Curly Whirly Stuff

Are there any tutorials for drawing that curly stuff that you see everywhere these days, like on here: http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=395

I've tried messing around with the pen tool a bit but it's difficult, so I thought they must be another way?

 

You can use illustrator or photoshop's pen tool to create that `curly stuff`

 

If you are using Illustrator, there is a 'spiral' tool.
Click the 'line' icon found right below the 'pen' icon in the tool palette. This will pop-up a few more options, one of them being a spiral tool. You can adjust the number of segments, size, and spiral direction if you just click on the canvas with the tool. (don't draw a shape, just click anywhere and a dialog box will pop-up with options)

After your spiral is drawn you can all brush effects to the stroke and other accents is needed.

If you are using Photoshop, you can go about it in a totally different way as seen here. (it is really a tutorial for getting text to spiral, but the first few steps will show you how to draw a simple spiral and convert it to a path.)

 

Thanks eruct, I only have Fireworks and Photoshop so I'll have a look at the Photoshop method. There is a spiral in Fireworks but you can't alter it very much I think. People keep telling me to get Illustrator and I've kept on resisting, one of these days though...

 

There are brushes that are those shapes, I've got brushes for days and days, if i find it, ill let you know

 

Cheers, that'd be cool.

 

Hey astro, There are some of those shapes in Photoshop under custom shapes. I am still hunting through brushes.

 

To be honest I haven't used Photoshop all that much. I've had CS2 for over a year since it came out, but I've been using Fireworks for years and I'm still not totally at home with Photoshop. I really should get properly into it I guess, it cost me a fortune after all.

 

Custom Shapes are under the Square Tool Flyout menu, looks like a blob. Then, at the top under the file, edit...... theres the shapes drop down that you can select other custom shapes from. THen theres an arrow in that box where you can load other shape types. Just do all and you can see every shape