The pen
points, then curves, then letters.
Every design app has a pen tool, and it puzzles almost everyone. It is simpler than it looks: you place points, and each point can have handles that pull the line into a curve. Six short steps, each checked as you go.
Step 1 of 6
Place a point. Then another.
Click to place a point. Click and drag to pull out handles. Drag a point or a handle to change it. Click the first point to close the shape.
Why it works this way
four rules type designers keep.
The curves are Bézier curves, the same math in every font and every vector app. A few habits make them clean.
- Fewer points.
Every point is a decision. A curve drawn with few points is smoother and easier to change.
- Points at the extremes.
Put points where the curve is furthest top, bottom, left and right. Fonts render more cleanly that way.
- Handles flat or upright.
At an extreme, the handles lie flat or stand straight up. Then the curve meets its neighbor without a bump.
- Smooth where it flows, a corner where it turns.
Handles in one line make a curve flow through a point. Break them, and the line turns.