Additional Drawing Tools

Live Painting

• The Live Paint Bucket tool is used to fill shapes with color and apply strokes in Adobe Illustrator;
• It’s not visible by default, so it must be added to the toolbar by accessing the toolbar options;
• To use the tool, select the entire artwork (Ctrl/Command + A). Then, either click with the Live Paint Bucket to convert objects into fillable shapes or go to Object > Live Paint > Make;
• The tool follows the colors available in the Swatches panel, and you can navigate colors using the arrow keys;
• You can:
  • Click to fill individual shapes;
  • Click and drag to fill multiple areas at once;
• Don’t forget to zoom in on tiny gaps to fill them accurately, and use Undo if any mistakes are made;
• The tool can also apply strokes. When hovering over the edge of a shape, the cursor changes to a brush icon, allowing stroke application;
• Customization options are available by double-clicking the tool where you can disable stroke painting or adjust the highlight’s thickness and color;
• After finishing the coloring, finalize the work by going to Object > Expand to ensure fills and strokes are locked in;
• Not expanding the shapes will result in losing the fills and strokes if the live paint group is released.

Blob Brush Tool

• Blob Brush Tool is located under the Paintbrush tool in the tools bar and differs from the Paintbrush tool by creating objects with fill rather than paths with strokes;
• Blob Brush strokes are unified into one object if they share the same color;
• You can customize the Blob Brush settings, including size, angle, and roundness, via the Blob Brush Tool Options dialog box or adjust the brush size using the left "[" or right "]" bracket keys;
• When brush strokes are created with different colors, they remain separate objects;
• To draw inside an object, select the object and choose Draw Inside mode;
• Use the Blob Brush to paint within the object’s boundaries, applying colors like shadows or highlights;
• The Color Guide window allows you to pick tints and shades of the active color for more nuanced detail;
• Adjust the position, size, and rotation of highlights or shadows after creating them to refine the look of the artwork;
• Using the Blob Brush tool in combination with Draw Inside mode helps add depth and realism to flat vector objects.

Recoloring Artwork

• Instead of changing colors of individual objects, you can recolor everything at once. Group your objects, then go to the Quick Actions section and select Recolor;
• A dialog box will open displaying the artwork’s colors as handles;
• You can modify all colors at once or unlink the Harmony (the chain icon) to change individual handles;
• You can choose from any preset color libraries to apply to your artwork;
• You can use the Color Theme Picker to sample colors from an image or vector objects;
• You can adjust the prominence of specific colors by moving the pointers on the color bar; And also adjust the brightness and saturation of your artwork’s colors using their corresponding sliders;
• You can also use the Color Theme Picker to add colors from other objects or images by holding the Shift key;
• You can save all or prominent colors from your artwork as a color group using the folder icon in the Recolor dialog;
• Saved color groups are stored in the Swatches panel;
• Once satisfied, click OK to apply changes or save your color group. You can also adjust the hue, saturation, and brightness through the Recolor Artwork Advanced Dialog Box.