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Im new to illustrator and have been following tutorials on how to use the pen tool to trace hand drawn sketches. im having a few problems but nothing some practice wont fix
ive heard people say that using the brush and pencil tools is a better way to do this. could someone please explain (or point me in the direction of some tutorials) on how to do this and is it actually a better method?
The pen tool can be very powerful if used correctly. I taught myself how to use it correctly and now tracing is very easy. It takes awhile to get the bezier(sp?) curve down, but once you learn that, it's a piece of cake.
-Travis
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Learn how to use the pen tool..it will take practice though. The pencil tool will allow you to draw normally just like you would on paper but it's not as easy to create exact or precise paths with it. The pen tool is the way to go imo. I kinda taught myself how to use the pen tool (trial and error). If you google for tutorials, I'm sure you'll find some. Best of luck.
in that case, the only question i have regarding the pen tool is:
how do you vary the width of the paths? i know how to do it on single paths (with the stroke) but what if i want to vary the width (along different points) of THE SAME path. (basically to give it a hand draw, rougher look?
Yep, you just apply a brush stroke to your pen line.
I also agree with all of the other posts above. Pen, pencil or brush depends on the type of lines you are trying to create. Brushes and pencils are good for very loose, hand rendered styles, the pen is a very precise and tool, good for tracing or creating something like type, with very fluid exact lines.
I try to use both the pen and the pencil tools in my work. But use mainly the pen tool. The pencil tool is nice to trace smaller shapes that don't need to be precise. But the pen tool will allow you to get just the line you want (with practice of course). Brushes are nice when you need something other then a smooth line.
I've been using Illustrator and Photoshop since around 1998 and have become pretty good at both, but Illustrator is my better program for my technical mind. If you practice enough, you can create great things with it.
The key thing to know about the brushes is that you can design a line, then use it with the pen tool. This way you can draw precisely, but with the "style" of the brush you've created, or downloaded, found in Illustrator's brushes palette. It's very useful. Sometimes when I recreate things, I design brushes on the spot to fit what I'm creating. I may use 3 or 4 different brushes to achieve all the varying custom lines in a piece of art. A line might be fat in the middle and taper on the ends, or the opposite. Or it might be sort of wobbly all along. You can just create a brush that does those things and essentially draw with it. You can also still adjust the overall thickness of that brush with the regular stokes palette.
The hardest thing about the pen tool is using a mouse. Get a Wacom tablet and your control doubles. In fact, make an acetate of whatever you want to trace, place it on the tablet and go over it with the stylus. Illustrator also has "Live Trace" which works well too.
The hardest thing about the pen tool is using a mouse. Get a Wacom tablet and your control doubles. In fact, make an acetate of whatever you want to trace, place it on the tablet and go over it with the stylus. Illustrator also has "Live Trace" which works well too.
I did the wacom tablet thing for a while with Illustrator and found it only really works with the pencil tool. The pen tool can be tricky unless you have a really nice, precise wacom.
Using the Wacom art pad is not always the best answer. I find that I struggle with my key commands when using the art pad. The mouse is precise, yet not a "drawing" tool. It's more like a "plotting" tool. But you have perfect access to the key commands and therefore can make quick adjustments to the tool you're using, access other tools etc on the fly. If you are really good, maybe you can trace an image with the Wacom. Lots of people are good enough to just draw with it directly into the computer. Frankly, I can't get used to the lack of feedback from the surface. No resistance. Interestingly, their entry level model called "Bamboo" has a different pad surface which suits me, but lacks the depth of the more expensive Intuos versions. I wish there were more companies making these things to choose from but I can't find anyone other than Wacom.
Illustrator - pen or brush/pencil? 
