You can make a fantastic illustration with the help of many of Adobe Illustrator’s capabilities. One of them, the Brush tool, is ideal for adding style to your artwork. It enables you to utilize any custom strokes for artistic reasons. The color, shape, and appropriate brush size are some examples of these personalized qualities.
Using keyboard shortcuts in the properties panel or the brushes panel, you can modify the brush size. We are actually hoping to adjust the stroke size when we draw with the brush tool because there isn’t a brush size option.
Hi there! My name is Aly, I am a graphic designer with a certification in Adobe Illustrator and have been using the program for over five years now. In this article, I will be explaining how you can learn to change the brush size in Illustrator.
Contents
Method 1: Stroke Settings
Follow the steps below to better understand how to alter the brush sizing.
Step 1: Open your file or create a new document by going to File > Open or File > Create New Document.
Step 2: Go to the toolbar and select the Paintbrush Tool.
Step 3: Select a brush from the top menu or open the Brushes panel from Window > Brushes and select a brush, once you have done that you will see Stroke at the top menu, and next to it is an option box. From there, click the box and you will see many size options.
Pick the size that you need and start drawing on your artboard. If you need another size just go back to the sizing box to change size.
Method 2: Appearance Panel
Follow the steps below to utilize the properties panel to alter brush size.
Step 1: Have your new empty document open and your brush tool selected from the left-hand menu like the method above showed.
Step 2: With the Brush Tool selected go up to the top menu and find Window > Appearance.
If you don’t want to open the Appearance panel, with a stroke selected, the Appearance panel will automatically show in the Properties panel.
Step 3: Go to the Properties > Appearance panel and find Stroke. You can either enter a value for the brush size or select the dropdown arrow to pick a size option.
Method 3: Keyboard Shortcut
This is a quicker and more preferable option if you can remember a keyboard shortcut and need to change the brush size.
Step 1: You may adjust the brush size by using your bracket keys. To begin, choose the Brush tool from the Tools panel. Next, draw a stroke or simply pay attention to the circle that appears while the brush size is being changed.
You may now use the Command + [ to lower the size of the brush and the Command + ] to raise it in Illustrator. If you like to use shortcuts on your keyboard, this is the quickest and most straightforward method.
Final Thoughts
Increasing the brush size results in larger strokes. The Properties panel is the best location to look for it. The keyboard shortcuts should be the most practical if you’re drawing because you won’t have to constantly choose the stroke and alter it one at a time.
I highly suggest practicing and learning the keyboard shortcuts to quickly change brush size in Adobe Illustrator.
Any questions about changing the brush size in Adobe Illustrator? Leave a comment and let me know.
