Drawing with the Pencil Tool
The Pencil tool is for drawing the final images, such as character nodes, cut-out puppet and clean animation. The pencil creates a central vector shape.
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- In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
- In the Colour view, click a colour swatch to select a colour.
- In the Drawing view, start drawing.
‣ | When you get close to an existing pencil line, hold Alt to draw and connect your stroke to the existing one. Pencil lines are central vector lines and you might think your line is connected, but in fact, only the contour is touching the other one. Also, make sure the central vector crosses the other one. To connect the start or end of your stroke, hold Alt when you start or finish drawing a line. |
‣ | To draw a straight line, press Shift + Alt as you draw. |
- In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
- In the Tool Properties view, the preview area displays the stroke that will be produced after you customize the different parameters in the Tool Properties view. Click the arrow button.
The Pencil Properties window opens.
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thin effect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
Parameter | Description | |||||||||
Size and Smoothness tab | ||||||||||
Maximum Size | Sets the maximum width of the line. | |||||||||
Minimum Size | Sets the minimum width of the line in relation to the maximum size. | |||||||||
Smoothness | Lets you modify the central line smoothness of the line. This parameter smooths the initial movement of your line. Increasing the value will result in a smoother line with fewer control points. | |||||||||
Contour Smoothness | Optimizes the contour line smoothness of the line. This parameter will smooth the contour of the line once it has been traced; the higher the value, the fewer control points will compose your line. | |||||||||
Shape |
You can adjust the start, end, and joint style of a selected pencil line.
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Texture tab | ||||||||||
Texture | See Pencil Line Texture. |