The Adobe Illustrator Arc Tool
This tutorial is all about the Adobe Illustrator Arc Tool. The Arc Tool can be a time saver and when you first see it, it is not at all apparent in what it can do.
The Arc Tool is hidden under the straight line tool in the Adobe Illustrator tool bar. Simply hold down on the straight line tool and you will see the Arc Tool. You can use this tool in many different ways. If you select the tool and simply click on your Adobe Illustrator Document, then you will see options open up on your screen. In the, “Arc Segment Tool Options,” panel, you can set Length X-Axis, Length Y-Axis, Type (Open Arc or Closed Arc), slope, concave or convex, filled arc or none filled arc.
If none of these terms mean anything to you, then you can use the other method of creating an arc. That would be to select the tool and drag. While dragging there are many keystrokes that you can use to manipulate what happens as you drag your mouse or your Wacom pen.
The F key does one thing. The C key does something else. The up arrow does another thing and the down arrow preforms yet another function. Once your arc is complete of course you can apply the fill and stroke that you desire.
If you have an “open” arc then you may want to duplicate it and flip it horizontal or vertical, then you can join paths to create an entire new object.
I like the Arc Tool. The Arc Tool is just one of many Adobe Illustrator tools to put in your knowledge set. When it is time to use it, you know how.
Click the link below to see the video.