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- The topic of this chapter is

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Illustrator's flagship
drawing tool, the pen tool.

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In case you've never heard of it,

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the pen tool is that one tool

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that lets you draw anything you want

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with absolute precision in
Illustrator's native language

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so that when you describe a path outline

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with a pen tool, Illustrator knows exactly

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what you're talking about.

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The pen tool creates a path
as a series of anchor points,

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and here's a new term, control handles.

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These points and handles act like dots

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in a connect-the-dot puzzle,

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only each dot gives
instructions to Illustrator

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on how to precisely create the straight

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and curving segments in between.

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After all, this is not a
child's connect-the-dot puzzle.

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This is one for fully-grown adults

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or very talented children.

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Thing is, these dots, the anchor points

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and the control handles,

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they serve very different purposes.

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As we saw in a previous chapter,

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an anchor point locks down
its neighboring segments.

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One segment travels into the anchor point.

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Another segment travels out.

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As a result, the path
outline invariably passes

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through each and every anchor point.

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The new element, the control handle,

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it's not so much a dot as a magnet.

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If you drag down on a control handle,

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the segment bends down toward the handle.

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If you drag up, the segment bends up.

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The segment never really
touches the handle.

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It merely arcs toward it.

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It's as if the segment is
attracted to the handle

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but doesn't dare get too close.

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Every path has to include anchor points.

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And for a straight-sided path

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such as a freeform polygon,

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anchor points are enough.

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But if you want curvature,
you need control handles.

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Control handles are those things

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that make segments curve.

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Now you might say, "Wait a sec, Deke.

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"In the last chapter, we
saw the curvature tool

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"making curving segments
without control handles."

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Actually, the control handles were there.

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It's just that the
curvature tool hides them.

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The pen tool shows them
to you in stark detail.

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By the way, the mysteries of this one tool

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are so big, so epic,

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that I devote an entire course to it

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called Adobe Pen Tool: Fundamentals.

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And so, if this chapter intrigues you,

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that course is going to blow you away.

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Oh, and in case you're
familiar with the pen tool,

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Adobe has added a few features.

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What are they?

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Well, here, permit me to show
you in the following movies.