Two things

[Soquili]

...if someone thinks it's just about removing something you don't want, they have missed the [artistic] point..

Steve perhaps I do not understand what you and Sheff mean by ERASE:


Definition of ERASE

transitive verb

1a : to rub or scrape out (as written, painted, or engraved letters) <erase an error>
1b : to remove written or drawn marks from <erase a blackboard>
1c : to remove (recorded matter) from a magnetic medium; also : to remove recorded matter from <erase a videotape>
1d : to delete from a computer storage device <erase a file>

2a : to remove from existence or memory as if by erasing
2b : to nullify the effect or force of

[Soquili]

BTW I do use Illustrator, Serif DrawPlus, and InkScape but have not found a valid need for the eraser tool in any of them.

When using Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and other raster editors the eraser tool is most definately needed.

[gwpriester]

I believe CorelDRAW has an eraser tool as well.

If you visit Shef's website and look at his work you will find it very different from most of the typically vector work we are used to seeing. So an eraser tool makes sense for this kind of illustration. And unlike most of us, Shef is a professional illustrator (who attended one of the best art schools in the country) and who makes his living doing illustration.

[zaphodeist]

I stand corrected - as the bishop said to the actress.

[MarcT]

Great suggestions sheff, I would be happy to see similar tools in Xara.

I would also like a line width tool adjuster, a bit like Illustrator has also.

A kind of push/pull magnet deformer with variable radius and faloff effect would also be nice to tweak shapes. (I think Inkscape has something like this).


Regards,

Marc

[James Allen]

Don’t get me wrong Sheff – I think the blob brush is pretty nifty.

You said in your OP that (in Xara), to create shapes and add to them, or delete shapes, you draw with lines, then convert those lines to a shape and draw another line and convert that line to a shape and then do a Boolean on the two shapes, and that you would much prefer the steps to be reduced.

Well at least you know now that you can delete and add to shapes as shown above, without all those steps. Just place your cursor on the edge of the drawing and take out a piece or add a piece in one step. Cutting out shapes from the centre takes three steps – drawing the top shape, selecting both, and pressing ctrl-2. As far as that centre shape is concerned, one would have to have just the right kind of blob brush to get the right shape. Chances are, while you’re busy selecting the brush, I would draw the centre shape by line and cut it out, then further edit as required by adding or subtracting as per video above.

The first video link you provided was this youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBapnb6KksM

which shows the blob brush in action in drawing a gorilla (from 0:39 onwards). Notice the guy creates a new layer (step 1), then double clicks the blob brush to bring up the options box (step two), increases the size of his brush (step 3), selects his color and line (or no line) (step 4), starts ‘painting’ (step 5). While ‘painting’, it takes him about 24 seconds to ‘paint’ the area of the face using the blob brush. He then adjusts nodes (step 6), and we can only guess how long that takes. He then lowers the face shape to the lower layer (step 7). This took him 1 minute and 28 seconds (from 1:00 to 2:28) but he cut out the node editing, so I will add at least another 30 secs for that, to make a total of about 2 minutes.

When I do the same thing (see this quick VIDEO), with the same gorilla face, I select the drawing tool and draw the shape for the face, which takes a mere 8 seconds (step 1), select the color (step 2), place underneath lines (step 3), and adjust nodes (step 4). Only four steps and 38 seconds. While I may not have the painterly ‘feel’, I save almost a minute and a half.

This shows newcomers here that while illustrator’s blob brush is nice, and gives you that feel you’re painting, it is sometimes more to do with how you enjoy painting, rather than really a time saver. Other times I’m sure the blob brush will be very hard to emulate quickly, which is why I think it would be a good addition to Xara.

[handrawn]

Steve perhaps I do not understand what you and Sheff mean by ERASE:

Hi Bill

I think Gary has answered this in post #13

I have been around this loop twice before - forgive me for the hobby-horsing


it is often said: "one of the joys of xtreme/designer is that there is always more than one way of doing the same thing"......

[Soquili]

...I think Gary has answered this in post #13 ...

Hi Steve, actually Gary's post does not answer my question. If there were a detailed explanation of how an Erasor was used to create the images, it may answer my question. Simply looking at Sheff's work does not tell me he used an erasor because there are other ways to achieve the same effects.

I'm not trying to be difficult, simply trying to learn why an erasor seems to be important to some people.

[pauland]

My wife wonders why I prefer old slippers to new ones too, but they're just comfortable. We're all different and would like to do things the way we're used to if we can. I think that the manipulation of points is a bit of an interruption to a flowing creative process - very differrent to dragging something around. An experienced Xara user might feel the opposite.

[handrawn]

if I block shade with a soft pencil on paper I can then introduce highlights with an eraser

a novice artist might think of this as removing pencil - but a good artist is more likely to think of it as painting back in 'white space'

its a freehand thing - and importantly its a real time operation

I think Gary understands this; Paul too...