Drawing with the Path Tools

You can use the Curve, Polygon, Smooth Polygon, Freehand, and Auto Curve tools to draw vector objects as open or closed paths. When you use the Curve, Polygon, Smooth Polygon, and Auto Curve tools, you set anchor points to define path segments. With the Freehand tool, you simply drag to draw a path. The Reshape and Push tools let you edit paths.

The Polygon tool draws paths with straight segments. The Smooth Polygon tool draws paths with smooth line segments. The Curve and Auto Curve tools can draw paths with straight and curved segments. Paths drawn with the Freehand tool generally are made of curved segments based on the movement of the pointer.

When you draw with the Path tools, Canvas X Draw uses the current pen ink, fill ink, and stroke settings for the vector objects you create.

You can identify whether you are in Curve Edit mode by the Status bar.

Drawing Polygons

When you use the Polygon or Smooth Polygon tool to draw an object, you set anchor points that define a path of straight line segments or smooth line segments, respectively. You can later curve the straight segments, as with any path object. For editing information, see Editing Object Paths.

To Draw Polygons:

1. Select the Polygon tool or Smooth Polygon tool.
2. Click to set the first anchor point, shown as a small square.
3. Click where you want to place the second anchor point.
   • You can press the pointer to display the segment, drag to position it, and then release the mouse button.
   • To constrain placement of a segment to 45° intervals, press Shift while drawing the segment.

4. Repeat the last step to draw more segments.

   To remove the last segment you drew, press the Delete key.

5. To complete the polygon:
   • For an open polygon, after you place the last anchor point, press Esc or double-click to place the last anchor point.
   • For a closed polygon, click the starting anchor point, and then press Esc or double-click the starting anchor point.

Smoothing Polygons with Straight Segments

If you created a path object with the Polygon tool, use the Smooth command to convert a straight-segment polygon to a path with smooth curves. You can smooth any paths made of straight segments, including rectangles and paths drawn with the Curve tool, as long as they have only straight segments. The Smooth command is a convenient way for those who haven’t mastered curve drawing to create smooth shapes.

Polygon

Smoothed

If you require that the polygon object have smooth curves, you should use the Smooth Polygon tool if you haven’t yet created the object.

To Smooth a Straight-Segment Polygon:

Select the polygon and choose Path | Smooth. Canvas X Draw converts the polygon’s corner points into smooth points, which changes the path’s straight line segments into curved segments. For more information about editing smooth points and curved segments, see Reshaping Paths by Editing Anchor Points.

Use the Unsmooth command to restore the straight segments of a polygon that was smoothed with the Smooth command. However, you can use Unsmooth only if the smoothed polygon wasn’t edited after it was smoothed.

To Unsmooth a Smoothed Polygon:

Select the Smooth Polygon and choose Path | Unsmooth. Canvas X Draw restores the polygon’s straight line segments.

To Draw a Polygon with Specific Lengths and Angles:

1. Select the Polygon tool from the Toolbox and click a point in the document.
2. In the Next Point section of the Properties bar, click the checkbox beside Length and enter a measurement into the field.
3. In the Angle field next to it, set an angle and direction.
4. To create a contiguous line segment using the set angle, select the Delta checkbox. This will make your angles based vertically on your point, and subsequently, on each preceding line segment. To achieve angles horizontally-based on the bottom of the document, leave the Delta checkbox unselected.
5. To create segments at alternating angles, select the Alternate Angle checkbox.
6. Click Create to draw your shape.

Drawing Freehand Paths

You can draw objects with the Freehand tool by simply dragging the pointer. The Freehand tool creates paths with curved segments based on the movement of the pointer.

As with any path object, you can later edit the path and reshape its segments. See Editing Object Paths.

To Draw a Freehand Path:

1. Select the Freehand tool in the Path Tools toolbar.
2. Position the pointer where you want the path to begin. Drag to create a path.

To create a closed path, release the mouse button when the pointer is on the starting point.

To Set the Curve Tolerance:

You can tell Canvas X Draw to use relatively more or fewer anchor points to represent a curve.

1. Select the Freehand tool.
2. In the Properties bar, in the Set tolerance to box, type a value from 1 to 5, where a value of 5 tells Canvas X Draw to use as few anchor points as possible.

If you have difficulty drawing smooth curves with this tool, try lowering the speed setting for your mouse (or other pointing device). Refer to your system documentation for information on these settings.

Drawing Curved Paths

The Curve tool is the most versatile of the path tools. You can use it to draw precise paths with straight and curved segments. When you draw curved segments, you place an anchor point and a tangent line at the start of each segment. The position and length of the tangent line controls the shape of the curved segment.

Defining Curves

Anchor points determine where path segments start and end. Tangent lines at each anchor point control the shape of curve segments. A tangent line affects the adjacent segment.

The tangent line of a segment’s other anchor point (not shown) also affects the segment’s shape. You can also draw straight paths by clicking with the Curve tool, similar to the way you use the Polygon tool. (See Drawing Polygons .)

To Draw a Path with Curved Segments:

1. Select the Curve tool.
2. Where you want the path to begin, do one of the following:
   • Click to set the anchor point and, before releasing the mouse button, drag to position its tangent line.

   • Click to set the anchor point without creating a tangent line.

     When you release the mouse button, the anchor point appears.

3. Where you want the segment to end, do one of the following:
   • Drag to simultaneously set an anchor point and position a tangent line.

   • Click to set the anchor point without creating a tangent line.

     This finishes the first curve segment.

4. Repeat the previous step to draw additional segments.
5. To complete the path, use one of the following options:
   • For an open path, after you place the last anchor point, press Esc. You can also double-click to place the last anchor point.
   • For a closed path, click the starting anchor point, and then press Esc. You can also double-click the starting anchor point.

Shaping and Editing Segments as you Draw

As you draw with the Curve tool, you can use modifier keys to constrain and edit the path segments.

To Place an Anchor Point at a 45° Interval Relative to the Previous One:

Press Shift as you set the second anchor point.

To Create a Straight Segment:

Press Option as you click to set the segment’s endpoint.

To Remove the Last Segment:

Press the Delete key. You can continue to remove segments in the reverse order you created them, until you delete the entire object.

To Constrain a Tangent Line to 45° Increments:

Press Shift as you drag the tangent line.

Drawing Auto Curves

The Auto Curve tool draws and edits curved paths. This tool makes it easy to draw smooth curves because it automatically curves path segments as you simply click or drag the mouse.

When you use the Auto Curve tool, you don’t have to position tangent lines that control the shape of curves. Instead, you simply click to set anchor points and smooth curve segments appear. You can drag the mouse to see how the path will curve before you set each anchor point.

Like the other path tools, you can use the Auto Curve tool to draw new paths and to add segments to paths as you edit them.

To Use the Auto Curve Tool:

1. Select the Auto Curve tool. 
2. Click in the drawing area to set the beginning point of a path. If you are editing a path, click to set the path’s next anchor point.
3. Move the mouse and click to set the second anchor point. A straight segment connects the first and second points. You can press Shift when you click to snap the first segment to a 45° angle.
4. To set the third anchor point, do one of the following:
   • Click to set the anchor point. This completes a smooth curve from the first anchor point to the new anchor point.
   • Hold down the mouse button and move the mouse to preview the curve. You can see the segments bend as you move the pointer. Release the mouse to set the new anchor point.
5. Repeat the previous step to continue adding anchor points to the path. You can also select other path tools (Curve, Polygon, Push, and Reshape) to continue adding segments to the path.
6. To finish drawing the path, do one of the following:
   • Press Esc.
   • Double-click to set the final anchor point. You must double-click on the starting point to complete a closed path.

When you finish drawing, the path object is selected. Canvas X Draw applies the current pen ink, fill ink, and stroke to the path. You can use path editing tools and techniques to modify the path.

See Also:

• Editing Object Paths
• Reshaping Paths by Editing Anchor Points
• Drawing with the Vector Brush Tool