Adobe Illustrator has been the industry-standard tool for vector design for years, but it has so many features that we often use only a small portion of what it can do. It can take years for users to learn all of the little time-saving features the software offers, and here's a perfect example that's blowing designers' minds.
Illustrator users have been left amazed after a brand designer shared a tip on Instagram to show how lines can be joined up with no overlapping and no zooming into pixel level. And it's so easy, people can't believe they've been wasting time for so long (if you need the software, see our guide to how to download Illustrator).
How did I not know about this tool in Illustrator! 🤯via Abi Connickhttps://t.co/ntttc7zRj0 pic.twitter.com/V3Jzd6JPonFebruary 27, 2023
Trying to seamlessly connect lines in a digital illustration can be hugely frustrating. Sometimes they'll keep overlapping no matter what you try. The designer Abi Connick demonstrated a solution in Adobe Illustrator on her Instagram account, and it seems many regular Illustrator users didn't know that it exists.
Connick shows that you can use the cursor to select the two paths that you want to join, and then click on the Join tool and draw over the paths. The paths will magically join to form a complete shape with no overlapping.
Many users are stunned. "How did I not know about this tool" the type and brush designer Ian Bernard asks. "Wahhhhh, I've been zooming in to pixel size trying to connect the lines for so long now," the product and type designer Jonathan Waterworth exclaimed. "Just tested this and words cannot describe the simultaneous joy and anger I feel about it," the 3D artist and illustrator JonOTron wrote.
For more tips on how to get the most out of Adobe's vector software, see our guides to Illustrator shortcuts and the best Illustrator tutorials. See below for the best current prices on Adobe's entire suite of creative apps.
Read more:
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
