The Pen Tool allows us to create some cool shapes and if we desire, perfectly straight lines. To be honest, I hardly ever use this tool when working in Flash. However, I know there are many Flash artists who do use it and you may end up finding it useful. After all, the purpose of these tool tutorials is for you to become comfortable with the tools. It’s up to you to decide what tools you will want to use in the long run. Anyway, let’s get to it!

With a new document open, select the Pen Tool from the Tool Bar. Move the cursor somewhere on the stage. Click and drag the cursor across the stage. You will notice this allows you to draw a straight line. Let go, and then select the Selection Tool . The result is a perfectly straight line. This can also be accomplished with the Line Tool (the tutorial for that can be found by clicking here). This is just another way to go about it.

You can draw a perfectly straight line with the Pen Tool.

Now, let’s get creative with these lines. Delete the line you just drew (or push it aside for now). Select the Pen Tool if it’s not already selected and click once on the stage. You will see an “anchor” point appear. Move the cursor to the right or left, click and hold, then drag the cursor down. Select the Selection Tool to see what you just did. The result will be an arc like shape.

You can create perfect curves with the Pen Tool.

You can create some crazy stuff with the method I just described above. Let’s take it one step further. Delete the line you just made and select the Pen Tool again if you haven’t already done so. Click once on the stage, move the cursor somewhere else on the stage, then click and drag to create a similar arc shape as you did previously. But now, instead of grabbing the Selection Tool, move the cursor elsewhere on the stage, click and drag. You will notice the new line will use your last point as an anchor. You can continue to do this if you’re going for a certain shape. If you automatically want to create a shape with a fill color, make sure you have a fill color of your choice selected. Now, when you’re ready to fill the shape, click on the first point you created. This will close the shape and fill it automatically. Of course, you can just close the shape without filling it (simply by leaving the fill color transparent).

You can do some pretty cool stuff with the Pen Tool.

Again, I don’t use the Pen Tool a whole lot myself, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. Many Flash animators do use it, and if mastered, the Pen Tool can be quite powerful.

Stay tuned for more tutorials!

---