Vector lines. shapes and text are edited by manipulating the Nodes. Nodes are indicated by square points on line and curve objects. You can change the shape of an object by dragging one or more of its nodes.
The straight or curved line between two nodes is a line segment.
A series of line segments and nodes create the contour of your vector object, also called path. There are closed contours (when start and end nodes connect) and open contours (not connected).
You alter the shape of a vector object by editing the contour. Edit the contour by adding, merging, moving or deleting nodes anywhere along a path.
The arrows that stick out of each node are called Control Arms (also called "handles") and they determine the length, shape, and direction of the curve or angle of the line that is attached to the node.
Pulling on the Control Arm to make it longer will also make the line attached to the Node longer, enlarging the curve. See Control Arm examples above.
Every node has 2 possible handles. You can grab and drag a handle on either side of the node, depending on your intent.
To change the size of a vector object, drag a corner or edge handle of the bounding box (all nodes selected). If you want to resize while changing the current proportions, right-click and drag a handle.
We'll talk more about shape distortion later, but first you'll need to know how to change the Node Type. This is an important thing to master.
We'll talk more about shape distortion later, but first you'll need to know how to change the Node Type. This is an important thing to master.
There are 4 different Node Types:
1) With a Symmetric node, moving the Control Arm/handle changes the line on both sides of the node equally. This will give you a smooth curve.
2) With an Asymmetric node, moving the Control Arm/handle will change the lines on both sides of the nodes at the same time, but not equally. A curve made this way can have a different contour on each side of node.
3) With a Cusp node, you can pull each Control Arm separately for extreme changes in angle or have a different curve or angle on each side of the Node. A simple square is a shape (contour) with 4 Cusp nodes creating the 4 corners.
4) With a Smooth node, you can create a smooth transition between straight and curved line segments.
Changing Node Type:
On the Tools toolbar, choose the Pen tool. On the Tool Options palette, click the Edit Mode button. Right-click a node, choose Node Type, and select one of the following options:
Convert to Line — straightens the segment before and after the node
Line Before — straightens the segment before the node
Line After — straightens the segment after the node
Curve Before — curves the segment before the node
Curve After — curves the segment after the node
Not that complicated, is it? Just a few logical steps.
In older versions of Paint Shop Pro, the Object Selector is used to edit a vector object. When Object Selector is active, right-clicking a vector object will open a dialog box of editing choices, including changing the type of node by selecting Node Type.
PRACTICE: Draw a vector rectangle and experiment with changing the Node Type to see how it effects the shape (the contour).
To change two or more nodes at the same time, select each node before choosing Node Type. Hold the shift key down while selecting more than one node. Then right click and select Node Type.
In summation: Although there are many combinations of node type that will influence the shape of adjoining line segments, there are 2 main concepts to remember....curve and corner. To make curves, use a node with symmetrical or asymmetical control arms. To make a sharp corner, use a cusp node combined with line before or line after (or both). We'll go into more detail on this another time!
So, are you still with me? Not much more to review before we can actually start drawing something with these vectors tools! ;-)
Note: I'm having some trouble with Blogger here! Won't change type size to anything other than 'small' and it's adding extra space between paragraphs. Anyone know how to work around that? :-/
You're probably working in Compose mode which automatically adds spaces. When in Edit HTML tab, you'll only see code and the text written by you. Delete any
ReplyDeletetags between different paragraphs. If that doesn't work, you could try using Shift-Enter for all of your line breaks and paragraph breaks and removing all other breaks. Not sure about the type size issue though...