Expressive Strokes - The Adobe Illustrator - page 213

Symbols vs. scatter brushes
Scatter brushes and symbols can appear very similar on your art-board, but they're
each applied and edited very, very differently. You can read about both in this
introduction, but you should experiment with making the same art into a scatter
brush and a symbol, and see how differently you control and edit each so you can
better understand their advantages and disadvantages.
Symbolism Tools Options dialog
RELATED TIPS
Different strokes
Marks made with the Blob Brush tool begin as a stroke, but automatically turn into a
filled shape. Find details on using it in the Rethinking Construction chapter. For the
basics of applying gradients to strokes, see the introduction to the Color Transitions
chapter. You'll also find lessons and galleries that incorporate gradients on strokes
throughout the topic.
Graphics tablets & brushes
Bristle brushes, which mimic painter's brushes, respond to hand gestures when
using a tablet and pen, such as the Wacom. The “Wacom 6D Art” or “Art” pens also
easily retain the appearance of the individual bristles, while allowing full rotation to
create unique strokes that imitate real brushes. A mouse is much more limited.
RASTER BRUSHES AND AUTO-CORNERS IN CC