How to use pen tool to draw Quadratic segments?
-
Hi there I am trying to follow this doc: https://www.vectorstyler.com/documentation/shapes/drawing/ to create quadratic segments, I am on the mac.
I can see how to edit a shape to have all points be quadratic, but how do I actually draw using the pen tool to make all my curve points be quadratic and not cubic while using the pen tool?
The doc says:
"To draw a quadratic curve segment, first press the mouse at the ending location of the segment, and then hold the Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) key, while dragging the tangent node. This will create a quadratic segment, with a single tangent node."
If I hold Command on the mac down, it shifts me to the arrow tool, stopping me from doing any further edits of the curve. So I can't actually press Command and click on a node and drag, I do not get a quadratic curve point.
If I press Ctrl or Option and click, it does not create a quadratic segment either.
I tried to find a video of this but no luck, is there any way I can understand how to draw quadratic curves using the pen tool? I'm looking for a workflow that is similar to the 3-point serve system, I think quadratic is pretty close but without being able to figure out how to draw the points I am stuck!
Thanks for your help!
-
@razcrux I opened a bug on this, there might be some regression related to drawing quadratic segments.
-
@razcrux So this was disabled due to conflict with other modifier keys.
It is enabled now to the Option (Alt) key (updated the documentation also).
-
that fixed it, thanks!! Okay now that I can use it correctly, I am seeing it is not quite the same as a 3-point curve. Are there any plans to add 3-point curve drawing to this tool in the future?
You can reference what I mean by this by trying to draw using a 3-point curve in Rhino3D or if you remember Freehand before Marcomedia was bought by Adobe and they terminated the product without incorporating the feature into Illustrator. (it's been a "gap" in the feature-market for more than 20 years now!) @VectorStyler
-
@razcrux said in How to use pen tool to draw Quadratic segments?:
There will be some new curve drawing tools in 1.3
if you remember Freehand before Marcomedia
What was the name of the tool in Freehand for the 3 point curve?
-
@VectorStyler said in How to use pen tool to draw Quadratic segments?:
What was the name of the tool in Freehand for the 3 point curve?
I think if I remember correctly, the tool for drawing a 3-point curve was called the Bezier tool. With it, you’d click once to set the starting point, click again for the curve’s direction/anchor, and a third time to set the end point, creating a smooth curve defined by those three clicks.
Some versions also labeled it under Pen tool with Bezier mode, but the core function was always about plotting a curve with three defining clicks.
-
If you go to this URL:
https://boxy-svg.com/And then click on the round spline tool with the single dot [see screen shot] you can see what drawing with a 3-point curve looks and feels like. It is really good for making vectors that are NOT tracing. Bezier curves with the handles are better for tracing existing images, like using a transparent layer. I would be the happiest man on earth if 3-point curves came to VectorStyler.
image url)
