This tutorial is written for those about to attempt
to follow their first tutorial on editing path shapes, or those
ready to strike out on their own to create their own shapes and
would like to learn a little more about how the path tool
works.
Doubtless there are other tutorials also trying to teach
this concept. I have not read these tutorials, but I believe that a
different perspective is always good when learning new
things.
We will explore each option
available in the Path edit tool and I will attempt to explain how
they work. |
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Let's start by opening a canvas.
300 X 300 should be plenty large enough.
Switch to the path tool
and draw a circle.
To enter path editing mode, right click on
your circle and click path edit.
If this is not available to you
because of the version of PhotoImpact you are using, you will find
this option in the path tool options. Click the arrow in the corner
of the button, and choose path edit tool. You will notice that your
circle is now just an outline with some squares on it. During the
rest of this tutorial these will be referred to as nodes. Nodes are
the control points for your editing.
You will notice that your
attribute bar has changed. Let's look at it. The first button is
marked toggle. Clicking this button will switch you back to the
normal view for a path object. Toggle mode is helpful to check
your shape in normal mode. Jagged edges show better in normal mode.
Click it once, notice what it does, and then click it again to enter
path edit mode again. |
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The next button under edit point
is the button you want to click when you are doing simple shape
editing with the path edit tool. You will want to keep this one
active most of the time.
Let's explore some of the things you
can do while in this mode. Click on one of the nodes. You will
notice that the little square looks differently now. Instead of a
solid square it is only an outline. That means it is active.
It also has two dotted lines standing out from it on
each side which are each ended with another smaller square. These
are called the control handles. These are nodes that will help you
change the shape of the segments between the nodes.
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The edit mode you choose when
editing path shapes is very important and it is vital that you know
that there are different modes and when to use each.
The modes are found two buttons over on
your attribute bar. The first mode is the non free edit mode. First
make sure that this one is active, and then click on the node you
activated previously and pull it down toward the center.
See how the segments between your
node and the next node stay relatively straight in this mode? Let's
compare how the other mode, the free edit mode works in contrast to
the the non-free edit mode. Click the undo button or press control z
to undo. Click the free edit mode button.  |
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Again, pull the top center node
straight down. The segments are now curved instead of fairly
straight. Use this mode when creating shapes where curves are
desirable. |
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Ok, undo again. Let's
explore how the two modes affect the smaller editing nodes. Click
again on the non free edit mode. Click the small square on the end
of the control handle. Pull it around a bit. See how the segment
beween the two nodes change. You'll notice that the opposite control
handle and its square also moves. Sometimes that is fine, but a lot
of times that is undesirable. If it impacts the shape you are trying
to create, remember to switch to free edit mode before moving the
control handle. |
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Now try it again with the free
edit mode. You'll notice this time, the opposite adjusting arm
doesn't move as you adjust the node.
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Now let's go back to the next
button beside the edit point button. It has a + on it. Click to
activate it. Point to a part of the curve segment between two of the
nodes. You'll notice that when you do that your cursor changes to a
+ indicating that if you click you will add a node. Click to
add a node. This new node can now be edited the same as any other
node. It is important to note that while this option is selected,
any time you click on any part of the line segment you will add a
new node. |
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The next button is a - sign
indicating that with this option you can take away a node.
Click to activate it and click the bottom node of your circle.
Notice that that bottom node is now gone. This option can be
extremely handy at times. Notice how our new shape made from the
circle is now a perfect gum drop shape. If you do this to an oval
instead, a perfect lid shape is created. :-) |
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Now suppose that you want the
bottom half of your semi circle to be perfectly straight instead of
having a slight curve. There is a tool for that. If you notice, the
two buttons beside the free edit mode are grayed out. To activate
them point to and click on the bottom segment where you deleted the
node. Now look at your attribute bar. You will notice that now only
one of them is grayed out, the curved one.
These buttons are used to change a
straight line segment to a curved one or vice versa, but they are
only available when one of the segments is selected.
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The rest of the tools in the
attribute bar are only available when you have used continue draw to
add more paths to one shape, and will not be covered in this
tutorial. |
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