Pen Tool Tips Affinity Designer Adobe Illustrator

Learning to use the Pen Tool was a real challenge for me. After several false starts, I finally got the hang of it though. In the hopes of saving you - fellow vector art champion - some grief, I’d like to share a few “light bulb” moments that got me over the hump.

These tips assume you already have a basic knowledge of the Pen Tool and apply to directly to Affinity Designer (although this may apply to Adobe Illustrator as well).

• Circle Node to Square - you can change your node from a circle to a square while using the Pen Tool. After making a circle node, just click on that node again to convert it to a square node (see below).

• Fix It After - if you make a mistake while using the Pen Tool, I’ve found it’s better to finish as best you can, then fix it after using the Node Tool (white arrow tool, keyboard shortcut “A”).

• Practice, practice, practice - the more you use it, the easier it becomes.