Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool
When drawing on vector layers, the Contour Editor Tool allows you to add, remove, or modify points on a vector line and control them with Bezier handles. It is used to correct line shapes and modify a single part of a colour zone. If a line is too thin or has a gap in it, you can modify and correct it with the Contour Editor tool. This tool can also be used to create elaborate shapes.
The Contour Editor displays vector points around a shape and the central vector points in a pencil line. Pulling or pushing on these points adjusts the brush’s line thickness. Points can be selected and deleted. Each point has two Bezier handles for correcting the curves between two points. Shapes can be modified by pulling and pushing directly on the segment between the points. You can use it to perfect a central shape pencil line, a contour shape brush line, or even create an elaborate shape from a basic ellipse or square.
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- In the Tools toolbar, select a shape tool: .
- In the Tool Properties view, click the Ellipse button, click the Auto Fill button and set the pencil size to 0.
- In the Stage view, draw a circle.
- In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor tool.
- In the Stage view, click the line to reshape it.
- Select one or several points by clicking on them or circling around.
- Press Delete to delete a selected point.
Press [Ctrl] (Windows) or [⌘] (Mac OS X)and click on the contour to add a new point to adjust the contour.
- To modify the shape, you can:
‣ | Pull on the Bezier handle. Both point’s handles will move as one. |
‣ | Hold down Alt and pull on one of the Bezier handles. The point’s handle will move independently from the other one. |
‣ | Move the selected points to a new area. |
‣ | Pull directly on the line between two points. No selection is necessary. Holding down Shift will limit the contour modification to the curve between the two first points. |
‣ | If an anchor point has no visible Bezier handles, hold down the Alt key to display them. |
‣ | To add control points, press [Ctrl] (Windows) or [⌘] (Mac OS X) and click the line. |
‣ | To remove control points, select the control point and press Delete. |
Contour Editor Tool Properties
When you select the Contour Editor tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.
Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso and the Marquee, to change the style of the Select tool. Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.
Snap to Contour
The Snap to Contour option will snap the selected anchor point to any line you position it on.
The Snap to Contour option will snap the selected anchor point to any line you position it on.
To snap two shapes together:
- In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor tool.
- In the Contour Editor Tool Properties view, click the Snap to Contour button.
- In the Stage View, click an anchor point you want to snap to the other shape, drag it on top of the contour line area and release it.
Smooth Selection
The Smooth Selection operation is used to smooth out selected drawing strokes and remove extra points. Smoothing is applied to the entire stroke.