One of the best ways to learn a vector drawing program is to start by creating basic shapes. Rather than create these shapes from scratch, it is much easier to use FreeHand's many different tools that make all sorts of different objects.
For instance, if you want to draw a daisy, you can easily draw a few ovals around a circle using the ellipse tool. A house 16216b16q is easily created from several rectangles with a triangle on the top.
You can also use tools to create complicated mathematical shapes such as spirals and arcs. Finally, FreeHand lets you mimic the look of traditional pen and ink drawing tools.
Of course, you can also create paths with very defined shapes using two specialized tools called the Pen and Bezigon. Those tools are covered in Chapter 6
Understanding PathsAlmost all the objects you create within FreeHand are vector paths. Vector paths consist of anchor points that define the shape of the path and segments that join the points together. For instance, in a vector-drawing program a circle is defined by placing four anchor points in position and joining them with curved segments Figure 1. A vector-drawing program defines shapes using anchor points (indi cated by squares) connected by segments.
In a pixel-drawing program, each individual dot that creates the circle must be defined Figure 2. A pixel-drawing program creates shapes using pixels (indicated by black and white squares).
To change the shape of a vector path, the anchor points or segments are modified. To change the shape of a pixel image, the original pixels must be erased and the new pixels placed into position. Vector paths are usually used to create line artwork or illustration images . Pixel-images are used to capture scanned photographs and the images taken by digital cameras Figure 3. In this example of vector artwork, each shape is created by a separate vector path.
Figure 4. In this scanned pixel image the artwork consists of millions of tiny, colored pixels.
One of the most important reasons to create objects using vector paths is that the size of the file is much smaller than the same image created using pixels. Also, unlike pixels, vector images can be scaled up with no loss of resolution. Most people feel it is much easier to create photorealistic images using pixel-drawing programs. However, if you have the patience, you can create realistic images using vector objects. This includes special effects such as blends and gradients. For more information on the differences between vector and pixel images and working with resolution, see The Non-Designer's Scan and Print Book by Sandee Cohen and Robin Williams. |
|
