth you can go. No steady hand necessary. The Paintbrush Tool has the same options, for those of you who like to use the Paintbrush tool instead of the Pencil.
2. The Smooth Tool
The second way I’m going to show you is the Smooth Tool. Click and Hold on the Pencil tool to reveal the Smooth tool. Just like the Pencil and Paintbrush, the Smooth tool has fidelity and smoothing options of its own. Just double click on it to open the Smooth tool preference pane.
You can play around with these settings to get the right amount of smoothing for your liking, but the thing to remember is that the Smooth tool is a great way to smooth out paths that you’ve already created. I’ll show you how it works.
Draw or scribble a rough path with the pencil (or Paintbrush). Now, with your path still selected, select the Smooth tool, click and drag across your selected path to smooth it out.
Repeat until you reach and acceptable result:
Ok that looks pretty smooth, done. Notice that the smooth tool also reduces the amount of anchor points in your path.
I was surprised at how long it took me to actually start using these settings, but they can be a serious help, and a serious time saver. You have to sacrifice a little accuracy, but if you aren’t going for accuracy, the smooth tool and tool options for drawing can come in handy for making those gorgeous, serene, completely smooth lines in Illustrator. I hope it saves you a little “bitt” of time here and there ; )
Related Posts:
- Make a Perfect Triangle Path in Illustrator
- Get More-Natural Adjustments with the Illustrator “Reshape” Tool
- Fun with Illustrator’s Lesser Known, Yet Powerful Tools
- Fun with Illustrator’s Blend Tool
- Photoshop: The “Pixelated” Brush Problem
- Working with Illustrator ‘Art’ Brushes: Options and Adjustments
HOLY CRAP!!!
THANK YOU!!
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR SOOO LONG!!!!!!!!
dude, you’re awesome. i was just looking for tips on this. how did i not know this before?
thanx allot. very beneficial and very helpful.
There’s also “Simplify…” option in the Object/Path sub-menu. Although it is not exactly the same, low-percentage (i.e. more severe) simplyfying will usually give smoother result. And you can also tinker with angle threshold - it “helps keep corners sharp, even if the value for Curve Precision is low” as help says, but knowing this you can use it exactly the other way ;]
great tip {thumbs up}
the more you work with Illustrator the more features you discover and the better you get
btw, your blog is in my favs. keep the good work
Thank you so much! I’ve also been looking for this for so long…
All your site and your tutorials are just simply the best!
Ever thought about setting up a design school? :)
hay thx for all this help… i visit your blog nearly every day…
Very good example of your intensive work with Illustrator. I had the chance to ‘discover’ this feature myself and I use it a lot. Good overview as always - keep on :-)
awesome..tip…i was lookin for this for the last 2 weeks….but just curious enough or dumb to ask this question….is there anyway to do this in photoshop?.
hi , this is good tutorial for begginers ( me) Thx, and also i want to know how to curve and swril effextc (EX) in N-DESIGN Studio -WEBDESIGN- MARGOT BLANCHE and also the homw page art work how to do that?
double clicking works on the following tool icons too:
(opens tool options dialog for the following tools):
:: magic wand tool;
:: line segment, arc, spiral, rectangular grid, polar grid tools;
:: flare tool;
:: paintbrush tool,
:: pencil tool;
:: warp, twirl, pucker, bloat, scalop, crystallize, wrinkle tools;
:: symbolizm tools;
:: eyedropper tool;
:: live paint bucket tool;
:: live paint selection tool;
:: eraser tool.
Great little tip!
This will definitely reduce my bezier tweaking in the future :-)
The smooth tool is a little hidden gem in illustrator that most don’t mess with. Thanks for showin the bittbox peeps.
also if you hold option and click the buttons with the black carrots on them, it cycles through that buttons options.
BRILLIANT.
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get really smooth lines and having to settle with akward bumps!!!!
hey bitt,
great tutorial. i had never used the pen tool because. in my mistaken opinion, it just wasn’t practical. these settings tips now change that. i will be using the pencil tool a lot more. i had an off the topic question now. at my design firm, i often get dielines with paths that do not quite meet up. thus, they are segmented and i can’t use the dieline to crop out photographs or other artwork without going in with the pen tool and joining up all the disjointed segments. this is time consuming work. is there a shortcut to do this? a way where i select all the different elements and have them automatically converted into one enclosed path with no “open” areas?
Just wondering,
Do you use any software for posting articles, or do you have to do it by hand. If so, can you recommend any to me?
Thanks!
hey df,
i think i may have what you need. so let me know. unless you were, err.. kidding. in which case, my apologies.
one time back when i was a student. i was really sarcastic with a fellow student who asked a question that i thought was dumb to ask. the next year he landed a job where he managed me. i really was happy he didn’t hold it against me for having wanted to ridicule him in art class.
it hadn’t worked anyway because all good artists questions and the unknown are at the very foundation of what good art is..
anyhow, i got side-tracked. .. so df, email me at george@guanakoart.com if you want me to send you the software that you’re looking for.
Bittbox, you should ask Adobe to sponsor your site. I think you are doing as much to entice people into the world of Illustrator as any site i’ve seen. I’ve long held a fear of gettinginto it as the pen tool and other functions just seem so alien to me. Not any more. Thanks!
[...] How to make Smooth Lines in Illustrator | BittBox (tags: illustrator tutorial line) [...]
just to clarify, what i meant to say when i wrote,
” i had never used the pen tool because. in my mistaken opinion, it just wasn?t practical.”
i meant to say about the pencil tool.
hey and df if you’re out there i got that software waiting for you.
: )
@df
If you mean the software for my site, I use Wordpress
~Bitt
thanks!
I remeber when i worked this out for the first time!
It was the greatest thing ever, i’m sure hundreds (if not thousands) of illustrator users have been saved HOURS trying to smoooooothen lines!
Funny how simple things are so brilliant.
Amar
Thanks for the great tips.
You are a great resource. I think Adobe should recognize you somehow!
Thanks again :)
[...] Some people have trouble getting smooth lines in Illustrator ending up with little bumps along the line. Bittbox regularly publishes tutorials for beginners and recently has published an article on How to make Smooth Lines in Illustrator . [...]
this tip freaking rocks. you are a tremendous asset to the design community. thank you!
Hey! I have recently started using illustrator and this HAS been a challenge. Thanks!
This is sooo great!! I just started using Illustrator and have been struggling with problems just like this. I’ll be checking in often!
Thank you!
Another helpful bit of info that I can use every time I open Illustrator. :)
Than you. Have been waiting for someone to show me this.
BRILLIANT.
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get really smooth lines .
Thanks.
I spotted an Illustrator video tutorial on setting fidelity and smoothness on the Adobe site. To get to the video tutorials page, go to http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/
When you get to that page, you will see three panels. Choose “Illustrator CS3″ from the video workshop “Select a product” choice panel. Select “Topic” as “Drawing and Painting.” Then choose “Using the pencil tool.” The video is by Matthew Richmond.
I found it to be very helpful when beginning to use Illustrator. :)
I love your blog! I’m only bummed that I can’t get the feed in my LiveJournal. Will this ever happen, you think?
Anyway, thanks for this and many other tips I’ve learned from your entries.
[...] July 2, 2007 Tips and free Illustrator brushes Posted by sharonb under Illustrator Some people have trouble getting smooth lines in Illustrator ending up with little bumps along the line. Bittbox regularly publishes tutorials for beginners and recently has published an article on How to make Smooth Lines in Illustrator . [...]
Wow. Amazing.
I’ve had a frustrating time trying to get smooth line, but now, I’m walking in the park. if you know what I mean. ;)
i’ve been looking for a place like yours. I’ve looked through some of your brushes for PS and AI, and they’re just amazing.
I’m definatly bookmarking your site and linking to you from my site.
Thanks!
What can I still add after all these compliments from my predecessors???
Just like so many of them, I’ve been looking for a site with these sorts of tips for those who are not so familiar with Illustrator and I’ve found it ;-)
I will not say “Thank you” as you can imagine, that you’ve helped me lot. Instead, I will say: “KEEP IT UP, DUDE! Your site is just cracking smashing wicked!
I don’t know how much they are paying you, but it’s not enought.
Good lookn’ out.
Thank you so much for that information. Now I don’t have to constantly struggle with each handle!
/glomps
Awesome tip. I learned this one while taking an AI class a LVSonline.com (
I like it, I like it a lot!
i visit your blog nearly every day
OMG This is soooo helpful! I’m new to Illustrator and your blog has already helped me out a lot. Thanks.
I don’t know how much they are paying you, but it’s not enought.
nice tutorial! just like the reaction of others here, i’ve been doing my best to smooth the lines but i just kept on failing. now, everything’s clear. thanks to you dear! more power!
Again, Thank you so much! I have spent sooo much time trying to perfect my hand drawn illustrations. If only I had known it were this easy. You are a lifesaver!
ive been trying to do this!!!! thank u
Handy article. Keep up the excellent work!
To answer GEO’s query take a look at the Concatenate Plug-in from Rick Johnson (no affiliate). I’ve used this successfully for many years. Easy to use to join up rogue paths. Site: http://rj-graffix.com/. Sorry if I broke any rules re commercial software :-)
Great! Thanks!!!
doumo_arigatou
çocuk bak?m?
So simple but something I am going to use loads in the future. Thankyou!
[...] Here’s a great tutorial [...]
OMG, can i marry u? u help so much!!!!
Thanku u
ND CLM
thnx bdy …
i really wantd to knw abt this !!
thnx GOD
Excelente ejemplo, thank