Edit on-page pressure profiles

The Stroke Width Tool lets you edit the pressure profile of curves created with line tools, typically the Pencil Tool, but also the Pen Tool and Vector Brush Tool.

About editing pressure profiles

The stroke width at any position along a drawn stroke can be adjusted by creating placed pressure points. At these points you can adjust stroke widths symmetrically using point handles to form a custom pressure profile that runs the length of the curve.

The benefits include:

The pressure profile is traditionally represented on the Stroke panel’s Pressure chart. The points on the chart are the same pressure points you add by tapping on the curve with the Stroke Width Tool active. Conversely, if you add a point to the Pressure chart, it will appear on the curve in a position relative to that on the chart.

Pressure chart and edited on-page pressure profile
Correlation between the Stroke Panel's Pressure chart and the equivalent on-page pressure profile. The stroke width at a pressure point (A) can be increased or decreased by dragging point handles (B) while any pressure point can be repositioned by dragging (C).

Snapping while profile editing

The tool's context toolbar hosts several snapping controls that snap pressure points onto existing nodes or existing stroke widths on the curve.

Profile editing and painting

Vector brush strokes can have their pressure profile edited just like with strokes created with the Pencil and Pen tools. It's important to understand that vector brush strokes have Size Variance and Opacity Variance settings that control how much the stroke size and opacity responds to pressure. If you edit the pressure profile with the Stroke Width Tool you may see size and/or opacity changing because of these settings.

Stroke Width Tool To create a pressure point:
  1. Select the Stroke Width Tool.
  2. Tap on a position on the curve.

The point’s handles extend symmetrically outwards from the ‘on-curve’ point to the current stroke width.

To adjust the stroke width at a pressure point:
To adjust the pressure point width and position:
To lock a pressure point’s position but adjust the stroke width:
To lock a pressure point’s width and adjust its position:
To unlink stroke widths on a closed curve's start/end point:
To set equal stroke widths on a closed curve's start/end point:
To delete a pressure point:
To save a pressure profile:

SEE ALSO: