Design Tutorials

The pattern of vector illustrations is best viewed or represented as a hierarchy or "tree". The illustration itself would be at the top and its various parts would descend below it:

Bezier Curves And The Different Kinds Of Anchor Points

Continuing with the anatomy of vector illustrations, let's now take a look at ANCHOR POINTS (or simply points or nodes...please refer to the table of equivalent terminology in the illustration section of the web site).

Anchor Points

Anchor points are the basis of all objects in a vector illustration and are its most fundamental components. Anchor points have only a few basic properties. However, there are many combinations of these basic properties that result in several variations of anchor points. This can appear overly complex at first glance. The pattern outlined here is very simple and explains all the variations.

All line segments have anchor points at each end which define their position and curve attributes. The name for the resulting curves are called Bezier (pronounced beh-zee-ay) curves. They are named after the French mathematician, Pierre Bezier, who developed a method for defining curves mathematically.

All anchor points fall roughly into two categories:

1. Those having CONTROL HANDLES and
2. Those having NO CONTROL HANDLES


Curves are controlled by control handles extending from the points. These control handles do not print. The direction and magnitude of curves entering and leaving anchor points are determined by the direction and length of the control handles.

Each control handle extending from a point controls only the portion of the curve of the line segment facing the control handle:




Line segments with points having control handles are curved.
Line segments with points having no control handles are straight.

Points And Control Handles

A point can have either:

1. ONE CONTROL HANDLE or
2. TWO CONTROL HANDLES

There is really only ONE handle per SIDE of a point because points between consecutive line segments are shared.

Smooth Points And Corner Points

Points with both handles in line with each other are called SMOOTH POINTS. All other points (except for two specialized ones shown below) are generally referred to as CORNER POINTS.

Line segments whose curves transition smoothly from one anchor point to the next in an unbroken manner are joined by smooth points.

Line segments whose curves do not transition smoothly together are joined by corner points.

The corner point shown above has two handles but a corner point can also have one handle, no handles, join a curved line segment to curved line segment, join a straight line segment to a curved line segment or a straight line segment to a straight line segment. Below are samples of corner points:

Specialized Points

Some point types are unique to certain applications.

CorelDRAW has a specialized smooth point called a "symmetrical node". The lengths of both control handles of a symmetrical node remain equal when either one of them is adjusted:

Although Deneba Canvas™ doesn't have a symmetrical point, the same effect can be produced by dragging the handle of a smooth point with Ctrl (Windows®) or Option (Mac®). When smooth points are first placed, both handles are equally spaced by default. As long as neither handle is altered, the same effect can be produced.

Macromedia® FreeHand® 8 provides a "connector point". It is used to make a smooth transition from a straight line segment to a curved line segment. It actually controls the curve so that it is always tangent to the straight segment. The handle on this point can only move directly in line with the straight segment. You cannot alter the angle of the handle like other points. CorelDRAW also provides two similar points: either a "symmetrical line node" or "line smooth node". These points function the same as the FreeHand 8 point. This is a useful point. All draftsmen have run into this in mechanical drawing:

The Anatomy of a Vector Illustration
Part Three

Objects And Their Properties, Paths And Subpaths

Continuing with the anatomy of a vector illustration, let's take a look at objects and their properties, paths and subpaths.

Objects - Stroke and Fill Properties

Objects have stroke and fill properties. Stroke (or outline) properties apply to the path of an object and fill properties apply to the area enclosed by the path.

Stroke Properties:
Weight (line thickness)
Color
Solid vs. Dashed
Line Caps and Corners:

Except for differences in terminology, line cap and corner properties are the same between Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, CorelDRAW and Macromedia® FreeHand®:

	CorelDRAW	Adobe Illustrator	FreeHand	Deneba Canvas
	"Caps and Corners"	"Cap and Join"	"Cap and Join"	"Line Joins and End Caps"
Caps
	Square	Butt	Butt	Flat
	Extended Square	Projecting	Square	Square
	Rounded	Round	Round	Round
Corners
	Mitered	Miter	Miter	Miter
	Beveled	Bevel	Bevel	Bevel
	Rounded	Round	Round	Round

Stroke Examples: (fill = uniform or none)

Solid	Dashed	None	Pattern*

Fill Examples: (stroke = none)

Linear Gradient	Radial Gradient	Pattern	Texture*

Texture Fill	Gradient Fill Solid Stroke	Gradient Fill Gradient Stroke	Hatch Fill

Paths and Subpaths

Paths are either:

1. Open or
2. Closed


Fills are not restricted to closed paths. Open paths can be filled just like closed paths:

Paths of an object having more than one path are called subpaths.

Note: Subpaths are nothing more than discreet, individual paths in an object composed of more than one path. The word "subpath" is easily misunderstood because the prefix "sub" implies subordination. Multiple paths within an object are of equal hierarchy (rank).

By default each path becomes a new object when it is first created. Subpaths are created when objects are formed from composite paths.

The Anatomy of a Vector Illustration
Part 3A

Composite Paths and Object Grouping and Combining

Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, CorelDRAW and Macromedia® FreeHand® also share the following features...

Objects may be:

1. Grouped or
2. Formed into Composite Paths or
3. Combined into new objects

The Differences Between Composite Paths and Object Grouping And Combining

1. Object Grouping

Objects retain all their original properties and appearance when grouped. Grouping allows them to be selected with a single click and moved, resized, deleted, etc. as a single unit. Grouping has no other affect on the original appearance of the objects. Below are examples of object groups:

2. Composite Paths

Creating a composite path from separate objects makes it possible to make doughnut-shapes and knockouts where more than one path is required. It is how the letter "O" is made. A composite path does not alter the original objects and it can be split into its original objects with a single command. Below are examples of the effect of creating composite paths out of the same objects:

3. Combining Objects

Combining objects is a means of merging existing shapes into new shapes. With object combining, the original objects are altered. In some cases the original objects can be recreated from the new shapes by ungrouping or reapplying object combining again to these new shapes. In other cases, however, the effects of object combining is not so easily undone. Below are examples of the effect of combining objects into new shapes:

How Each Application Defines Composite Paths and Object Grouping and Combining

Grouping and ungrouping objects, making and breaking composite paths and combining objects is supported by all four applications. The terms "group" and "ungroup" are identical between them. Composite paths and combined objects are defined differently, however:

The Anatomy of a Vector Illustration
Part Four - Summary

The anatomy of a vector illustration has an exact, finite pattern. There are only so many parts to it. It is summarized below:

ANCHOR POINTS fall into two categories:

1. Those having CONTROL HANDLES and
2. Those having NO CONTROL HANDLES

Line segments with points having control handles are curved.
Line segments with points having no control handles are straight.

An ANCHOR POINT can have either:

1. ONE CONTROL HANDLE or
2. TWO CONTROL HANDLES

There is really only ONE handle per SIDE of a point because points between consecutive line segments are shared.

Points with both handles in line with each other are called SMOOTH POINTS. All other points (except for the specialized ones - "symmetrical node" and "connector point") are generally referred to as CORNER POINTS.

Objects have stroke and fill properties. Stroke (or outline) properties apply to the path of an object and fill properties apply to the area enclosed by the path.

Objects may be:

1. Grouped or
2. Formed into Composite Paths or
3. Combined into new objects

Paths are either:

1. Open or
2. Closed

That's it!

The whole purpose of this was to drive home the point that there is an anatomy to a vector illustration. It has an exact pattern. It is finite. It is simple and all vector illustrations from the simple to complex will reveal this pattern.

Working With Primitives
(Predefined Shapes)

To facilitate faster construction, Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, CorelDRAW and Macromedia® FreeHand® include a set of predefined object shapes or "primitives":

1. Rectangle (including square) 2. Ellipse (including circle) 3. Polygon (including star) 4. Spiral

The user can control the number of sides to polygons and stars.

All the predefined shapes can be converted to editable paths with access to the anchor points. Each program handles this slightly differently, though:

In CorelDRAW the object must first be converted to curves.

In Macromedia FreeHand squares, rectangles, circles, ellipses and spirals must first be ungrouped while polygons and stars are editable by default.

In Adobe Illustrator, all objects are editable by default:

In Deneba Canvas, objects are editable by default except for polygons, stars and spirals which must be converted to paths.

Keyboard Shortcuts For The Pen

Draw Faster By Making Fewer Trips To The Tool Palette

This tutorial is for applications that use the pen: Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe Illustrator® and Macromedia® FreeHand®. When drawing with the pen you will inevitably have to stop mid-path and make adjustments to anchor points, control handles or line segments.

Note: Different software packages use different terms for the same things, and since this article is using mixed terminology please consult the table of equivalent terminology for clarification of terms.

Usually, when first learning the software, the novice will go to the tool palette to switch back and forth between the pen and other tools. This is very time consuming and there are provisions in the software to switch tools without having to select them from the tool palette. The keys on both the right-hand and left-hand sides of the spacebar are used for this purpose. Shown below are the keyboard hand positions for a right-handed mouse:

Left hand keys - Windows®	Left hand keys - Macintosh®
Shift = Alt = Ctrl =	Shift Option Command

The idea behind the keyboard shortcuts in Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop® and Macromedia® FreeHand® is so you can draw paths in a fluid manner with as few interruptions as possible. Ideally, you would draw as fluidly as if you were actually using a pen or pencil. The previous page described the hand positions with the keyboard and mouse. This page describes how it is done. The next page gives you practice templates for each application.

While the pen tool is selected and you are actively drawing a path, pressing the following keys will bring up a different tool:

For Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop:

For Macromedia FreeHand:

Brief Example - Adobe Illustrator

1. Drag out the first point
2. Drag out the second point. The first curve is off, now.
3. Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Direct Selection Tool to drag back the first curve.
4. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) to bring up the Convert Direction Point Tool and drag the second point's handle (changing it from a smooth point to a corner point) to redirect the next curve.
5. Place the next point and continue drawing the path.

Pen Cursors

The pen cursor helps you identify where you're at when drawing paths. You need to know when you are over a point so you can append to an open path (restarting the path) or when you are over a point so you can close a path. You also need to know what the cursor looks like to start a new path so you don't inadvertently keep adding to an existing path or vice versa. These are the most important cursors. Their functions are identical between Adobe Illustrator 7 and 8, Adobe Photoshop 5 and Macromedia FreeHand 8. The chart below describes these cursors.

	Start New Path	Continue Adding To Path	Restart Open Path	Close Path
Illustrator 7 / 8
Photoshop 5
FreeHand 8

	Add Points To Path	Pointer Directly Over an Anchor Point. Next Click Closes Path	Placing Straight Segments	Placing Segments Constrained To 45°
Deneba Canvas

	Freehand Tool Start New Path	Freehand Tool Restart or Close Path	Bezier Tool Start, Continue or Restart Path	Bezier Tool Close Path
CorelDRAW 8

This page contains all the practice templates for drawing with the pen. Here are tutorials for Deneba Canvas™, Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe Photoshop®, Macromedia® FreeHand® and CorelDRAW®. These tutorials are setup for both Macintosh® and Windows® platforms.

You might ask, "What are Photoshop tutorials doing here in the vector application section?" Using the pen in Adobe Photoshop is virtually the same as using the pen in Adobe Illustrator. Learning pen skills really belongs here with the other vector applications. I have linked the Photoshop section of the web site to these pages for learning the pen.

These tutorials are short and fun. Make sure to download the setup sheet for the application you are using. The setup is very straightforward. Except for Photoshop (which rasterizes the PDF file...turns it into a bitmap), you simply load the tutorial PDF file into the drawing application, then lock the layer containing the template, then add a new layer and draw on that new layer. The reason you keep the template on a locked layer is because the template contains vector objects which can get selected and altered otherwise. Don't worry, it's really simple. All the instructions are in the setup sheets.

The tutorials are setup in sequence starting with the easiest ones. Each one gives you a different skill. By the time you get to the last one you will see how it all comes together. They have been purposely setup to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to return to the tool palette once the pen tool has been selected.

The whole point is to train you to take advantage of the keyboard shortcuts so you will draw faster, smoother and more fluidly.

Download Instructions:

FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print out the tutorials...Click Here

Pen Tutorials For Macintosh® and Windows

Shortcuts And Pointers For The Pen

Pen Tips

Pen Tip No. 1

In Adobe® Illustrator®, always click the Direct Selection tool before clicking and drawing with the Pen Tool.

First click the Direct Selection Tool	Then click the Pen Tool

1. Drag the first point
2. Drag a second point
3. Click to place a third point
4. Grab the handle of the second point and drag it over the third point.
5. When the solid arrowhead cursor changes into a hollow one, the handle is on top of the point. Release the mouse button.
6. At this time you can now change the direction of the first curve going into the second point. No matter how you adjust it, there will always be a smooth transition into the straight line segment.
7. To reshape the curve, drag the control handle of the first point.
8. When the desired shape is attained, release the mouse button.

1. The center point has two handles. Let's get rid of one of them.
2. Drag a handle back into the point.
3. When the handle is over the point, the cursor changes from a solid arrowhead to a hollow one. Release the mouse button.
4. Now you have a one-handled anchor point.

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool
	CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool

	Adobe Illustrator 7 / 8
	Adobe Photoshop 5
	Macromedia FreeHand 8
	CorelDRAW 8 - Freehand Tool
	CorelDRAW 8 - Bezier Tool

Table of Equivalent Terminology

The following table shows which terms are equivalent between Deneba Canvas™, CorelDRAW®, Adobe® Illustrator® and Macromedia® FreeHand® and are presented here to sort out any possible confusion where mixed terminology has been used in this web site: