Brushes are just one of the many types of tools that Adobe Illustrator has in its arsenal that allows users to customize and stylize their digital designs. There are four distinct varieties of brushes in the Illustrator tool belt; Calligraphic Brushes, Scatter Brushes, Art Brushes and Pattern Brushes.

Of the four brush types, the one I find myself using most often is the Art Brush. An Art Brush creates a solid brush stroke that stretches from point to point along a path. Creating your very own art brush is easy in Illustrator, and is a great way to customize your artwork. For the purpose of this demonstration, we will start with something very simple.

Using your Ellipse Tool, create an ellipse the size and color of your choice.

Grab the Convert Anchor Point Tool from your tool box. This tool will convert curved edges to points, and points to curved edges.

With your shape selected, click on the two anchor points on either rounded edge of the ellipse. The sides should now come to a point, as seen to the right.

Now, select the altered ellipse and use the transform handles to flatten the shape to the width that you want your brush stroke.

Once your brush stroke is to your liking, you will simply select the shape and drag it into the Brushes Palette. If your Brushes Palette window is not visible, you will need to open it by going to Window > Brushes.

When the New Brush dialougue box appears, select New Art Brush.

You will then be given some Art Brush Options that will determine the color and movement of your brush. For this simple brush, we will set the direction of the brush stroke to the right and indicate no colorization.

(If you will want to change or adjust the color of your brush strokes, you will want to set your colorization method to one of the other options, like Tints and Shades. You can then adjust the brush color by selecting the brush stroke and changing the stroke color in your tool box.)

Once you hit OK, your new Art Brush will be available for use in your Brushes Palette. It can be applied as a stroke to lines, shapes, text…you name it. To test your brush, grab your pen tool and draw a line with some curves or zig zags.

With the line selected, click on your new brush in the Brushes Palette.

Now you can add style and flair to your illustrations with your own custome brushes!