Ready to turn your design into an eye-catching label or sticker? Use Edit > Place or simply drag and drop the image into Illustrator. With the Pen Tool selected, hold Option to activate the Anchor Point tool. This will make a copy of the second side of the bottle so that we can ensure that both sides are identical and perfectly symmetrical. Now is the moment to use Live Trace to vectorize the file we just imported. While the pen tool can be difficult to work with at first, the more you use it, the easier it will become! To set the first anchor point, click on the canvas with the mouse. Click on the canvas where you want the path to start, then click again where you want the path to change direction. Learn more about all the other powerful tools in your design applications with these articles: License stunning content with a plan that suits your needs. It is also the hardest tool to master. Drag the Illustrator window over to the tablet screen. We are going to use Vertical for our bottle and then click on Copy. In this series we will be going over some tips and tricks that we feel could be useful when you are designing your next label artwork. With an understanding of how to affect points, paths, and curves, you’ll be able to create full-scale designs in no time. Anchor Point Tool. Considering that a bottle is an object with a lot of curves we are going to be primarily using the curved points. Premade Stock labels, personalizable with your text or graphics. Choose Print from the Profile drop-down menu. This is the original image: We can now select our pen tool either by the selecting the icon in the tool bar or pressing the P key. Click on the Pen Tool. Use the Anchor Point tool to directly alter and change the behavior of vector … This creates a smooth curve. Finish by clicking OK. Do this to alter curved paths, change a vector point to a curve vector point, or add/delete points on a path. Continue doing this for a multi-angled path. Welcome to the LabelValue Design Tips Mini-Series. LabelWriter is a registered trademark of DYMO Corporation. In this overview we’ll look at the versatility of the Pen Tool and explore some ways to use it at a more advanced level for creating and editing paths. With this tool active you can move points or their bezier handles or change the direction of a path. Hint: If you want to only control one handle hold down the Alt Key as you are moving the handle. Draw curves followed by straight lines. Every stroke is located between two anchor points. Aaron is a 15 year graphic design veteran and lives in Denton, TX. We can now select our pen tool either by the selecting the icon in the tool bar or pressing the P key. Hint: You can turn off the fill of the shape by switching the fill swatch to none. You can draw freehand if you want, or trace over an image yourself: do what feels right. Hint: If you place a point that you are not happy with, simply hit Crt+Z to undo it and try again. 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