Drawing Lines

One of the basic methods of drawing is a straight line. If you consider that a circle is made up of lots and lots of very small straight lines, you can see the advantage of using the straight line not only as a straight line but to create various types of curves.

To draw a straight line you click on the Bezier tool. It is the fourth one from the top in the vertical tool box bar that looks like a pencil with a slightly curvy ;ine at right angles to it.

To use it:

To draw a straight horizontal line:

1. Click on the Bezier tool button in the tool box (down the left-hand side if you haven't changed the default layout).

2. Click on any part of the blank page with the left mouse button

3. Move the mouse pointer either to the left or to the right and click the left mouse button again

Straight line using bezier tool

4. You should have something that although not exactly level approximates a horizontal line as shown in the example on the right

 

To draw a jagged line

Line showing nodes

Lines are linked together by using nodes as can be seen as small dots in the line on the right. These nodes can be moved around to change the shape of the line you have drawn. The original shape you drew can be changed comletely using this method of drawing but the best use of nodes is to just fine tune the shape you have made.

This line was made by clicking on the Bezier tool and clicking once to set the anchor (start) point and moving the mouse pointer a little to the right and clicking the left mouse button again to create a node, then moving the mouse pointer a little to the right and slightly up and clicking the left mouse button again to create another node, then moving the mouse pointer a little more to the right and down and clicking with the left mouse button again to create another node, and so on until I have created enough nodes.

Nodes are moved using the Shape tool which is the second button down on the vertical tool box bar on the left-hand side(always assuming you haven't changed the default layout). Just click on a node with this tool and keeping the left mouse button pressed down, move the node by sliding the mouse around. The node wil follow the mouse pointer, when the node is where you want it, just release the left mouse button

 

To Draw a Curve

Example of drawing a circle using the bezier tool

Example of drawing a curve with the bezier tool

There are times when you need to draw a curve or part of a circle by hand, (there are times when the circle tool isn't appropriate), you would do this, more than likely with the bezier tool, (i find most of my line drawings are done using the bezier tool).

You can draw straight lines with it and these lines can be as long or as short as you wish and as a circle is only made up of a lot of short lines (the more short lines the smoother the curve of the circle) it makes sense to use a tool that will allow you to draw a lot of short lines to create a curve of some description.

On the right you can see anm example of a complete circle drawn with the bezier tool, it's big enough to show the lines of which it is made up, if I had put a lot more lines into it it would have been a smoother curve, also if we made the circle smaller, as it si now, it would appear more curved or rounded.

The same technique can be used to draw a curve, arc, part of a circle or whatever. as shown on the right.

This is done in the following way:

1. Select the bezier tool (it's the 4th button down from the top of the tool box down the left-hand side of the screen, if you haven't changed the default layout)

2. Click anywhere in the work space to create a node and a start point for our curve

3. Move to either the left or right of the node and up or down from the node just created (create the direction you wish your curve to go in)

4. Continue clicking and moving in the chosen direction until you create a curve

NOTE:- We know a curve is not a straight lie and you will almost certainly find that some of the points (nodes along the line of your curve are out of place and form things that look more like points an the curve's surface. This can be modified and smoothed by clickig here.