Working with the Pen Tool

Working with the Pen Tool

Learning FreeHand's Pen tool makes it easier to learn the Pen tool in Macromedia Fireworks, Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, or Adobe InDesign.

To create straight sides with the Pen:

Choose the Pen tool from the Tools panel

Figure 1. The Pen tool in the Tools panel.

Position the cursor where you want the path to start and click. A corner point appears as a white square

Figure 2. Clicking with either the Pen or the Bezigon creates a corner point shown as a hollow square.

Position the cursor for the next point of the object and click. A line extends from the first point to the second point.

Continue clicking until you have created all the sides of your object

Figure 3. Straight lines extend between each of the corner points.

Create a closed path by clicking the first point again.

TIP

Once you finish a path, press Tab to deselect the path. This lets you start a new path instead of continuing the old one.

TIP

Hold the Shift key to constrain your lines to 45° increments relative to the constrain axis.

The Pen tool helps you draw smooth curves. A smooth curve makes the transition from one direction to another with no abrupt changes, like the curve created by a roller-coaster.

To draw a smooth curved path with the Pen:

Choose the Pen tool.

Click the first point and drag up. Do not release the mouse until you have created a handle that extends about a third of the way up the curve you want to create

Figure 4. To draw a smooth curved path with the Pen tool, drag to place curve points at each spot where the path changes direction.

Continue dragging to place curve points at each spot where the path changes direction.

Press the Tab key to deselect the path when you have finished creating the path.

TIP

You can modify a path by changing both the lengths of the point handles and their directions.

Life is not all smooth, and neither are paths. So, there may be times you need a bumpy curved path - a curved path that makes an abrupt change. Think of a bumpy curve as the path a bouncing ball takes.

To draw a bumpy curved path with the Pen:

Hold the Opt/Alt key as you drag with the Pen tool to create a corner point with a handle

Figure 5. To start the bumpy curved path, press the Opt/Alt key and drag with the Pen tool. This creates a corner point with a handle.

Drag down at the second point. Two point handles extend out from the sides of the point. Do not release the mouse button.

When the point handle in the back has extended out enough, press the Opt/Alt key. Then rotate the front point handle so that it aligns properly . You may then release the mouse button.

Figure 6. To create a corner point with two handles, drag down. When the handle extends backward enough, hold the Opt/Alt key and then drag in the direction of the second arrow.

Drag to create the final point.

Imagine you are riding in a car, and suddenly there is a bump in the road. As your car travels up and down the bump it follows the shape of a straight-to-bumpy path.

To draw a straight-to-bumpy path with the Pen:

Click to place the first corner point.

Click to create the next corner point.

To add a handle to this point, hold the Opt/Alt key and then drag

Figure 7. To add a handle to a corner point, hold the Opt/Alt key and then drag on the point.

Drag to create a curve point at the end of the bump.

To add a straight line from the third point, hold the Opt/Alt key and move the Pen tool over the point. A small caret appears next to the Pen cursor.

Click on the point. This converts the point into a corner point and retracts the second handle

Figure 8. To retract a handle from a curve point, press the Opt/Alt key and click the point again.

FreeHand has a special kind of point - the connector point - that is not found in most other vector-drawing programs. Connector points provide a smooth transition between straight lines and curves. Connector points ensure that the handle that defines the curve always stays aligned with the direction of the straight line

Figure 9. Unlike the curve points (left) the connector points (circled) always stay aligned to the straight lines they are connected to.

To create connector points using the Pen:

(Mac) Hold the Control key (Mac) and click to create a connector point.

(Win) Hold the Alt key and click with the right mouse button.