Drawing with the Pen and Pencil Tools - Adobe Illustrator CC - page 186

You can practice adjusting the direction handles with the Direct Selection tool ( ) when the
path is completed.
7. Position the Pen tool pointer over the next (third) black square point on the template
path, and drag down to the red dot. Release the mouse button when the path looks
similar to the template path.
8. Press the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key and, after the convert-point icon (^)
appears, position the pointer over the anchor point or direction point and drag up to the
gold dot. Release the mouse button, and then release the modifier key.
For the next (fourth) point, you will not release the mouse button to split the direction
handles, so pay close attention.
9. For the fourth anchor point, click the next black square on the template path and drag
down to the red dot until the path looks correct. This time, do not release the mouse
button . Press the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key, and drag up to the gold dot
for the next curve. Release the mouse button, and then release the modifier key.
10. Continue this process using the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key to create
corner points until the path is completed.
11. Use the Direct Selection tool to fine-tune the path, and then deselect the path.
If you want to try drawing the same shape for more practice, scroll down to the Practice area
in the same artboard and trace the shape down there.
Combining curves and straight lines
Of course, in the real world, when you draw with the Pen tool, you won't just create either