Macromedia Drawing freeform paths

Drawing freeform paths

With the Pencil tool, you can draw freeform paths that follow the direction of your hand movements. The three modes of operation for this tool are Freehand, Variable Stroke, and Calligraphic Pen.

To set Pencil tool options:

1	Double-click the Pencil tool.
2	In the Pencil Tool dialog box, choose a Tool Operation option:
	Freehand draws a simple line as you move the cursor.
	Variable Stroke resembles a brush stroke.
	Calligraphic Pen resembles a calligraphy pen stroke.
3	Enter a value from 1 to 10 in the Precision text box, or adjust the slider control. Choose a higher value to follow minor variations as you draw. Choose a low value to smooth minor variables as you draw.
4	Select Draw Dotted Line to draw paths faster by displaying a dotted line as you draw. The final path is still solid.
5	Select Auto Remove Overlap to remove unnecessary path segments and create a composite path.
	Original (left) and Auto Remove Overlap applied (right)
	Note: Using the Auto Remove Overlap option may slow the redrawing of an image. You can also remove overlap by selecting the path and choosing Modify > Alter Path > Remove Overlap or clicking the Remove Overlap button on the Xtra Operations toolbar.
6	For Variable Stroke, set a path width, measured from the centerline, between 1 and 72 points.
7	For the Calligraphic Pen, select additional Width and Angle options:
	Click Fixed to set calligraphic paths to a constant width, or click Variable to specify a path width between 1 and 72 points.
	Set the angle of the Calligraphic pen by entering a value or dragging the Angle dial between 0° to 359°. The actual width of a stroke at a given location on the path depends on the direction in which you drag.
	Click OK.

To draw a path with the Pencil tool:

1	Click the Pencil tool in the Tools panel.
2	Drag to draw a path.
3	Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to draw a straight line.
4	For the Variable Stroke or Calligraphic Pen option, vary the path width by 1/8 the tool's Width setting as you draw:
	To decrease the path width, press the Left Arrow key (Windows) or Left Bracket key (Macintosh).
	To increase path width, use the Right Arrow key (Windows) or the Right Bracket key (Macintosh).
5	To continue a selected path, position the Pencil pointer over a path's end point; a solid plus sign indicates that drawing will continue the path.

Using the Transform tools

Transformation tools comprise the following:

	Rotate applies two-dimensional rotations.
	Scale enlarges or reduces objects.
	Skew slants an object along a specified axis.
	Reflect flips an object.

To transform a selected object using the Transform tools:

1	Click a transformation tool in the Tools panel.
2	Place the pointer at the spot that will be the center of transformation.
3	Drag to transform the object.
	Drag farther away from the point of transformation for greater control over the transformation.
	Shift-drag constrains the transformation to 45° increments relative to the current constrain angle (Modify > Constrain).

Power-duplicating

Power-duplicating is the process of repeating a transformation (move, scale, skew, reflect, rotate) on successive duplicates of the object. You can use power-duplication with more than one transformation. For example, you can move, scale, and skew a duplicate, and those transformations will be applied to successive duplicates.

Note: You cannot combine scaling and skewing during power-duplication. 

Moving (left); moving and scaling (center); and moving, scaling, and rotating