Width Tool Illustrator Tutorial

Summary

In this tutorial, viewers learn to utilize Adobe Illustrator's Width Tool to adjust stroke thickness at specific points. The instructor demonstrates creating a document, drawing a circle, and using the Width Tool to modify stroke width interactively. Techniques such as adjusting anchor points for width variation and applying 'Round Cap' for smooth edges are covered. The lesson is practical, allowing for creative exploration of stroke properties in vector graphics.

Takeaways

• 🎨 **Creative Skills Development**: The tutorial focuses on enhancing creative skills by teaching a specific tool in Adobe Illustrator.
• 📐 **Document Setup**: A new document of 1000x1000 pixels is created for the tutorial.
• ✂️ **Scissor Tool Usage**: The scissor tool is used to create a circle with a segment missing by making snips in the circle.
• 🖌️ **Stroke Weight Adjustment**: The stroke weight of the shape is increased to 20 points to make it more visible.
• 🛠️ **Width Tool Introduction**: The width tool is introduced for adjusting the stroke width at specific points.
• 🔍 **Zooming for Precision**: Zooming in is recommended for precise adjustments using the width tool.
• 📏 **Anchor Points**: The width tool allows adjusting the width by clicking on anchor points along the stroke.
• 🔄 **Dynamic Width Adjustment**: Width can be dynamically adjusted from thick to thin at any point along the stroke.
• 🔵 **Round Cap Option**: Round cap can be selected from the stroke panel to round off the ends of the stroke.
• 🎭 **Creative Flexibility**: The width tool offers flexibility to create various width variations along the stroke.

Q & A

What is the tutorial about?

The tutorial is about learning how to use the Width tool in Adobe Illustrator.

What is the purpose of the Width tool in Adobe Illustrator?

The Width tool allows users to adjust the width or thickness of a stroke at specific points for any shape or outline in Illustrator.

What is the minimum stroke width set in the tutorial?

The tutorial sets the minimum stroke width to 20 points.

How does the Width tool interact with the stroke of a shape?

The Width tool can be used to hover over any point along the stroke to adjust its width, creating variable thicknesses along the stroke.

What shape is used in the tutorial to demonstrate the Width tool?

A circle with a segment missing, created by using the Ellipse tool and then cutting out a segment with the Scissor tool, is used to demonstrate the Width tool.

What is the significance of the plus symbol next to the arrow when using the Width tool?

The plus symbol indicates that you can click and drag at that point to adjust the width of the stroke in real time.

How can you change the appearance of the ends of the stroke using the Stroke panel?

You can select 'Round Cap' from the Stroke panel to round off the ends of the stroke.

What does the Width tool allow you to do with the stroke width?

The Width tool allows you to create variable widths along the stroke, going from thin to thick or vice versa at any point.

What version of Adobe Illustrator is used in the tutorial?

Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 is used in the tutorial.

What is the recommended method for adjusting the width at an absolute point?

The recommended method is to select the Width tool, click on the desired point along the shape, and then drag upwards or downwards to adjust the width.

What is the final result of using the Width tool as demonstrated in the tutorial?

The final result is a stroke that transitions from thick to thin or vice versa at various points, with rounded ends if the 'Round Cap' option is selected.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Learning the Width Tool in Adobe Illustrator

This tutorial introduces the use of the Width tool in Adobe Illustrator. The presenter creates a new document and explains how the Width tool can adjust the stroke width at specific points. They demonstrate this by drawing a circle, cutting a segment with the Scissor tool, and increasing the stroke weight to 20 points. Using the Width tool, they show how to adjust the width at different points along the stroke, creating variable thicknesses. They also discuss the use of 'Round Cap' to smooth the ends of the stroke.

Keywords

💡Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editing program used for creating logos, icons, typography, and complex illustrations. In the video, it is the primary software tool used to demonstrate how to manipulate stroke widths, showcasing its capabilities for graphic design.

💡Width Tool

The Width Tool in Adobe Illustrator allows users to adjust the thickness of a stroke at specific points along the path. It's showcased in the video as the main feature to create variable stroke widths, adding depth and visual interest to vector shapes.

💡Stroke

A stroke in graphic design refers to the outline of a shape or lettering. In the video, adjusting the stroke's width is the core focus, demonstrating how to create dynamic effects by varying the stroke's thickness.

💡Pen Tool

The Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator is used for drawing paths with precision. It's mentioned in the context of creating shapes that can have their stroke widths adjusted with the Width Tool.

💡Scissor Tool

The Scissor Tool is part of the eraser tool set in Illustrator and is used to cut a path into segments. In the video, it's used to create a segment of a circle to demonstrate the Width Tool's capabilities.

💡Stroke Panel

The Stroke Panel in Adobe Illustrator provides options to modify the properties of a stroke, such as its weight, alignment, and cap style. The video uses this panel to initially set a uniform stroke weight before adjusting it with the Width Tool.

💡Shape

A shape in Adobe Illustrator is a basic building block of vector design, such as a circle, square, or polygon. The video demonstrates how to manipulate the width of strokes around various shapes to create unique designs.

💡Stroke Weight

Stroke Weight refers to the thickness of a stroke. In the video, increasing the stroke weight is the first step before using the Width Tool to create variations in thickness along the stroke.

💡Round Cap

Round Cap is a style applied to the ends of strokes, making them rounded. The video demonstrates how to apply a Round Cap to a stroke to create a smooth, finished look after adjusting its width.

💡Anchor Points

Anchor Points are the points that define the direction of a curve in a path. The video explains how the Width Tool interacts with these points to adjust the width of the stroke at specific locations.

💡CC 2017

CC 2017 refers to the Creative Cloud version of Adobe Illustrator from 2017. The video specifies this version to indicate that the features demonstrated, like the Width Tool, are available in that software version.

Highlights

Introduction to the Width Tool in Adobe Illustrator.

Creating a new document in Adobe Illustrator with specific dimensions.

The Width Tool allows for adjusting the stroke thickness at specific points.

Demonstration of using the Scissor Tool to create a custom shape.

Increasing stroke weight to make the shape more prominent.

Using the Width Tool to adjust stroke width in real-time.

Adjusting stroke width at specific anchor points for detailed customization.

Creating a varied stroke effect from thick to thin.

Applying a round cap to the ends of the stroke for a smooth finish.

Customizing stroke width at any point along the shape.

Technique to make the stroke chunky in the middle and thinner at the ends.

Fine-tuning the stroke width for precise design adjustments.

The versatility of the Width Tool for any shape with a stroke.

Encouragement for viewers to experiment with the Width Tool creatively.

Invitation for viewers to leave questions or comments.

Call to like the video and a farewell note from the presenter.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello there you're watching danske and

this is the place to be to develop your

creative skills in this tutorial we're

going to learn how to use the width tool

in Adobe Illustrator so I've created a

new document 1000 pixels wide and a

thousand pixels high and when you're are

using the width tool they allows you to

adjust the width of a thickness of a

stroke at a particular point to any

stroke or outline that you have in

Illustrator whether it's something

you've drawn with a pen tool or a circle

Square polygon any shape if it has a

stroke you can adjust the width at

predetermined points so for example if I

select the ellipse tool and just

left-click and hold shift to draw a

circle and what we'll do is we use the

scissor tool here that's under the

eraser tool and we'll just click a

couple of times just make a few sort of

snips there and we'll just pull this

segment out so we have a circle with a

segment missing now I'm actually going

to select the shape and from the stroke

panel just increase that stroke weight

so we'll go for about 20 I think and you

can see it's called the same 20 point

width all the way around and with the

width tool we can select this select the

width tool over here on the left I'm

using illustrator CC 2017 and let's just

zoom in a bit and with the width so we

can hover over any point along this line

you can see there is a plus symbol next

to our arrow and I'm going to start up

here this very end left click and just

drag either upwards or downwards and you

can see it just B width in real time and

again we can zoom in on this other end

here and with the WIPs tool if we hover

over this point so you can see we get

these two little anchor points either

side and we can click on either of those

and again adjust the width make it wider

or narrower so we could bring that to an

absolute point like so and we've created

something like this and we can even

select everything and from the stroke

panel select

round cap and it will just nicely round

off either end of the shape now this is

going from thick all the way through to

thin but we can actually adjust this as

much as we like so with the shape

selected and the width tool selected I

can click anywhere along this shape so

we could go right in the middle and

we'll make this super chunky and then

this top one up here I could bring that

back down and we'll zoom in on this

other one and we'll try and widen that

out it's a little bit fiddly if you

adjust it to a an absolute point so you

might need to zoom in a lot more to just

be able to increase that again but you

can see with that nice round cap it just

rounds off four corners and you can

quite literally do this for any point in

your shape we can go from thin to thick

to thin you can actually go as crazy as

you want really so there we go that's

how to use the width tool in Adobe

Illustrator

as always guys please leave any

questions or comments down below like

this video if you enjoyed it take care

and I'll see you next time

[Music]