Pen Tutorial Practice Templates

This page contains all the practice templates for drawing with the pen. Here are tutorials for Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop®, Macromedia® FreeHand® and CorelDRAW®. These tutorials are setup for both Macintosh® and Windows® platforms.

You might ask, "What are Photoshop tutorials doing here in the vector application section?" Using the pen in Adobe Photoshop is virtually the same as using the pen in Adobe Illustrator. Learning pen skills really belongs here with the other vector applications. I have linked the Photoshop section of the web site to these pages for learning the pen.

These tutorials are short and fun. Make sure to download the setup sheet for the application you are using. The setup is very straightforward. Except for Photoshop (which rasterizes the PDF file...turns it into a bitmap), you simply load the tutorial PDF file into the drawing application, then lock the layer containing the template, then add a new layer and draw on that new layer. The reason you keep the template on a locked layer is because the template contains vector objects which can get selected and altered otherwise. Don't worry, it's really simple. All the instructions are in the setup sheets.

The tutorials are setup in sequence starting with the easiest ones. Each one gives you a different skill. By the time you get to the last one you will see how it all comes together. They have been purposely setup to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to return to the tool palette once the pen tool has been selected.

The whole point is to train you to take advantage of the keyboard shortcuts so you will draw faster, smoother and more fluidly.

Download Instructions:

Instructions: 1. First download and install the free Adobe Acrobat® Reader 2. If you wish to view the PDF file only, simply click on the link below 3. To download in Windows®: Place mouse pointer on the link, then right click the mouse. For Internet Explorer®: "Save Target As..." For Netscape®: "Save Link as..." then save it to disk 4. To download in Mac®: Hold the mouse button down for a second or Control + Click and a pop up window will appear. For Internet Explorer: "Download Link to Disk" For Netscape: "Save this Link as..." then save it to disk.

Pen Tutorials For Macintosh® and Windows

	Canvas 5-7	Illustrator 7-9	Photoshop 5	FreeHand 8-9	CorelDRAW 8-9
Setup Sheet	setupcnv.pdf 34.20K	setupai.pdf 15.20K	setuppsd.pdf 15.60K	setupfh8.pdf 18.50K	setupcdr.pdf 41.70K
Tutorial 1	tem1cnv.pdf 9.33K	tem1ai.pdf 3.38K	tem1psd.pdf 3.49K	tem1fh8.pdf 9.45K	tem1cdr.pdf 10.00K
Tutorial 2	tem2cnv.pdf 5.48K	tem2ai.pdf 9.03K	tem2psd.pdf 5.42K	tem2fh8.pdf 5.35K	tem2cdr.pdf 5.50K
Tutorial 3	tem3cnv.pdf 6.67K	tem3ai.pdf 8.76K	tem3psd.pdf 6.20K	tem3fh8.pdf 6.19K	tem3cdr.pdf 6.73K
Tutorial 4	tem4cnv.pdf 4.36K	tem4ai.pdf 10.10K	tem4psd.pdf 6.80K	tem4fh8.pdf 6.87K	tem4cdr.pdf 4.33K
Tutorial 5	tem5cnv.pdf 3.68K	tem5ai.pdf 6.22K	tem5psd.pdf 3.69K	tem5fh8.pdf 3.73K	tem5cdr.pdf 3.82K
Tutorial 6	tem6cnv.pdf 32.60K	tem6ai.pdf 21.30K	tem6psd.pdf 21.10K	tem6fh8.pdf 32.00K	tem6cdr.pdf 31.80K
Complete Set Macintosh	temcnv.sit 84.60K	temai.sit 61.90K	tempsd.sit 56.00K	temfh8.sit 73.00K	temcdr.sit 92.00K
Complete Set Windows	temcnv.zip 82.20K	temai.zip 60.60K	tempsd.zip 53.90K	temfh8.zip 70.70K	temcdr.zip 89.10K

Keyboard Shortcuts For The Pen Examples

The idea behind the keyboard shortcuts in Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop® and Macromedia® FreeHand® is so you can draw paths in a fluid manner with as few interruptions as possible. Ideally, you would draw as fluidly as if you were actually using a pen or pencil. The previous page described the hand positions with the keyboard and mouse. This page describes how it is done. The next page gives you practice templates for each application.

While the pen tool is selected and you are actively drawing a path, pressing the following keys will bring up a different tool:

For Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop:

Macintosh®	Windows®	Function
Command Option Shift	Ctrl Alt Shift	Selects the last selection tool Selects the Convert Direction Point Tool Constrains angle to 45° increments

For Macromedia FreeHand:

Macintosh	Windows	Function
Command Option Shift	Ctrl Alt Shift	Selects the Pointer Tool Places a corner point Constrains angle to 45° increments

Basically the functions of these keys between the Adobe applications and Macromedia FreeHand are the same. There is only a slight difference in the use of the Alt or Option key to create a corner point. In Illustrator and Photoshop, all newly placed points with control handles are smooth points by default. The Convert Direction Point Tool is used to change a smooth point to a corner point with handles. In FreeHand, you can drag out control handles for a corner point when you first place it.

Brief Example - Adobe Illustrator

In the following example, three tools are used without returning to the tool palette to change tools:

1. Drag out the first point
2. Drag out the second point. The first curve is off, now.
3. Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Direct Selection Tool to drag back the first curve.
4. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to bring up the Convert Direction Point Tool and drag the second point's handle (changing it from a smooth point to a corner point) to redirect the next curve.
5. Place the next point and continue drawing the path.

Pen Cursors

The pen cursor helps you identify where you're at when drawing paths. You need to know when you are over a point so you can append to an open path (restarting the path) or when you are over a point so you can close a path. You also need to know what the cursor looks like to start a new path so you don't inadvertently keep adding to an existing path or vice versa. These are the most important cursors. Their functions are identical between Adobe Illustrator 7 and 8, Adobe Photoshop 5 and Macromedia FreeHand 8. The chart below describes these cursors.

	Start New Path	Continue Adding To Path	Restart Open Path	Close Path
Illustrator 7 / 8
Photoshop 5
FreeHand 8

Deneba Canvas™

The Curve tool is used for drawing Bezier curves in Deneba Canvas. Some of the various cursors are described below.

	Add Points To Path	Pointer Directly Over an Anchor Point. Next Click Closes Path	Placing Straight Segments	Placing Segments Constrained To 45°
Deneba Canvas

CorelDRAW®

CorelDRAW 8 handles line drawing slightly differently. You have a choice of tools. Their functions are listed below.

	Freehand Tool Start New Path	Freehand Tool Restart or Close Path	Bezier Tool Start, Continue or Restart Path	Bezier Tool Close Path
CorelDRAW 8

Keyboard Shortcuts

Usually, when first learning the software, the novice will go to the tool palette to switch back and forth between the pen and other tools. This is very time consuming and there are provisions in the software to switch tools without having to select them from the tool palette. The keys on both the right-hand and left-hand sides of the spacebar are used for this purpose. Shown below are the keyboard hand positions for a right-handed mouse:

Left hand keys - Windows®	Left hand keys - Macintosh®
Shift = Alt = Ctrl =	Shift Option Command

The diagram above shows the hand positions (for a right handed mouse) to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts for drawing with the pen. This is the quickest way to use the pen.

Mac® users will use various combinations of the Shift, Option and Command keys, while Windows users will use parallel combinations of the Shift, Ctrl and Alt keys.

For example, while actively drawing a path with the pen tool, Windows Illustrator users can press the Ctrl key to switch between the pen and the selection tool while at the same time press the Shift key to constrain a line to 45° increments. When finished making the adjustment, the user simply releases the keys and resumes drawing with the pen tool - all without resorting to the tool palette.

Following this tutorial are step by step examples to drill the point.

Using Clipping Paths In Photoshop

A clipping path is a means to make parts of an image opaque and parts of an image transparent. Usually it is used to "knock out" the background. It is also a way of changing the rectangular-shaped boundary of a bitmap image into a shape of your choice. Clipping paths are made with the pen tool in Photoshop. The path itself is a vector object, while the image is a bitmap. Together, the vector path and the bitmap image can be exported as an EPS file - a file format which is capable of having both vector and bitmap data in the same image.

The resulting EPS file can be placed directly into a page layout document such as one created in QuarkXPress™ or Adobe® PageMaker®. It can also be embedded (or linked) in a vector drawing file such as one created with Adobe Illustrator®, Macromedia® FreeHand® or CorelDRAW®. The EPS file can also be distilled into a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format) with Adobe Acrobat Distiller™. In all these applications the clipping path will knock out the background of the image.

1. Let's make one. Below is a bird over a green background. Let's cut out the bird. Then we can give the bird a new background or simply place it over a plain white background. This image was chosen because the subject (the bird) is very smooth and curved making it an ideal candidate for the pen rather than the selection tools.



2. First we use the pen to draw the path. Click the Paths tab on the Layers Palette. Then click the "New Path" icon on the bottom. The default path name for the new path is "Path 1".



3. Draw the path with the pen. Try to place as few points as possible, adding points only when necessary.



4. Below is a view of the path itself.



5. Photoshop allows more than one path to be embedded in a file. There can be only one clipping path so you have to assign which path is to be the clipping path. In the path options menu, click "Clipping Path".



6. In the dialog choose "Path 1" to be the clipping path. The flatness value determines how closely the path conforms to the curves. The lower the number, the more closely the path will conform to the curves. Enter a value and click "OK"



7. Next you need to save the file, then save a copy as an EPS file. Click:

File > Save

followed by...

File > Save a Copy

Choose "Photoshop EPS" as the file type, then enter a filename and click "Save".

8. Shown below is the effect of the clipping path. The EPS file will print out like this on a PostScript® printer. To see the effect of the clipping path on screen you can open the EPS file in a drawing program (such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW or Macromedia FreeHand) or you can place the EPS file in a page layout program such as QuarkXPress or Adobe PageMaker or you can distill the EPS file with Adobe Acrobat Distiller and view the resulting PDF file in Acrobat.

Note: If you open the EPS file in Photoshop, you won't be able to see the effect of the clipping path. To do so you either have to print it out on a PostScript® printer or view it on screen using one of the methods described above.

9. For example, you can load an image into one of the page layout or illustration programs mentioned above to function as a new background...



10. Then you can drop the EPS image right over it.

Selecting Anchor Points and Modifying Paths In Photoshop

Selecting All Points In A Path
1. Press and hold the Option/Alt key. With the Direct Selection Tool click anywhere on the path. All the anchor points are selected. Selected anchor points become solid.




Deselecting All Points In A Path

2.Using the direct selection tool, click away from the path. All points are deselected.




Marquee Select Method

3. Using the direct selection tool drag a marquee around the path.



4. Release the mouse button. All the anchor points are selected. Selected anchor points become solid.




Selecting Individual Points

5. With all the anchor points now visible, use the direct selection tool to drag a marquee around the anchor points you want to select.



6. Release the mouse button. Now only the points enclosed within the marquee are selected (and solid) and all other points become deselected (and hollow).




Adjusting Path Segments

7. Use the direct selection tool and click and hold the mouse button on a line segment you wish to adjust



8. Drag the line segment to the desired shape. Release the mouse button when finished.