Regarding Pen Tool

how do i duplicate certain parts of a path? cuz i'm tryin to join curves together and they are not smooth is if i try to trace it again
[IMG]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e227/fusioniz/Adjoining.jpg[/IMG]

fusioniz,
When you have a path (a vector path as opposed to the pixels in a raster image that may look like one), you may click a segment of it between two Anchor Points with the Direct Selection Tool and then Ctrl/Cmd+C and Ctrl/Cmd+F/V to place a copy of that segment.
You may need to move it in the stacking order shown in the Layers palette/panel. If you want it at the very front, you may click Ctrl/Cmd+X+F to get it there easily (similarly for the very back).

Similar Messages

Question regarding the pen tool (w/ picture inside)

Hello everyone! I have a question regarding the pen tool. I think this picture is very helpful for my question:
So in this pic is an orange rectangle and within that rectangle is a blue stripe. I would like the blue stripe to be perfectly flush (not over, and not under) the edge of the rectangle. For example, on the bottom end of the blue stripe, you can clearly see that the stripe does not extend far enough to the edge of the orange rectangle. At the top of the stripe, it goes a little bit over (a bit hard to see). I work with some complex shapes when using the pen tool and it is really slowing me down to compensate for over/under shapes. If it could just snap to the borders of other shapes it would make my life a lot easier. Thanks for reading and please help!

A couple of thoughts come to mind:
1. You could create the shape "face on", using guides, and the points will snap to guides with snap enabled. Then you could transform the whole thing together by selecting all the shape layers.
2. Holding down the shift key while dragging a point seems to cause it to snap to some things under some conditions. However, on having just tried to recreate what you're showing I didn't see the proper snap happening sometimes.
3. There's the full manual approach, of course where you zoom into thousands of percent and move the points by hand manually. I assume this is what you're trying to avoid.
-Noel

Pen Tool - PS CS4

I don't know if I found a bug, or if it's just something I need to do differently, but the pen tool is not creating a new layer.
It just seems to be there. I can modify the shape with the direct selection tool. But I can't apply a layer style or do any other modifications. It does not have a bounding box when I select the move tool.
It's the weirdest thing... Anyone else experience this?

I am having trouble with the pen tool in Cs4,
It has been fine but then after a few hours I have been having
a problem with the selection line (that it leaves behind) is not there?? is there something in the View / paths that I am missing?
And at the same time,my viewing line that falls behind the magnetic tool is not working!
It is driving me crazy and I know it is something so simple
that I am not doing...
Thanks to anyone that can shed some info
Regards Nick

Using the pen tool, how best should I build or construct this image?

Hello,
I'm trying to recreate a certain image with the pen tool.
I have already tried using Live Trace using the "Simple Trace" setting. Live Trace did a pretty good job but not with enough accuracy or fidelity to the original image as I would like.
I am pretty rusty with Illustrator now, but I remember from past lessons that the basic idea is that artwork in Illustrator is divided into layers, objects, and elements within objects. But one of the biggest principles with Ilustrator is the order these layers, objects, and elements are stacked. Elements are stacked to create an object. Objects are often stacked, each object on its own layer, to create the entire piece of artwork.
Also, the lower an element, object, or layer is in a stacking order, the further towards the back it appears in the image.
Also, the higher an element, object, or layer is in a stacking order, the closer to the front it appears in the image.
So, in Illustrator, you don't so much draw or paint a piece of artwork, but, instead, creating artwork in Illustrator is more a matter of building it or constructing it.
So, with all that said, below I have an object I would like to create with the pen tool. It is a fleuron. It is at least fairly complex.I am not sure how to build it or construct its parts. What would come first, second, third? What would be on the bottom layer, middle layer, top layer, etc.?
I know there is no one way to reproduce this object with the pen tool. Whatever way you would use or would like to share is fine. I guess, more specifically, I'm not afraid of rigor and working hard, but I'm also not necessarily looking for rigor. Instead, what I am looking to do is work smartly and efficiently. I'm looking for what might commonly be considered "best practice."
So, how would you advise I approach the object below? How should I build or construct it?
Thanks! : )

As for the simple graphic itself, this is what I would end up with:
One Group containing:
One red-filled, unstroked Compound Path consisting of three subpaths.
One white-filled, unstroked Compound Path consisting of 18 subpaths.
The reason I would compound the red paths and the white paths is simply so I could apply to them different fills with one move, should I want to.
The reason the two Compund Paths would be grouped is simply so the whole graphic can, when finished, be moved, rotated, scaled, flipped, skewed (i.e.; transformed) as if it were a single object. (Which it would be; a Group is a logical object, just as a "set" is a logical object.)
As for how I would actaully draw the graphic:
First I would roughly evaluate it to get an idea of what I want to end up with in terms of clean, tidy, paths (as already describe above.)
Second, I mentally devise a "plan of attack" by which to achieve that; just studying the shapes a little more deeply for anything that can be exploited to minimize the work:
Are there any repetitive elements of the shape that can be accomplished by duplication, moving, scaling?
Is there any symmetry that can be accomplished by duplication and flopping?
Is there any simple geometry that can be accomplished with basic shape prmitives (whole or partial ellipses, rectangles, polygons)?
Third, I always try to also consider whether the process of drawing the current graphic and/or portions of it might be of future use to me, and if so, can I exploit other software features to save me time and effort later. For example, consider a single one of the ess-shaped "coils" of the middle tapered "spiral" grouped together with its white highlight. Such a graphic, colored in black and white and stored as an ArtBrush with its Colorization set to Hues & Tints would let me stretch and scale that basic shape along other-shaped paths. Similarly stored as a PatternBrush, it might do multi-duty for many things suggestive of coils, like rope or jewelry chains.
Then I just start drawing the necessary paths, using my default Graphic Style (.25 black stroke, no fill). As I proceed, I store (as Brushes, Symbols, etc.) any intermediate things that I think I might find useful later. For the graphic at hand, I then optimize the paths I've drawn by combining them (cutting, joining, path operations) into the fewest, cleanest, and simplest paths necessary to define the shapes. I then store the finished graphic as a Symbol, Brush, etc. if I think it might be of use later.
Regarding Layers, Groups, etc., etc:
It sounds like you (like many beginning AI users) are way over-thinking the matter of stacking order. Yes, it's good to use some sensible amount of organization as your illustrations and designs become more elaborate, but you don't have to fret so much over it. The principles are very very simply.
Layer really don't even enter into my mind when creating such a graphic, because the paths of which it consists are all going to be grouped, and all the contents of a Group have to exist on the same Layer anyway. Multiple Layers would only come into play when this whole graphic is used as one element in the overall page layout. For example, suppose several instances of this object will exist on a page layout to serve as dividers between ads or stories arranged in columns in a page layout. I may choose--if it makes organizational sense to me--to put all the copies of this object on a Layer dedicated to them. The Layer on which they reside may or may not include other graphics; it's just a question of what makes organizational sense and editing convenience to me while I'm working the file. For example, having the copies of this graphic on a separate Layer would allow me to lock that Layer to avoid accidently selecting the graphics when I'm editing text objects that I've organized on another Layer.
Don't think of Layers as some oppressive "right or wrong" thing that you have to decide upon at the start of every little thing you draw. It's nothing but an organizational convenience that is driven almost entirely by common sense. The mechanics of it are really very very simple in principle.
Look: Everything you create or import in an Illustrator document is an object. Just like sheets of paper in a tablet, each of those objects (each path, text object, raster image) is going to reside somewhere in the z-order (think front to back) of the document's object stack. You can't do anything to prevent that. It's the way the program works. The file is basically just a list of things that the output device has to draw. Being a list, it has a first object, a second object, and so on. Objects higher in that list are nearer the "front"; objects lower are nearer the "back." Normally, objects in front obscure objects behind them, wherever they "overlap."
Now, considering that what you have is just a list of objects, as that list grows and grows, doesn't it eventually just make sense to be able to "bracket" or "label" contiguous portions (contiguous is key here) of that list for organizational and manipulative purposes? That's all Groups and Layers are; brackets around sections of the list.
Consider that an Illustrator file (like most computer files you create) is really just a text file. So suppose you have written a technical manual in a word processing program. Would you write that manual as one big, honkin' text string, or would you "bunch together" contiguous portions of the story under some labeling scheme of subheads? After that, wouldn't you similarly "bunch together" contiguous subhead sections as chapters?
So you can think of Groups as "subheads," and Layers as "chapters" in your Illustrator document's list of objects.
Sure; if you're working on a page layout document, sometimes it makes sense to go ahead and set up some of this structure at the start (just as when writing a book, it makes sense to start with an outline). So you might go ahead and define a Layer for printer marks, another for the diecut, another for text, another for images, another for background fills.
The very next designer might decide to structure the very same project a little differently. He might, for example, decide there's no reason not to keep the text objects on the same layer with the raster images. There's no hard & fast right & wrong her. You do what makes sense for the project at hand.
Now in this context, back to your simple graphic: I don't need a PrinterMarks Layer, a DieCut Layer, or a TextObjects Layer to draw this graphic. I just need the default Layer 1. For convenience, I may want to add a TraceThisStuff Layer onto which I put the original raster image, just so I can conveniently isolate it (lock it, dim it, etc.) while drawing the paths on Layer 1. On the other hand, I can really just as easily leave the raster image that I want to trace on Layer 1 and reduce its opacity and lock/unlock it at the object level. It's up to me.
But for that matter, revisit my "third level" of evaluation described above. In reality, I would very likely not even start drawing this graphic in the document for which it is intended. I would just as likely open an existing JET_Dingbats.ai or a JET_Ornaments.ai or CustomerName_StyleGraphics.ai file or template, draw the graphic there and when done, just copy it and paste it into the current document file. That's how you, over time, build yourself a reasonably organized "personal library" of re-usable resources that save you countless hours of repetitive work in the future.
JET

Using the Pen tool to cut out shapes?

Hi fols, I am looking to make a stop frame animation, based on politics
and I plan on doing this all in Adobe Photoshop (i.e move the objects then file save etc t
hen sticking it all into imovie) what I was wondering is in order to cut out pictures of say politicians heads, I have tried using the brush tool to draw all the way around the head and then magic eraser to the background but do you think there would be an easier way to do this via the pen tool?
Regards
Davey

I think you'll find this tutorial useful.
http://is.gd/A90Q5t

CLOSING A PATH MADE UP OF CURVES USING PEN TOOL AND STRAIGHT LINES USING LINE TOOL

Hi,
I have just started using Fireworks and am unable to close a
figure made up of curves using pen tool and line segments using pen
/ line tools. How do I plot points on any given shape and close it
so that i can colour the shape . Right now I am not able to give
colour to the shapes I have created.
Please help
Regards
Sanjish

SANJISH wrote:
> Hi,
> I have just started using Fireworks and am unable to
close a figure
> made up of curves using pen tool and line segments using
pen / line tools. How
> do I plot points on any given shape and close it so that
i can colour the shape
> . Right now I am not able to give colour to the shapes I
have created.
>
> Please help
>
> Regards
>
> Sanjish
>
A link to the file would be helpful.
Jim Babbage - .:Community MX:. & .:Adobe Community
Expert:.
http://www.communityMX.com/
CommunityMX - Free Resources:
http://www.communitymx.com/free.cfm
.:Adobe Community Expert for Fireworks:.
Adobe Community Expert
http://tinyurl.com/2a7dyp
See my work on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_babbage/

Half second delay using pen tool. Lag between mouse up and when point appears on screen

Regarding the pen tool, using Photoshop CC 2014.2.2 on a PC— There is a half second delay between the moment I click the mouse and when the path point shows up. I've disabled the tablet input service on my computer, which worked, after a restart, but eventually this delay starts happens again. This is immensely inconvenient and I need a permanent solution. If anyone has any sort of answer please tell me. I will try anything.

I am experiencing the same problem. It's very annoying! The issue comes and goes... some days it works like it should, some days it's lagging. I couldnt figure out why so far, neither could the adobe support via chat...
Here's a video showing the issue. Make sure to watch in 720p and turn on the volume, so you can hear when I click.
ps cc pen tool - YouTube

How to adjust a selection made with the Pen Tool

We are designing images for the new iPhone 5. I'm facing some difficulty with the pen tool I select. Just wondering whether it is possbile to make add areas those which are in subtract area. If I wrolgly click the area which I don't want, I need to spen lots of time refining my selection. Is there any shortcuts or easy way to switch between the path nodes to add
Thanks & regards
Noel
(Personal information removed)
Message was edited by: Kendall Plant

Good day!
Each individual SubPathItem’s Shape Operation can be changed manually later on and their order can also be changed.
Could you please post a screenshot to illustrate your specific issue?
Regards,
Pfaffenbichler

Does PSE7 have a "pen" tool?

I've been using a version of photoshop 6 (don't think it's elements), my brother gave me. Last year I bought PSE7 and wonder if there is a pen tool like in photoshop 6?
I was using the pen for drawing shapes, almost like freehand, in a way.
thanks.

Hi,
If you are looking for PEN Tool in PSE, here's where you can log an feature request to Adobe -
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
or
http://www.adobe.com/misc/bugreport.html
Regards,
Priyanka

Why is the Pen Tool automatically creating shapes for me?

Hello,
I appreciate your time in reading my question. I was just wondering why the Pen Tool on Adobe InDesign CS6 is creating shapes automatically for me. Which is not allowing em to finish what I was was wanting to create?
Here is a 15 second video of what I mean: IMG_0506.MOV - Google Drive
I would really appreciate any help you could give me. Have I pressed something wrong?
I look forward to hearing from you soon
Kind Regards
Daniel.

Hi Peter,
I never realized that. I am still a newbie when it comes to InDesign. I really do appreciate your help :-)
Enjoy the rest of your day
Kind Regards,
Daniel.

Pen tool function

hey all!
ive got a question about the pen tool!
ive notice that in illustrator when i use the pen tool if u make a click from one point to another and then add a point in the middle of the path,it doest make a nice curve like in photoshop rather than it makes a v shape,where as in ps if u do the same procedure u get a nice semi circle shape.is this because of the difference between vector and bitmap,or adobe wanted a slightly different function to thier programs?
best regards.

go wade mate!!!!!
that was interesting how simple and easy done with that reshape tool,very handy indeed!!!
thanx!

My fireworks pen tool stroke always pixelated

Is it normal for the pen tool to produce pixelated jagged edges?
When ever I use the pen too and create curves the edges look very pixelated and cheep. I tried illustrator and that seemed to produce nice smooth edges like i'd expect.
I always though fireworks was a vector based tool and that vectors = smooth.
Is there a setting or something that I can change to make the drawings smooth?
I'm using Fireworks CS5 on windows 7.

First, check your Zoom level and set it to 100%. For whatever reason, Fireworks often opens a document at less than 100% zoom, and this creates very bad looking results on the screen. You can find the Zoom level in the lower right corner of the canvas or go to View > Magnification. You can also use the shortcut Command-1 to set it to 100%, or Command-minus or Command-plus to decrease or increase zoom.
Second, realize that Fireworks is basically always in Pixel Preview mode. It's committed to showing you the pixels that will be rendered upon export as a bitmap. This is different from Illustrator, which was designed for print, first and foremost; Illustrator is not committed to a single output format and instead tries to render vectors as smoothly as possible on screen, at all zoom levels.
Third, check your Stroke settings in the Properties panel. This is not likely the problem, as the default is 1-Pixel Soft, but it's worth checking. If you're working with strokes larger than 2px, you can adjust their softness somewhat using the Edge slider. You can try different Stroke presets or experiment with their parameters using the Advanced options (available under Stroke Options, at the bottom of the Stroke presets dropdown menu).
Hope this helps! I do think it's a shame that Fireworks doesn't offer better rendering at zoom levels other than 100%. I've written about this before—it basically uses something like a Nearest Neighbor interpolation algorithm to render zoom instead of a smoother-looking Bicubic algorithm—and submitted a feature request to Adobe regarding the issue, but haven't heard anything.

LACK OF FULL PEN TOOL FUNCTIONALITY WHEN CREATING A SHAPE LAYER

Hello, I'm going through Chris Meyer's video course on being an AE apprentice and have spent over an hour on the following issue.
Here is what I know.
I know I am trying to create a shape layer, not a mask, to create a frame to surround the video of the green field on the attached screenshot. Therefore, I pressed "F2" to make sure I am doing so.
I want to define the borders of this picture frame by using the pen tool to draw a path on the layer entitled "Windy Peak".
I have highlighted that layer in my timeline.
This video was pasted on to a placeholder shape that I had created using Command Option "/" on my Mac.
I do have limited use of the pen tool, because it displays properly when I hover it above the borders of the video to be framed.
But I lack access to the toolbar controls I want to complete my assignment.
For example, I would like to create a gradient to define the internal coloration of this frame, but I have no use of the eyedropper when I click on the Color Picker.
Also, I am unable to access or manipulate any of the standard fill or stroke options for use of my pen.
This is what I know.
Thanks for your help! Matt
Message was edited by: Matt Dubuque to add the fact that the video had been pasted on to a placeholder shape image by pressing Command Option "/" on my Mac.

Thanks for pitching in Todd and Rick, I appreciate it very much.
As previously stated, I do have use of the pen tool, but it only has limited functionality as demonstrated by the path I created on the green meadow. My Tools Panel remains activated .
My core problem remains that I am unable to adjust the fill or stroke settings for my pen.
I have tried changing and resetting various work spaces and this has not helped.
I'm scratching my head here.
Matt

Capture with new MBP, plus Pen Tool Question...

Good Day everyone, I've searched the forums but have not been able to find my answer so I thought I'd post.
Question 1...
I've just received my new 17"MBP a few weeks ago. With my old PB, I would connect my camera via FW400 and capture the footage to an external LaCie drive via FW800 out of the computer.
Now with only one FW port on the MBP, it looks as though I need to capture via FW800 (4pin to 9pin) and go out to the LaCie via USB? Is this correct? How are any of you doing this. It bums me out that I can't go out FW800 to the drive. I suppose there is always the option of getting an Express Card 34 with FW800 connections?
Question 2...
Why can I not get my pen tool to work in the timeline? I want to adjust opacity and audio levels but am unable to do this. My old version of FCP (v5) seemed to let me do this. Overlays are 'on'? Any suggestions? I find it easier and faster to be able to do these functions from the timeline, there must be a way?
FYI...
New 17" MBP 2.66 w/4GB RAM
FCP (Studio2)
I'm sure question 2 is just something stupid that I just haven't set up.
Appreciate everyone's help as always!
Rene.

To be honest, nobody but Apple knows what Apple is thinking but usb is not a good alternative. I also don't know of too many professional post houses or broadcast studios that have anything to do with firewire infrastructure at all. You can get firewire 800 to firewire 400 adapter cables for cheap, search the internet. You can then daisy chain your camera/capture device in line with your storage device.
The better alternative is to get a express firewire card for your MacBook pro as you mentioned which would create two firewire buses; one for capturing, one for storage. Again, you can search the internet and here's a place to get you started http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Sonnet%20Technology/FW800E34/
I guess I would have thought maybe some research into a product of the expense of the MacBook Pro would have warranted some research about these things.

How can I get the Fireworks pen tool to disengage from an open path shape (and stay disengaged)!

I am so frustrated! I can't get the fireworks pen tool to disengage when I am finished creating an open path shape (double clicking the end-point isn't working). The only way I can disengage the pen tool is to click on a different tool, BUT ...if I do that (i.e., click on a different tool), and then go back to the pen tool (with the intent to create another open path shape), the pen tool automatically engages the last point of my prior open path shape ... and ... no matter what I do, I can't get the pen tool in Fireworks to stop doing this with my open path shapes.
If anyone has any helpful advice, it would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
(note: I prefer not to have to go back and forth creating open path shapes in Illustrator then bring them into Fireworks, but if all else fails, I suppose I'll have to as a work-around.)

Have you tried holding the Command key and clicking away from the last point? The Command (⌘) key will bring up the Subselection tool; clicking on the canvas with it will allow you to disengage from the path. Once you release the key, the Pen tool will return and you can begin another path.

Regarding Pen Tool

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