Below is a video example of what Jimmy was talking about. Using the Brush tool in Illustrator, after you make one stroke, then you make another stroke, the first one disappears.

Untitled from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

This happens because of a simple Brush tool setting. If you double-click on the Brush tool, the Brush tool settings window will appear. There are 3 checkboxes in this window. If you have “Keep Selected” and “Edit Selected Paths” checked, Illustrator will treat your second stroke as an effort to improve, or adjust the first one, and your first stroke will disappear. (depending on how many pixels you select with the slider setting).

If you uncheck “Edit Selected Paths” Illustrator will no longer make your strokes disappear. You can even keep “Keep Selected” selected, and your strokes will remain selected, they just won’t be adjusted, or disappeared.

Here’s a quick example video of using the Brush tool without “Edit Selected Paths” checked:

Edit Selected Paths [Illustrator Example] from Jay Hilgert on Vimeo.

1) Amy asks:

How do you save a pattern in Illy, so that you can use again and again in different Illy files? I know how to save a pattern for use in the file I created it in, but I’m looking to be able to pull up a palette of my created patterns in files other than the one the original pattern was created in.

Answer:

In your swatches palette, go to “Save Swatch Library as AI…”

Name your new library, and make sure to save it in your Illustrator CSX > Presets > Swatches folder.

Now, no matter what document you have open, you can load your custom (in this case pattern) swatches by going to Open Swatch Library, and choosing your file from the list.

2) dbslone asks:

How to create a dotted line along a path in either Illy or PS?

Answer:

I already have a tutorial on how to do this is Photoshop, so I’ll show you an easy way to do it in Illustrator.

There is more than one way to do this, but I like to use a pattern brush. First, draw a circle on the artboard, and from the Brushes palette, select “New Brush.”

Select “New Pattern Brush” and hit OK.

You can always come back and change these settings later by double clicking on the brush from the Brushes palette, but for now the only 2 settings you need to worry about are spacing and colorization method. Set the spacing to 50% and the colorization method to “Tints.” (Tins is so you can change the color of the brush later if you need to.) Then click OK.

Now you can apply your new pattern brush to any path and get a nice dotted line. (You may need to adjust your stroke size, depending on how big of a dot you drew) Then you can go back in and adjust the spacing as needed.

3) Kaje asks:

I read your tip about pixelated brushes, but was wondering if there was a quick fix for pixelated fonts? Sometimes I will type in some text and the font, no matter what it is looks pixelated, so I have to go to the drop down and select “reset character”. Am I doing something wrong? It is quite annoying to have to reset each time this happens.

Answer:

I’m not 100% sure if this is your exact problem, but I’m quessing that your antialiasing setting is set to “None.”

To fix this, simply change your antialiasing setting in the Character palette to “Sharp” or “Crisp.” Then save your workspace by going to Window > Workspaces > Save Workspace. This way Photoshop will remember that you changed the setting and you won’t have to change it manually every time.

Your type should now be nice and sharp.

4) malarts asks:

I’ve had a unique Illustrator problem lately…every now and then the “Send To Back” command stops working, under the Object >Arrange menu… Any idea as to why?

Answer:

Actually I have 2 ideas. Maybe one of them can help…

A) The “Send to Back” command only sends an object to the back of whatever layer it’s on. So if you send an object to the back and it’s not on the bottom layer, you’re still gonna have stuff underneath it.

B) An object that’s inside a “Group” only goes to the back of the group.

1) iheartrendering asks:

What is the “make it awesome” keyboard shortcut? I found it once, and it rocked my world. But now it seems to hide from me.

Answer:

Hmmm… not sure about that one one, but have you tried “Make My Logo Bigger Cream?” If you hurry, they’ll throw in some “Whitespace Eliminator” for free.

1) SuperLame Asks:

Any good plugins for AI to make choosing fonts more visual, like flash?

Answer:

As far as plugins go, I haven’t been able to find one that does what you want, however, there is one Illustartor quirk to ba aware of. If you choose your fonts from the top toolbar you’ll get a plain list of fonts. But if you choose fonts from the Character palette itself, you get a small visual preview, similar to the way Flash works. And if you have an extra $100, this software might be what you need.

VS.

2) deluzione asks:

How do I convert and illy doc from 72dpi to 300?

Answer:

Good question. This is one of those settings that you would think you should be able to find under “Document Setup,” since it’s a setting you choose every time you create a “new” document. However, our friends at Adobe thought it should be in a different place. You’ll find the “Document Raster Effects Settings” under the “Effects” menu.

Just change your setting to 300dpi, and click OK.

3) GrandmasterB asks:

I’ve tried to use Object > Expand… to make a uniform space around text after creating outline, but it doesn’t seem to work…why?

Answer:

Your on the right track, but that’s not what “Expand” was meant for. The command your looking for is “Offset Path.” We can achieve the results you want in 3 easy steps:

1. Type > Create Outlines.

2. Go to Object > Path > Offset Path.

3. Check the preview box and enter a value for the amount you want to offset. (use a negative number to offset inside instead of outside).

4) katzw asks:

What is the correct way to save custom brushes so that others can download and use them? EPS files don’t seem to work. Thanks :)

Answer:

I assume you mean Illustrator brushes, so I’ll try and answer this as best I can. When you save Illustrator brushes, illustrator outputs an .AI file. It’s not a normal AI file, but a “Brush Library.” All you have to do is place that AI file into …Illustrator CSX > Presets > Brushes, and you’ll be able to load the brushes via the Brushes Palette.

Hope that helps, guys:) Remember, you can send me questions via twitter whenever you want. The more questions, the better!