Expert: Laith Ibrahim - 11/6/2008

Question
I am new to illustrator.  I need to create an arrow on a photo.  How is this done
in Illustrator?  Thank you.

Shelley

Answer
Hi Shelly,
Creating arrows is very simple in Illustrator. Here are the steps in details:

1. Create a line using the "Line Segment Tool" or the "Pen Tool" from the tool box menu (the long thin bar that contains the tools).

2. Press "D" on the keyboard. This will change the colors to default colors in Illustrator. This is not an important step if you already know how to color your line.

3. Select your line.

4. From the top menu, select "Effects>Stylize>Add Arrow Heads".

5. In the "Add Arrowheads" menu you'll see 2 boxes; one is labeled "Start" and the other "Finish". They control the shape of the tip of the arrow and its tail. Click on the small square that says "Preview" and start clicking on the small arrows underneath each box and see how the line that you created in step one will change. You can also change the size of the tip of the arrow by changing the scale (at the bottom of the Add Arrowheads" menu. By the way, your arrow can have just a tip without a tail if you set the tail to “None”.

6. Click "OK" when you get the arrow that you like.

7. Now that you have the arrow, you may want to make it thicker or thinner. This can be controlled by the "Stroke" size. First you have to select your arrow then click (CTRL+F10) to see the Stroke menu and change the weight. 1 point is he default and you can change it by selecting another number from the menu or by simply typing it.

8. Sometimes the tip of the arrow becomes too big when you change the stroke. In this case you have to go back to Effects>Stylize>Add Arrow Heads" and reduce the scale of the tip.

The steps may look lengthy but they are very simple and easy to follow.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance. I'll be glad to help.

Best regards,

Laith