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I was wondering if there's any way to make drawing with a mouse in Illustrator be much smoother, have more control and as much as possible much closer than having a pen input/tablet pen. Any tips, hacks, plugins that lets you do this.

I'm broke so I can't afford any of those touch/pen enabled PCs and tablet pen

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  • Don't draw shape instead.
    – joojaa
    Commented Dec 3, 2017 at 17:02
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    Practice....... Draw on paper and then scan and use that as a guide.
    – Scott
    Commented Dec 3, 2017 at 17:10
  • But I'm using my brushed there. I really need to draw something right in the Illustrator. I'm doing an art technique
    – PrinceKickster
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 3:44
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    @IanStevenMancera please enclose an example of what you are trying to achieve. It helps us in recommending the right tools to you.
    – Summer
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 16:21
  • Like in here. I was trying to make Mandala art and trying to imitate and draw that leafs loop on this YouTube video point youtu.be/CzlM9PBP_sY?t=21m50s
    – PrinceKickster
    Commented Dec 5, 2017 at 7:27

3 Answers 3

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Yes of course. Learn to use the Pen tool. I very rarely use a graphics tablet with Illustrator unless I want to draw something freehand.

There's a fun website where you can learn how to use the Pen Tool effectively, called the Bézier Game

Here's a screenshot.

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Practice practice practice!

Aside from that, there is an amazing Windows plugin that works in both Photoshop and Illustrator called Lazy Nezumi Pro

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It has a wealth of options to help you create the smoothest of lines and curves.

Then when/if you get a tablet the effects are magnified. I rarely have this disabled.

It's really cheap and has a generous 30-Day trial.

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with nor have stake in this product. I just think that it's super cool.

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    *NOTE: Windows Operating System ONLY.
    – Scott
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 21:57
  • Good catch. Updated answer.
    – Stegathesaurus
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 22:30
  • I really only knew because I've seen this.. would love to try it.. and POOF.. ain't ever gunna happen for me :)
    – Scott
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 23:15
  • Oooh this looks cool. I wonder tho how this compares to the new smooth brush tool in Illustrator CC 2018. I haven't' updated yet so I haven't tried it yet? Does it work that way too? Also it's cool, I'm on Windows
    – PrinceKickster
    Commented Dec 5, 2017 at 7:23
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Have you played around with Pencil Tool Options? Double click on the pencil icon to adjust the setting. Same with Paintbrush Tool, you can adjust the fidelity of the tool and some other nifty options. Besides that, you can repair your drawn line with Smooth Tool.

However, the best option is to use Pen Tool for ultimate control using mouse. Like Billy Kerr's answer.

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