Attention, Internet Explorer User Announcement: Jive has discontinued support for Internet Explorer 7 and below. In order to provide the best platform for continued innovation, Jive no longer supports Internet Explorer 7. Jive will not function with this version of Internet Explorer. Please consider upgrading to a more recent version of Internet Explorer, or trying another browser such as Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome.

You can create symbols from most Illustrator objects, including paths, compound paths, text objects, raster images, mesh objects, and groups of objects. However, you cannot create a symbol from linked art or some groups, such as groups of graphs. You can use the Symbols panel (Window > Symbols) or the Control panel to manage the symbols.

(Please remember to honor your company's IT policies before installing new software!) • • • •.

Having the right Illustrator brushes means you can add depth, texture and character to your vector work by stylising the appearance of paths. Unlike, good quality Illustrator brushes can be hard to come by – so to save you time, we've rounded up our favourite vector brushes right here. On this page, you’ll find the best Illustrator brushes out there – it’s worth paying for these brilliant resources. Or, if you're on a budget, jump to page two for our pick of the best. First, some basics: there are five different types of brush in Illustrator.

They’re all used with the Brush tool, and each has a different purpose. • Art brushes: stretch a brush or object shape evenly along a path.

• Bristle brushes: create brush strokes that look as though they were made using a natural brush with bristles. • Scatter brushes: disperse copies of an object (such as a butterfly or leaf) along a path.

Rather than stretching art – like Art brushes – they scatter it. • Pattern brushes: create seamlessly repeating patterns along a path. They can be used to create the same effect as Scatter brushes, but Pattern brushes follow the path exactly, whereas Scatter brushes don’t. • Calligraphic brushes: create strokes that look as though they were drawn with the angled point of a calligraphic pen.

Happily, managing your vector brushes is more straightforward than ever before. With, you can save them to your library for easy access, no matter which machine you're using. Here are the best Illustrator brushes around. • Price: $49 (usually $116) • Compatible with: CS4 and above This huge bundle of premium Illustrator brushes squeezes 321 best-selling RetroSupply brushes into one killer pack. Inside, you get all the company’s (also see #12) vector engraving brushes, hand-drawn vector brushes, vector stippling brushes and vector halftone brushes. Buying those packs individually would set you back $116, making The Hand-Drawn Illustrator bundle a good investment for anyone looking to bulk out their vector brush collection with some quality resources. • Price: $19 • Compatible with: CS5 and above Create vintage artwork with this set of cross-hatch pen and ink Illustrator brushes from The Artifex Forge, aka designer Jeremy Child.

They’re anti-stretch pattern brushes, so they seamlessly repeat a tile along the stroke – rather than stretching one image along the line – and you can draw multiple lines with just one stroke to save time. (Although you’ll find some single line outline brushes in the pack, too.) Happily, tablet users are catered for as well – a version of the brushes with pressure sensitivity enabled is included. • Price: $49 (usually $79) • Compatible with: CS4 and above This mega-bundle of Illustrator brushes will set you up for almost any kind of digital painting.

It includes six of RetroSupply's best-selling brush packs, and includes sponge and ink scatter brushes, halftone brushes, pencil and charcoal brushes. There are also Ai reference sheets to help you get the most from your vector brushes. This pack is usually $79, but right now you can pick it up for a bargain $49. • Price: $19 • Compatible with: CS6 and above This pack of 25 Illustrator brushes from True Grit Texture Supply enables you to add depth, grain, shadow and form to your artwork. Perfect for adding grainy drop shadows, blended gradients, gritty accents and subtle grain overlay effects, the brushes have been handmade from a diverse selection of authentic source-materials – including vintage paper samples, concrete, toner, ink spray and sponged paint. The pack also comes with some bonus grainy overlay textures – and if you don’t like it, you’ll get your money back. • Price: $12 • Compatible with: CS3 and above This collection of 150 hand-drawn Illustrator brushes is suitable for use with Illustrator CS3 and later.