- [Instructor] Here is how we can draw calligraphic
characters with the aid of the variable width tool.
I'm going to start with a character
that I'm using as a tracing template.
Now, I'm not trying to replicate this.
I just have it there to remind me of the proportions.
And essentially, remind me what an A looks like
because it's very easy to sort of get so focused
on the minutia that you start to forget the bigger picture.
So with this character, I'm going to put it on its own layer
and then I'll move that layer beneath my current layer.
I'll lock it so that we can't interfere with it.
And now, I'm going to choose my pencil tool
and draw over it.
So I'm actually just doing this with the mouse.
Or I do have a tablet and style this one.
I just want to make the point that the pencil tool,
when you turn the smoothing up is a valid approach
for creating a calligraphic character like this.
I have turned off, Edit selected parts.
So now, with my stroke color set to black
I'm just going to create three strokes.
And I'm deliberately doing them in separate moves.
Now, I may want to choose my direct selection tool
and possibly make a few adjustments to that.
I can work on the direction lines.
Perhaps add or remove anchor points.
When I'm ready to proceed to the next step,
I'll select all of those strokes and increase their weight.
Like I said, I'm not trying to copy the tracing template.
That's just there as a rough guide for me.
I'll come to the Stroke panel and I will round the caps.
Now, I'm going to use the variable width tool.
And I'm going to start down here adding a point.
And then I'll come to the very,
that didn't go so well, and see if I can just,
well, that wasn't why I was expecting.
But actually,
that's turned out to be a bit of a happy accident.
So I'm going to leave that.
And I can come
and adjust the width of the stroke at various points.
If I find myself wanting
to make one side wider than the other.
Because without holding down a modifier key,
you're going to be adjusting the width on both sides.
But if I just want to widen it on the left side,
hold down the option or Alt key.
So when you have a result that you are happy with,
we can now come and hide the tracing layer.
I'll select all of this,
come to the Object menu path, Outline Stroke.
This will convert the strokes into field paths.
And now, from the Pathfinder panel,
which if you don't see it,
you'll find under the Window menu, Pathfinder.
I will unite those shapes together.
And that will remove any areas of overlap.