How to smooth it out/add curves less jagged edges and illustrator

Question

I am working on a trademark that utilizes a leaf. I translated the leaf into a vector shape but need to remove all of the jagged edges and make it smooth. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

As mentioned in the comments, it would be better if you re-drew the shape using the pen tool. This might seem like quite a challenge at first, but it's really not difficult at all, once you do a couple you will find the rest very easy.

This article is part of a series on drawing tools in Illustrator, and it focuses on drawing curved paths. The basic principle is this:

Unlike straight paths, curved paths are created by clicking and dragging. The first time you click and drag, you set a starting point for the curved path and importantly, you also determine the direction of the curve. As you continue to drag, a curved path is drawn between the previous point and the current point.

When you click and drag with the Pen tool, two things happen:

• An anchor point is placed on the artboard when you click.

• Direction lines and direction points are drawn when you drag.

You can use the direction lines and points to determine the direction and shape of the curved path you’re drawing.