: Trouble with closing pen tool lines in Illustrator for vector illustration I’ve had experience with drawing in Photoshop, but never tried vector artwork in Illustrator before. I drew this illustration
I’ve had experience with drawing in Photoshop, but never tried vector artwork in Illustrator before.
I drew this illustration using separate pen tool lines for the majority of the outlines (her clothes, body).
This was a problem when i tried to colour it - the lines weren’t closed, since that would mean having to double over some of my lines? For example, if I wanted to close the knee on our left, would it mean I have to somehow double over the left line of the arm that’s touching it?
I ended up somehow using Live Paint to fill in the spaces, but it was really difficult and unintuitive. I can't even remember how it worked out, but it took hours.
I’ve had suggestions to switch to Photoshop for this kind of drawing, but I enjoy the sharp lines and flexibility of working with vectors.
What’s a good way to work around the issue of ‘closing’ the lines without doubling over lines that are already drawn?
Thanks in advance.
EDIT: If anyone else stumbles on this (beginner's) issue, I was shown another way to draw vector images on Illustrator without using Live Paint:
They also expand the strokes and merge them together, but manage to colour it without Live Paint.
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I would probably not even bother closing the lines, just make a layer behind the lines then use the brush or blob brush to block in areas of solid colour. You can then use Warp / Smooth to get them under control rather than messing with individual points. Closing paths is a pain, so avoid it if you can.
I assume you create vector lines and then apply a stroke to it.
The easiest thing I can think of is to expand the strokes. That way each stroke gets changed to a vector data with fill instead of a stroke.
you can also use a pathfinder to connect shapes if necessary
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