Drawing a curved line

Okay, so I feel like this is a really stupid question, but how in the world can you make a line curved? I've inserted a line as a shape and want to make it curved (similar to the curve in the Apple Demo with the moving airplane -- I'm trying to do something like that). I know how to make the objects move, but I want the path to show. An earlier post said to draw the path first and then create the path to match that. That's fine and doable, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to draw a curved line!

You use the Pen tool, found at the bottom of the Shapes dropdown menu, to draw a curve. Select the pen, then click on the slide to put down the starting point of your curve. Next, click and hold where you want your curve to end, and drag away from the endpoint that is created. You should see two grey "handles" sprout from that endpoint, with your cursor at the end of one of them. The point you have created is a Bezier control point, and the handles control the angle and depth of the curve. Hit Escape to finish. (Your curve will likely be filled -- you can adjust this in the Graphic Inspector.)
One Bezier point will produce a curve that only curves one direction. To create a more complex curve with multiple inflections, you will need to add more points. Select your curve, and in the Format menu, under the Shape flyout menu, choose "Make Editable". You should now see your two endpoints in red. If you hold down the Option key and click on the path, you will add another control point. Double-clicking on the point will toggle it from a corner point to a Bezier control point.
Bezier curves can seem complicated at first, but this is an extremely powerful way of creating arbitrary shapes, including complex curves.
(Note that the paths in the Motion Action are also Bezier curves.)

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Drawing a curved line using the pen tool, dragging the text cursor over the line but will only give me a small area to write in, in-between a circle and a circle with a cross in?

If you change your tool to the "Direct Selection Tool" (A) then you should be able to adjust the area for you to type in...

How do I draw a curved line in iCloud Keynote beta?

I am fairly new to Keynote in general, however I would like to leverage it's capabilities to enhance my projects at work (where I have a Windows7 PC w/o admin rights to install software). I know you can draw curved lines with the Keynote on a Mac, but I can't seem to figure it out with iCloud Keynote beta. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Try this:
File>New>blank file
Duplicate the background layer, and work on the background copy layer
Get the Elliptical marquee tool out of the toolbxox. Drag out an ellipse
Go to Edit menu>Stroke (outline) selection, try width=4x, position:inside
Use the eraser tool to erase part of the ellipse
Use the transform tool (CTRL+T) to rotate and skew the remaining curve to suit
It's a bit tedious, but it can be done.

Help drawing curved line - please!!!

Seriously, I can't find a tool to draw a curved line in PSE 6! I was told to use the "pen tool" but I can't find it. I was told to make the selection right clicming on Pencil and has no options other than for a freehand drawing with the mouse. The "shapes" tool will only give me a straight line. What the heck am I missing?
Thanks!

The pen tool is only in Photoshop, not elements. You can draw freehand with the brush or pencil tools (you can put something on a separate layer below and trace the edge if you need help), or you can draw a selection with the elliptical marquee tool, go to Edit>Stroke (outline) selection to color it, then erase the parts you don't want.
The custom shape tool draws many shapes. It sounds like you have the line tool selected. Hold down its icon in the toolbox and you'll see several other tools in there. The polygon tool with the rounded corners option turned on will draw circles, although it's not supposed to.

Drawing curved lines in Photoshop CS 4

I'm sure there's a simple way, but I just can't seem to draw a basic curved line in PS CS4.
I'm designing a simple floor plan- black lines on white background- nothing 3D or fancy. I have so far just used straight black lines, but for the doors I wanted
to create a curve to show the sweep of the door as it opens.
I'm new to photoshop, so at first I tried to do so in a shape layer, as I did with all the straight lines. annoyingly, this always resulted in a filled in solid shape- not what I want at all.
I then found out about paths, so I created my curve as a path, which seemed to be working in that it didn't automatically turn into a solid shape, but remained simply a line.
However, I found that the path was not actually showing up in my floor plan unless I had it selected and was working on it. I worked out I could link it to a layer by creating a vector mask.
However, this still meant the curve didn't display within the document when I saved out. If I rasterized the vector mask, it just made everything go black.
Please can someone explain if there's a simple way of drawing a curved line?

Hi,
Thanks for your response.
I'm a little confused-
"Paths are not pixels, so unless you
• use a Path as Vector Masks on Layer/Group that has content
• apply "stroke Path with …"
• use the Path as a Clipping Path"
Does this mean that if I make the path with my curved line on it into a vector mask, apply a stroke path and then use the path as a clipping path, it will show up in my document? I tried doing this and it didn't work- when I saved out a jpeg it was blank.
If it makes it any clearer, this is what I'm trying to get to be part of my pixel output:
I did actually try your suggestion of playing around with Layer Style, and this sort of seems to work in a weird way, but it seems incredibly strange that Photoshop doesn't provide a simpler way of doing something as basic as drawing a line!
thanks for your help, really appreciated.

Is there a way to draw a dash line that follows the curve in Photoshop?

Hello,
Is there a way to draw a dash line that follows the curve in Photoshop (See image)?
I know how to make a dotted line, but not a dash line, in photoshop.
Thanks.

Use a vector shape and a dashed stroke in Photoshop CC.

Drawing Curved Lines

Hi,
Does anyone know how to draw curved lines in Keynote '08. It seems one can do custom shapes but not lines.
Kind regards,

The difference between a line and a shape, in this sense, is whether or not it's filled. In most themes, when you're finished drawing the line, it gets filled with the default fill. Change that Fill to None, and it's just the line.
Another thing, even though it says "Draw a Shape", if you press "Esc" at any time while drawing, your endpoints will be left where they are, no need to connect back to the start point to create a closed shape.

How is the best way to make a curved line in keynote?

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Take the Draw a Shape tool and click in two spots. Press escape to stop drawing. Click one of the points, it will snap to horizontal. Now, take that line and move it towards the middle of the slide. It will snap to the center. Now, select the line so that it's in draw mode (points on either end are red), hold down option, and click the middle of the line to add a point. Double-click the point to make it a curved point. Hold down option and drag the curve handles (to make then equal length on both sides) then press Shift to make it snap to horizontal again.
Now, all you need to do is click the curve points while holding down shift and option to lengthen and shorten the curve points. Clicking directly on the point and moving it up and down (it should still snap to the guide line) and controlling the curve should give you a lot of flexibility. Will this do it for you?

How to create curved line segments in PE v. 4?

Specifically, I want to superimpose curved lines onto a scanned drawing. Thanks in advance.

Tony,
Unfortunately PSE does not have the best drawing tools, but here is way to draw a curve:
1. Create a new layer.
2. Draw an oval with the Elliptical Marquee tool.
3. Edit>Stroke the oval, then erase portions of the oval leaving just the curve.
4. To fine-tune the shape, activate the Move tool and drag the various handles.

Creating a curved line made up of repetitive objects

Is there a way to create a curved line consisting of what looks like disconnected arrows? Something like this but curved:
> > > > > > > > > >
I thought I once did something like this...just drawing a line and instead of the solid line it was a line of some sort of objects? Can I do this in PhotoShop?
Thanks, --b

Text on a path with those same characters. Can be done in either Illustrator or Photoshop. For a more complex shape that is not text, use an Art brush in Illustrator. In Photoshop you would need to define the shape as a brush, then stroke a path with that brush using the Edit Menu.

Peak point at Curved Line Graph

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I am using 'Curved Line with Symbols' graph from Oracle Graphics, and i want to draw a line at the maximum peak point of the curve line at run time .
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Tim,
Are you looking for something like this?
This is a Scatter Chart with two series - one for the data and one for the limit.
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Please help re auto-curve line altering feature

to all Illustrator artists and experts: Can you please tell me the name of the Illustrator auto-curve line altering feature and how to adjust it or turn it off? When I draw a line, and want that line not to be a perfect curve, when I complete the line Illustrator automatically alters it to make it a perfect curve. This is changing my original line from what I intended to a homogenized curve I didn't intend. Thank you for any help you can provide!

can't Illustrator simply save each part of my various movements as I draw the line - without "snapping" them all away
DoubleClick the Pencil or Brush tool (the tool icons in the program, not your hardware stylus) and turn off the Edit Selected Paths option. (This is a one-time setting. You don't have to revisit it each time you draw a path.)
You must use the Pencil tool or the Brush to achieve the results you desire. The Pen tool is specifically made to produce Bezier curves.
For clarity: All of the path drawing tools in Illustrator (including the Pencil and Brush) draw Bezier curves. They just employ different user interfaces for doing it.
The Pen Tool (the software tool in the program, not your stylus) employs an interface intended to allow you to explicitly place each anchorPoint and curve handle exactly where you want it. That's its purpose. So there is no "smoothness" setting for the Pen tool. The Pencil and Brush tools try to programmatically and automatically construct Bezier curves by interpreting the bitmap "path" you scribe by stroking with the pointing device. Therefore, they have Smootness settings to alter the interpreting algorithm.
That's pretty much standard practice across drawing programs like Illustrator.
There are a few commands (Roughen, Zig Zag, etc.) in the Filters (CS3) and/or Effects (CS4) menus to alter the jaggedness of selected path(s) after you've drawn them.
Generally, though, I agree with the comments of others: You need to sit down with the documentation and work through learning the program. Franky, I would add that you'd be better off doing that without using a stylus, just to minimize confusion. If you work with a mouse, you'll know what the program is capable of and how results are supposed to be achieved. Then, when you use the stylus, you'll be better able to discern whether a problem is due to a limitation of the program, or if it is something about your stylus settings, or just the small handful of stylus-supportive features in the program.
JET

Drawing Custom Curves, Shapes, S Shapes, etc.?

How do I draw symmetric curves, custom shapes, S shapes, etc?
I am a beginner, and I have PSE 6. I can upgrade to version 8 or use plugins if necessary. I’ve been googling this, but is the pencil the same as the pen? Where are the Paths options?
--> My question is I am wanting to create custom shapes. For example, a half circle curve, or an S shape. How do I do that? I’d rather not use the Marquee tool.
Attached is an example of a curve that I want to reproduce.
Thanks for any help.

multiplexed2 wrote:
How do I draw symmetric curves, custom shapes, S shapes, etc?
I am a beginner, and I have PSE 6. I can upgrade to version 8 or use plugins if necessary. I’ve been googling this, but is the pencil the same as the pen? Where are the Paths options?
--> My question is I am wanting to create custom shapes. For example, a half circle curve, or an S shape. How do I do that? I’d rather not use the Marquee tool.
Attached is an example of a curve that I want to reproduce.
Thanks for any help.
No, the pen tool is only in Photoshop. The best you can do in Elements is download shapes that have been made in Photoshop or draw out a shape and either add or subtract from the shape. You don't have a paths palette either although they exist just not accessible as in Photoshop. You'd have to save the shape file for reuse as you can't define custom shapes in Elements.
Type custom shapes Photoshop and you will probably find the shape you need in one of the many freeware sets out there. They'll say for Photoshop but you can install and use them in Elements.
For the shape of the .bmp file you posted, you can cut a rectangle shape with a circle.
1. Draw out a rectangle with the rectangle shape tool.
2. Press the subtract icon in the options bar.
3. Draw out a circle to remove the unwanted area.
4. Save the file as a PSD with a name you can remember so you can use it whenever needed.
Note: The shape will be still be vector provided you saved as a PSD so it can be resized without degrading it.
If you hover over the icons, tool tips will display telling what each one does. Here's an image of the icons you're looking for in the options bar in step #2.
Example of shape cutting...path lines are present because I haven't clicked away from the layer before taking the screen shot but useful as it shows how I cut the shape. To get the curve centered, it would be helpful to add some grids. I didn't use them in the image below and you can see I'm a little off center.

How to draw only straight line instead of angled one??

Dear friends,
I saw a very good code posted by guru here(I think is camickr),
But I tried to change it and I hope to draw only straight line instead of angled one, can you help how to do it??
Thanks so much.
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
public class DrawingArea extends JPanel
     Vector angledLines;
     Point startPoint = null;
     Point endPoint = null;
     Graphics g;
     public DrawingArea()
          angledLines = new Vector();
          setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500,500));
          MyMouseListener ml = new MyMouseListener();
          addMouseListener(ml);
          addMouseMotionListener(ml);
          setBackground(Color.white);
     public void paintComponent(Graphics g)
          // automatically called when repaint
          super.paintComponent(g);
          g.setColor(Color.black);
          AngledLine line;
          if (startPoint != null && endPoint != null)
               // draw the current dragged line
               g.drawLine(startPoint.x, startPoint.y, endPoint.x,endPoint.y);
          for (Enumeration e = angledLines.elements(); e.hasMoreElements();)
               // draw all the angled lines
               line = (AngledLine)e.nextElement();
               g.drawPolyline(line.xPoints, line.yPoints, line.n);
     class MyMouseListener extends MouseInputAdapter
          public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
               if (SwingUtilities.isLeftMouseButton(e))
                    startPoint = e.getPoint();
          public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e)
               if (SwingUtilities.isLeftMouseButton(e))
                    if (startPoint != null)
                         AngledLine line = new AngledLine(startPoint, e.getPoint(), true);
                         angledLines.add(line);
                         startPoint = null;
                         repaint();
          public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e)
               if (SwingUtilities.isLeftMouseButton(e))
                    if (startPoint != null)
                         endPoint = e.getPoint();
                         repaint();
          public void mouseClicked( MouseEvent e )
               if (g == null)
                    g = getGraphics();
               g.drawRect(10,10,20,20);
     class AngledLine
          // inner class for angled lines
          public int[] xPoints, yPoints;
          public int n = 3;
          public AngledLine(Point startPoint, Point endPoint, boolean left)
               xPoints = new int[n];
               yPoints = new int[n];
               xPoints[0] = startPoint.x;
               xPoints[2] = endPoint.x;
               yPoints[0] = startPoint.y;
               yPoints[2] = endPoint.y;
               if (left)
                    xPoints[1] = startPoint.x;
                    yPoints[1] = endPoint.y;
               else
                    xPoints[1] = endPoint.x;
                    yPoints[1] = startPoint.y;
     public static void main(String[] args)
          JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test angled lines");
          frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
          DrawingArea d = new DrawingArea();
          frame.getContentPane().add( d );
          frame.pack();
          frame.setVisible(true);
}

Change the AngledLine class to store two points instead of 3 points (I would rename the class to be StraightLine). The code is much simpler because you just store the starting and ending points and you don't need to calculate the middle point.

Multiple arrows on a single curved line

Is there a way to put multiple arrows on a single curved line?

kjh,
Depending on the curvature, you may get away with a Scatter Brush in the form of the arrowhead shape:
1) Create the path with its normal Stroke Weight, and create a copy on top of it;
2) Create the arrowhead shape and Brush>New Brush with a suitable Spacing;
3) Apply the Scatter Brush from 2) to the copy path from 1).
Or you may try a Blend, between two identical arrowheads:
1) Create the path with its normal Stroke Weight, and create a copy on top of it;
2) You probably need to Object>Path>Add Anchor Points a sufficient number of times (to get an even distribution);
3) Create the Blend, with the desired number of steps/intermediate arrowheads;
4) Select the Blend and the copy path and Object>Blend>Replace Spine.
Ultimately, you may need to do it manually.

Drawing a curved line

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