Join Sharon Steuer for an in-depth discussion in this video Whittle while you work: Applying the Eraser and Smooth tools, part of Artistic Painting with Illustrator: Natural Media Brushes.
I actually do think that working with the Blob Brush is a little bit like sculpture …or carving away at the contours of something.…If you have a tablet then just flipping that stylus or pen over gives you the eraser. …If you don't you can choose the Eraser tool or you can choose…Shift+E for Eraser and Shift+B for the Blob Brush.…So turning over my stylus, in this case I have it, I'm going to enable actually.…
If you enable the Merge Only with Selection, it makes it really simple. I am…just going to be whittling away with the Eraser tool to the selected object.…However the selection edges kind become annoying and a pain. An easier way may…be to just lock the lower layer, which is where I have separated that Gray object. …That's where the Gray object is. Instead, I am going to deselect Merge Only with Selection.…That way the merge also affects the Eraser. What Merge means is, are you going…to be affecting that Blob object.…
But it's not just Blob objects, actually. I am going to just stick a star in there just for the heck of it.…
Author
Sharon Steuer
Released
2/15/2013- Drawing and tracing with Wacom and Cintiq tablets
- Maximizing control without a tablet
- Demystifying Paintbrush tool preferences
- Integrating brushes with other tools such as Smooth and Pencil
- Adding brushes to objects and text
- Creating naturalistic strokes with the Art brush tools
- Picking up, storing, and applying brushes
- Duplicating and customizing brushes
- Creating transparent washes and watercolor with Calligraphic brushes
- Drawing and erasing with the Blob Brush tool
- Adding stroke profiles to lines and brushes
- Organizing complex images with layers
- Ideas for how to combine Illustrator brushes with Photoshop, and even with traditional media
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
Q: How do I import one of Sharon's workspaces into Illustrator?
A: Place Sharon's workspace file within the folder structure below, understanding that where it says YourHomeFolder you instead choose the folder that contains your name (your Home folder):
/Users/YourHomeFolder/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator CS6 Settings/en_US/Workspaces/
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 6s
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Vectors vs. pixels2m 31s
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Using layers for brushes9m 3s
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1. Naturalistic Illustrator Brushes Overview
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Illustrator artwork gallery4m 26s
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2. Brush Settings and Workspace
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3. Calligraphic Brushes
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Creating an ink-wash effect4m 24s
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4. The Blob Brush
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Basic Blob Brush options2m 28s
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5. Bristle Brushes
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Accessing bristle brushes3m 26s
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6. Naturalistic Art Brushes
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Accessing art brushes2m 51s
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7. Stroke Profiles
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Applying stroke profiles2m 51s
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8. Expanding Your Toolset
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Overview2m 18s
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More ways to add brushes4m 3s
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Using vector editing tools3m 34s
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Combining brushes in artwork1m 44s
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Conclusion
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Next steps44s
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Video: Whittle while you work: Applying the Eraser and Smooth tools