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you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
what about this....
you have a raster drawing vectorised and lo ! look at all those nodes
Attachment 129069
if you want to bow out the cheek to make the face fatter, it's going to be a pita in xara which only allows you to either bow out between to adjacent nodes, or move nodes as a block
what if you could switch to a tool that would allow you to treat this object as a line, even though it is a shape
Attachment 129070
you could then bow it just like you could if it were a line, without having mess with all those nodes
Attachment 129071
icing on the cake: you can smooth this centreline adding and removing nodes so you can adjust easily
Harmony does this
i don't think Xara ever will... it has left real graphic drawing behind....
it does not have to be a vectorised raster of course - the ability to treat a shape as a line is pretty powerful all round
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Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
Not sure if I am reading this right, but with the Shape Tool and selected nodes you can apply Smoothing that based on the amount will remove a few unnecessary nodes or a large percentage.
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
yes but then you still need to manipulate it using the nodes; and xara does not let you choose which nodes to anchor the start and finish of the curve... this is a line function, not a shape
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
I'll take your word for it. :-) Just not something I have ever thought about.
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
probably not ;)
but if you have a shape that is defined by its perimeter nodes, its a pain to curve is it not.. a centerline function would be much better so it is like a line
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
Handrawn wrote "Harmony does this"
What Harmony?
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
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Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
I agree, this would a welcome feature, as indeed the addition of any innovative new drawing feature or vector plugin capability.
Years ago I worked on a small experimental animation using Anime Studio Debut (now called Moho Debut) which had a similar feature, but no doubt far less sophisticated than the Harmony one.
My job was to make some green bitmap cacti wiggle about! I've just had a quick look, but I can't find the files (probably for the best!)
Not the same thing at all, but the Shape Painter tool (Warp) can sometimes be useful for tweaking vector shapes.
Attachment 129080
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
I remember anime studio I think - wasn't it the program with 'rubber-bone' rigging? :)
maanipulating a shape in the shape of a line, the same way as a line, is just basic as far as I am concerned
the warp tool is useful indeed for localised changes or sculpting
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
handdrawn - have you looked at Blender's Grease Pencil tool lately? It is becoming quite powerful: Smoothing and adjusting strokes in Grease Pencil
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
thanks for the link david - that looks like a very useful storyboard tool
not looked at blender for quite a while...time I went back :)
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
I believe most of this video was made with the grease pencil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKmSdY56VtY. Tons of tutorials out there for using it, even though I never have - I've just been blown away by their results.
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Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
In InkScape, you can select your nodes and press CTRL+L in order to simplify (or click Path - Simplify).
In Moho, CTRL + M will simplify your curve between 0 and 100% but Moho is not the best tool for static images.
In VectorStyler, you can remove some nodes from paths by painting over the node.
In Xara, there is nothing. Yet you can use the paint tool (in pucker mode) to adjust your spline, then you select the nodes to remove, and finally you delete them using the delete key:
Attachment 129545
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
what about this....
you have a raster drawing vectorised and lo ! look at all those nodes
Attachment 129069
if you want to bow out the cheek to make the face fatter, it's going to be a pita in xara which only allows you to either bow out between to adjacent nodes, or move nodes as a block
what if you could switch to a tool that would allow you to treat this object as a line, even though it is a shape
Attachment 129070
you could then bow it just like you could if it were a line, without having mess with all those nodes
Attachment 129071
icing on the cake: you can smooth this centreline adding and removing nodes so you can adjust easily
Harmony does this
i don't think Xara ever will... it has left real graphic drawing behind....
it does not have to be a vectorised raster of course - the ability to treat a shape as a line is pretty powerful all round
My tactic is to hand trace the bitmap using the Pen Tool. Adding, moving, deleting nodes as I go. Bending when needed. It has worked for me but maybe not what you're looking for.
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
thanks dan
in xara you can convert a line to a shape
if you have a shape that is a line-shaped shape, you cannot treat it as a line; it would be nice to be able to convert it [back], or at least as with toon boom treat it, as a line
tracing as you suggest produces a line of uniform width; my wish is to preserve the existing profile of the shape whilst editing it as a line
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
The Shape Painter tool does something close to what you want, I think.
With the shape selected, go to that Shape painter and choose "Warp" from the dropdown at the right hand end. Then drag the point in smooth strokes across the shape in the direction you want it to move.
So long as you cross both edges of the shape at roughly the same speed they will move by the same amount, thus keeping the profile.
(Sounds more technical than it really is.)
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
Hi Phil - great to see you back on the forum these past months :-bd
Indeed the shape painter tool will warp in the way you describle and that is useful thanks, but [you knew there would be a but didn't you :)]...
....that is not manipulating the shape as a line
look at it the other way round, if you said: hey guys from now on the only way you can repositon a line is to use the warp tool, what might be the response ?
if I want to switch a character's cheek from sunken to bloated, and it is a line, I just push it out with the cursor; that is what I would like to do if it is a shape;
I would settle for a function that reverts the shape to a line if that preserves the profile; easy enough to convert it back to a shape again
Re: you want a new vector tool rather than a rehash ?
handrawn, you are true, there is no way, in Xara, to simplify/smooth a line. You must convert it to a shape, then the shape cannot be converted back to a line.
It is interesting to note that even very old software like Expression can simplify a line while Xara still cannot.
So when I face such problem, I convert my file into EMF, SVG or whatever and edit it into another app, then open it again in Xara. It is not convenient.
