Lesson 5. Using Points and Paths

In this lesson, you will create an advertisement for the Action Photos web site. You will draw a bicycle on a layer, using a template to guide you. Once the bike is complete, you will add other layers and use them to draw a cyclist on the bike. You will use the Pen tool and the Bezigon tool while learning about points and paths.

To make full use of all of FreeHand’s capabilities, you need to understand points and paths. Every object you draw in FreeHand is composed of points and paths. Continuous lines are called paths. Every path is made up of two or more points. Paths can be open or closed. An arc is an example of an open path; a rectangle is an example of a closed path.

A point has control handles that you can use to control the curve of the line segment between adjacent points. You’ll use these control handles to draw the cyclist’s back as well as the curved road.

In this lesson, you will draw a bicycle using the Bezigon tool and draw the rider and the background with the Pen tool. You will place the different elements of this drawing on separate layers.

To see the completed image for this lesson, open the road_ad.fh11 file in the Completed folder within the Lesson05 folder.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

In this lesson, you will:

• Use the Bezigon tool to draw shapes with straight line segments

• Use commands to combine several shapes into one shape

• Add PANTONE® colors to the Swatches panel

• Change the view mode so you can more easily select objects

• Add a dashed line and then customize the dash spacing

• Add multiple equally spaced guides to a page

• Use the Pen tool to draw objects with curved and straight line segments

• Change a curved point to a connector point as you draw with the Pen tool

• Use the control handles to change the shape of a curved line segment

• Use the Object panel to retract or extract control handles on a point

• Export a color library for use in another document

• Use the Freeform tool to change the shape of a path

• Use the Pencil tool to draw freeform shapes

APPROXIMATE TIME

This lesson takes approximately 3 hours to complete.

LESSON FILES

Media Files:
Lesson05Mediaike_template.tif
Lesson05Mediaike_and_rider.tif
Lesson05Media oad_ad.tif

Starting Files:
Lesson05Startlearn_pen_tool.fh11
Lesson05Startpen_practice.ft11
Lesson05Startcurved line segment.tif

Completed Projects:
Lesson05Completed oad_ad.fh11
Lesson05Completedcyclist.fh11

Using the Bezigon Tool

In the previous lessons, you used the basic drawing tools to draw rectangles, circles, polygons, and lines. When you want to create shapes other than those, you need to use either the Pen tool or the Bezigon tool. Although the two tools share the same cursor (the pen cursor), they are quite different in the way they place points on the path.

As a child, you may have created drawings by following a series of numbered dots. The Bezigon tool works great for that type of drawing: shapes with straight line segments. With the Bezigon tool, you click to place a point. You can move the point by dragging it before you add the next point. You can also create curves with the tool, but these are harder to control. If you are familiar with pen tools in other applications, you may find the Bezigon tool awkward because it doesn’t behave like a pen tool. If you are new to pen tools, then this tool is a great way to start.

The frame of the bike you are going to draw in this lesson contains mostly straight line segments, so the Bezigon tool will work well. Later you will use the Pen tool to create the curved line segments of the drawing.

1) Create a new document and save your file as cyclist.fh11 in the Projects folder. From the Layers panel Option menu, choose New (Windows) or New Layer (Mac OS). Name the layer bike_BG and drag it below the Background layer. Change the name of the Background layer to rider_and_bike_BG. Select the bike_BG layer.

You are going to import an image of a bike and use it as a guide for the bike you will draw. After the bike is complete, you will import another image of a bike and rider and use it to draw the rider. The bike and rider are separated so you can more easily focus on the bike as you learn to use the Bezigon tool. The letters BG were added to the layer name to identify it as a background layer.

2) Choose File > Import and select the bike_template.tif file from the Lesson05 Media folder. Click to place the image in the middle of the page on the bike_BG layer. Lock the bike_BG layer.

The image is screened back because it is on a background layer. This will make it easier to use as a guide for drawing the bike. You’ll notice a crosshairs at the top left of the image. Later you will use the crosshairs to help you align the two background images. Locking the layer ensures that it stays in place as you draw over it.

3) Change the Foreground layer name to bicycle.

You will be adding several layers to your image, and it is helpful to have the layers named with the items they contain.

4) On the Tools panel, hold down the mouse button on the Pen tool. Choose the Bezigon tool from the tool pop-up menu.

The pointer changes to a pen. You’ll use this tool to draw the bike frame in the next step. You may want to zoom in on the bike so you can more easily draw over the image.

5) On the Object panel, change the stroke width to 0.5 point.

Changing the stroke size (or any other stroke property) before you begin to draw changes it for all of the objects you draw until you change the stroke property again.

6) Click the left side of the seat post under the saddle to place the first point. Move to the bottom of that line (toward the pedal) and click again. Continue to click to form a thin rectangle for the seat post and the seat tube.

When you are over the first point, FreeHand adds a small square to the pointer to indicate that you are about to create a closed path.

You may have noticed that parts of the frame are connected. For example, the part you just drew (the seat post and the seat tube) is connected to the top tube and the front fork. You will combine these in a later step.

You can use the objects in your drawing to hide other objects. For example, the saddle is a solid black color and covers the top end of the seat post. Knowing this, you can draw your frame so that it overlaps the saddle. This approach is easier than trying to make the top of the seat post match exactly.

7) Press Tab to deselect any selections. Click the left side of the top tube, hold down Shift, and then click the right side of the top tube. Release Shift and click the middle of the front wheel. Continue to click around the corners of the frame until you return to the starting point.

When drawing with the Bezigon tool, you can move the point before you release the mouse button. After you release the mouse button, the next click creates a new point.

Using the Combine Commands

You can create an object of any shape using the Pen and Bezigon tools. You can draw rectangles and circles, polygons and stars. Of course, FreeHand provides you with tools for drawing these basic shapes, and you can create them more quickly using those tools than by drawing them manually. Some shapes are really a combination of those basics shapes. For example, look at the following examples and see if you can identify the basic shapes that were used to create them. You could draw these shapes freehand with the Pen tool, but you can draw them much more easily by using the Combine commands.

The Combine commands work on two or more overlapping objects. Your choices on the Modify > Combine menu are Union, Divide, Intersect, Punch, and Crop.

• Union combines two or more overlapping shapes. The overlapping parts of each shape are discarded, leaving only the outline of the combined shapes.

• Divide cuts the selected shapes based on the overlapping areas.

• Intersect creates a shape based on the common areas of the selected shapes.

• Punch removes the part of the topmost shape that overlaps the other objects.

• Crop keeps just the area in which the shapes overlap.

In this task, you will combine the two shapes of the bike frame. Then you will add a circle for the hub of the front wheel and combine it with the frame. First, you need to adjust your objects so they overlap one another. If your shapes already overlap, you can skip to step 3.

1) Use the Pointer tool to select the top left point of the last shape you created: the top tube of the bike.

When selecting points, you click once to select the path and then click the point to select it. The point is selected when you see a hollow square.

2) Use the arrow keys to move the point to the left to overlap the seat tube. Repeat this action for the bottom point.

It doesn’t matter how much the two shapes overlap.

3) Hold down Shift and select both objects.

If you are continuing from step 2 and the top tube shape is still selected, then hold down Shift and simply select the other shape.

4) Choose Modify > Combine > Union.

The two shapes are combined into one to form the frame of the bike.

Next you will draw the hubs (the center part of each wheel) of the bicycle. As you learned in Lesson 1,“FreeHand Basics,” you will drag guides from the ruler to help you place the hubs.

5) Drag horizontal and vertical guides to the intersection of the wheel hubs. Select the Ellipse tool. Hold down Alt+Shift (Windows) or Option+Shift (Mac OS) as you draw a circle for the front hub. Select both the frame and the hub and combine them as you did in step 4.

Holding down Alt or Option while pressing Shift allows you to draw from the center point of the guides. You want the circle to overlap the fork. You may need to adjust the points on the fork to make the fork long enough to cover the hub before you combine the two shapes.

6) Draw the remaining red shapes of the bike frame using the methods you just learned.

Just draw the red shapes of the frame for now. You can overlap the remaining shapes. When you fill the frame with color, you can adjust the shapes so they look more realistic.

Adding PANTONE® Colors

FreeHand comes with a number of spot and process color libraries that are commercially available color-matching systems. The PANTONE® Color Matching System (PMS for short) is a common color system used by most commercial print houses in the United States. By choosing a color from the color library, you are assured that your colors print correctly. Picking a color by viewing it on your screen is not recommended if you are outputting your document for print. You should purchase a color book and choose your colors from there. Once you pick your color from the color book, you can select that color from the FreeHand color library. In this exercise, however, you will select colors without regard to how they will appear when printed.

1) From the Swatches panel Options menu, choose PANTONE® Solid Uncoated.

You can choose from Coated and Uncoated libraries. Coated (shiny) and uncoated (matte) refer to the types of paper stock you use to print your document.

2) Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and select PANTONE® Yellow U, PANTONE® Warm Red U, PANTONE® Orange 021 U, PANTONE® Blue 072 U, and PANTONE® 148 U from the dialog box. Click OK.

Holding down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) allows you to select multiple colors. Use the scroll arrow to find the last color. You’ll use some of these colors later when you draw the cyclist.

3) Select all of the parts of the frame. Drag the Warm Red color chip on the Swatches panel to the fill color icon on the panel.

The bike frame is filled with red.

This is another way to fill a selected item or items with color. Next to the fill color icon is the stroke color icon. The third icon is for applying color to both the fill and stroke; if you want both the fill and the stroke to be the same color, you drop the same color chip on the third icon. The first item on the Swatches panel is None; if you want to remove a fill or stroke, you drop the None chip (a square with an X) on the icon for the fill color, stroke color, or both fill and stroke color.

4) Select the top frame of the bike and then choose Modify > Arrange > Bring to Front.

This action should hide any overlapping areas of the other parts of the bike.

5) Save your file.

Changing the View Mode

FreeHand offers four modes for viewing your document on your monitor: Preview, Fast Preview, Keyline, and Fast Keyline. To access these modes, you use the View pop-up menu located on the Status toolbar (Windows) or at the bottom of the document window (Mac OS).

The default view is Preview, which is the one you’ve been using. This view displays the highest-quality drawing, showing you gradients, fills, and effects; it displays the document as it will print. Fast Preview cuts some corners in what it displays; it doesn’t display all of the steps in a blend, and text is greeked (dimmed on the screen). Keyline displays only a black hairline path on objects; you don’t see any fills or strokes. Fast Keyline displays blends with reduced steps, and the text is greeked.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these views. Preview is your best option, but you may have to wait to display complex images on slower computers. Keyline redraws your document quickly, but you won’t see the fills. Keyline view makes it easy to select points or objects, especially if they are behind filled objects.

You’ll find yourself switching back and forth between Preview and Keyline views as you create more complex drawings.

You can also change the views for each layer, to display a particular layer in a Preview or Keyline view. The advantage to switching views on a layer is that the view for only that layer changes. When you use the View pop-up menu, you change the view for the entire document.

1) From the View pop-up menu, choose Keyline.

In Keyline view, you see only the outlines of the bicycle parts you’ve drawn. Notice that the background image disappears.

2) From the View pop-up menu, choose Preview.

Your drawing displays the background and the red bicycle frame.

3) On the Layers panel, click the keyline icon (the filled circle) on the bicycle layer.

You see the outlines of the bike, but the background image remains. Click the icon again (now a hollow circle) to return the layer to Preview mode. You may want to leave your layer in Keyline view for the next task you do on your own. Just remember that when you fill an object on this layer, you will not see any fills until you restore Preview mode on the layer. It can be very frustrating if you forget you are in Keyline view as you add fills to your objects.

On Your Own

Draw the remaining parts of the bike, except for the handlebars and the chain. The pedal consists of rounded rectangles. The derailleur (the part below the hub of the rear wheel) is a rectangle and circle combined. Once those shapes are combined, select the top points and use the arrow keys to move them slightly apart to flare the ends. The saddle is a triangle and a circle combined. To get the skinny saddle look, scale the triangle. Remember that you can rotate or scale any of the shapes by double-clicking them and using the transform handles. You may need to use the Arrange menu to move objects in front of or behind other objects. Fill the objects as needed. For the pedal, create a 20-percent black color and add that color to the Swatches panel. The chainrings (the pedal is attached to the chainring) are represented by two circles. The inner circle of the chainring has a stroke of white.

Drawing Dashed Lines

FreeHand contains several dashed lines that you can use in your drawings. Changing a line to a dashed line is not difficult as long as you know where to look. The Dash pop-up menu is on the Object panel. You select a line, select the Stroke property on the Object panel, and then choose one of the dash patterns from the pop-up menu. If you need to, you can edit the dash patterns. You will modify one of the dash patterns in this exercise to create the bike chain.

1) Use the Bezigon tool to draw a line for the chain. Change the stroke width to 1 point. On the Object panel, select the Stroke property and then select the first dash pattern from the Dash pop-up menu.

The line you drew changes to the selected dashed pattern.

2) Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and select the dash pattern again from the pop-up menu.

The Dash Editor appears displaying the setting for the current dash pattern.

3) Change the first On value to 5 and the first Off value to 3. Click OK.

Your line changes to reflect those settings. You have not changed the pattern in the pop-up menu; you just changed the dash pattern for your line.

4) Save your file.

You can close this file for now. You will use it again in the section “Using the Pen Tool.”

Adding Multiple Guides

In this task, you will add multiple guides to a page to help you as you learn to use the Pen tool. When you use the Pen tool, you drag to create a curve. The amount and direction you drag controls the shape of the curve. You’ll use the intersections of the guides as target points for dragging as you learn to use the Pen tool.

In Lesson 1, “FreeHand Basics,” you learned how to drag guides onto the page to help you draw or position objects. Here, you will add multiple guides to a page, letting FreeHand do the work of equally spacing the guides on the page.

1) Open the learn_pen_tool.fh11 file in the Start folder within the Lesson05 folder. Make sure your measurement units are set to Points.

This file has some sample shapes on a background layer. The values you are instructed to enter in this task are given in points.

2) Choose View > Guides > Edit.

The Guides dialog box displays a list of the guides on all of the pages in your document. You can add, delete, or release guides on your pages. Releasing a guide converts it to a line.

3) Click Add. Select Horizontal and Increment and then type 88 in the Increment text box. Click Add.

You have the choice of entering a set number of guides or an increment value for spacing the guides. If you specify the number of guides, the distance between the guides is determined by the page size and the number of guides requested.

4) Click Add again. This time select Vertical and Increment and type 66 in the Increment text box. Click Add and then click OK.

The vertical guides are added along with the horizontal guides created in the previous step. The guides should be over the circle points on the document.

Using the Pen Tool

To really appreciate the power of FreeHand, you need to master (or at least get comfortable with) the Pen tool. As with any new artistic medium, you need to practice using the tool to get the feel of it. In the next task, you will practice using the Pen tool by drawing some simple shapes. The guides you placed on the page will help you place points as you draw the shapes. Once you get the feel of the Pen tool, you can advance to drawing the handlebars and the cyclist.

Although the Pen tool works differently than the Bezigon tool, you could have just as easily drawn the bicycle frame with the Pen tool, clicking to place each point as you did with the Bezigon tool. Where the Pen tool shines is in drawing curved paths. You’ll find that using the Pen tool is a two-handed operation: one hand drives the mouse, and the other presses the modifier keys, such as Alt or Option, on the keyboard. If using both hands is not possible or is uncomfortable, you can use the tool with one hand; it is just faster with two hands.

1) From the Tools panel, select the Pen tool.

Since you used the Bezigon tool last, hold down the mouse on that tool; select the Pen tool from the menu.

2) Locate Figure 1. Click the starting point. Move to point 2 and then click again. Move to point 3 and click.

You should see an upward-pointing angle. Each time you click to place a new point, you are adding a straight line segment between the points just as you did with the Bezigon tool. The background layer of this document is locked so you should be placing your points on the Foreground layer.

3) Move to point 4 and drag to the left. Release the mouse button when your curve matches the curve in Figure 1.

When you drag with the Pen tool, you create a curved point and extend the control handles. You use the control handles to change the shape of the curve. You will modify a curve with the control handles later in the lesson. For now, just note the position of the handles.

4) Move back to the starting point and click.

The pen cursor adds a small square when you are directly over the starting point. By clicking the starting point, you create a closed path, releasing the Pen tool from the path. You can now click to start a new path.

5) Locate Figure 2 (the S curve shape). Click the starting point and follow the instructions in the document to either click or drag a point.

You can hold down Shift when you drag a point to constrain the control handles. Double-click the last point to end the drawing of the path.

If you feel you need more practice, delete your paths and draw them again.

Adding Connector Points

Paths can have three types of points: corner, curve, and connector. When you click to place a point with the Pen tool, you add a corner point. When you drag with the Pen tool, you add a curve point. A corner point appears as a square when selected; a curve point appears as a circle. A connector point creates a transition between a curve and a corner point. For example, suppose you are drawing a curved line using the intersection of the guides to place your points as you did in the previous task. You click to place the first point and then drag to place the second point, creating a curved path. Now you want a straight line for the next line segment. If you click for the next point, the line is curved. That is not what you want. To achieve your goal, you need a connector point.

In this task, you will practice changing a curve point to a connector point.

1) With the Pen tool, click the starting point in Figure 3. Hold down Shift and click the next two points going clockwise.

Holding Shift constrains the line segment between any two points to 90 degrees.

2) At the fourth point, drag to get a curved line.

The next line segment in the figure is a straight line. If you move (don’t click yet) the pointer to the next point, you’ll see the curved line that would be created. Instead, you want to change the fourth point to a connector point: a point that connects a curved line segment to a straight line segment.

3) Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the fourth point.

You click the last point again to change it to a connector point. You’ll see the control handle on the right disappear when the point is converted.

4) Hold down Shift and click the next two points.

The last click closes the path and releases the Pen tool.

Manipulating Control Handles

Once you get the hang of dragging to create a curve, you can use the control handles to change the shape of the curve. This skill may be a bit harder to master, but you need to learn it to get the most out of drawing in FreeHand.

Each point has two handles, though you may not always see them. For example, the handles of a corner point are retracted by default, but you can pull them out if you need them. When you select a curve point, you see its handles, plus you may see handles on the surrounding points. The handles you see, either on the selected point or other points, control the shape. For example, the left handle controls the curve to the left of the point, and the right handle controls the curve to the right of the point. If the handle to the left of the point is also displayed, then that handle also helps to control the curve.

The easiest way to see what this all means is to draw a curve and manipulate the handles. You will get some practice in this next task.

1) Click or drag on the points in Figure 4 to draw a curved line.

As you drag to create the curve point, try to match the curvature of the line segment. Don’t worry if you can’t get your curves or handles to match the example; you will modify them in the next step.

2) Switch to the Pointer tool and select the second point.

You see both handles on the point, plus a handle on the following point.

3) Drag the bottom handle to match the handle in Figure 4.

The curve of the line should start to match the curve in the example. Notice that you can move the handle left or right, in toward the point or away from the point. Each movement changes the curvature of the line.

4) Drag the handle of the third point until it matches the example.

This handle is not on the selected point, but it controls the curve between the two points.

Retracting and Extracting Handles

As you’ve seen, the handles control the curvature of the line between two points. But what if you change your mind and want a straight line segment instead? To retract a handle, you drag it inside its attached point. You can also use the Object panel to accomplish this. Using the Object panel is easier, and you are assured that the point is completely retracted.

If a point you are working with doesn’t display handles when it is selected, you can pull out the handles.

In this next task, you will practice retracting and extracting handles.

1) Select the second point on the path you created in Figure 4.

The Object panel displays information about the selected point: its location and type and buttons to retract the handles. Don’t forget: to select a point, you click once to select the path and then click again to select the point.

2) Click the left retract button.

The handle retracts into the point, and the curve in the left line segment is removed.

3) Click the right retract button.

The handle retracts into the point, and the curve in the right line segment is removed. After the handles are retracted, you can pull them out again if you need to change the curve. In the next step, you will extract the handles.

4) Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and drag down from the point. Repeat this process, dragging up from the point.

The handle appears as you drag. Move the handle to match the Figure 4 example.

On Your Own

If you would like more practice using the Pen tool, open the pen_practice.ft11 file in the Start folder within the Lesson05 folder. Use the intersection of the guides to help you place your points as you draw around the D shape in the file.

After you complete drawing the D shape, you can tackle the handlebars on the bike in your cyclist.fh11 file. Draw the handlebars on the bicycle layer. Once you complete the right (front) handlebar, make a copy of it and cut it with the Knife tool to create the smaller portion of the left (back) handlebar. Move this piece behind the right handlebar. You will need to move the left handle of the handlebar once you draw the arms of the rider, but for now you want to make sure the bike looks correct.

Adding The Rider

Now you are ready to get back to your project. Your next step is to add the rider to the bicycle. You first need to import an image that contains the bicycle and the rider. You’ll use the crosshairs to help you place the new image in the exact same position as the first image. To create the rider, you need to draw objects for each body part that is a different color. If you look at the final image, you’ll notice that some of the objects are behind other objects. For example, the left leg and arm of the rider are behind the bicycle. You’ll need to use layers and the Arrange commands to position the various parts properly.

1) Select the rider_and_bike_BG layer. Import the bike_and_rider.tif file from the Lesson05 Media folder and place it on that layer.

Use the crosshairs on the two background images to align the images to each other. Once the two background images are aligned, lock the new layer. You can then hide the bike_BG layer.

2) Create another new layer and name it rider.

You will use this layer for the head and body of the rider, the right arm, and the right leg. Since the left leg and left arm are behind the bike, you will need to create other layers for those parts.

3) Click the left part of the jersey (the yellow shirt) with the Pen tool and then drag the next point at the neck. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the last point to change the curve point to a connector point. Continue to click around the yellow section to complete the object.

When you see a curved section of the jersey, drag to create a curved line. To close the path, click the starting point. The pointer adds a small circle to the pen cursor to indicate that you are over the starting point. Switch to the Pointer tool and use the control handles of your points to make any adjustments to the curved sections.

4) Continue drawing the remainder of the rider body, the head and helmet, the right leg, and the right arm.

Remember that each shape you draw needs to be a closed path so you can fill it with color.

5) Once you are satisfied with your results, add color to each part. You can use the colors you added earlier to the Swatches panel, or you can add or mix your own colors.

6) Create a new layer and name it left leg. Move this layer below the bicycle layer. Draw the left leg on this layer.

As you draw, you may find it helpful to hide the other layers so you can concentrate on just the leg. For the left foot and shoe, you can make a copy of the right foot and shoe, group those parts, and then rotate them slightly for the left side.

7) Create a new layer and name it left arm. Move this layer below the bicycle layer. Select the left portion of the handlebar and move it to this layer. Make a copy of the right arm you drew and move it to this layer as well.

You will need to move the left arm to offset it from the right arm.

8) Press the Tab key to deselect any selected object. Unlock the bike_BG layer and then select the layer. From the Layers panel Options menu, choose Remove. Click Yes (Windows) or OK (Mac OS) to dismiss the alert dialog box. Repeat this process for the bike_and_rider_BG layer.

FreeHand alerts you when you are deleting a layer that contains data.

Once you are satisfied with your drawing, you no longer need the background images you used as guides. You can hide those layers, but the images will still be part of your document. If you import the cyclist into another document, as you will do later in this lesson, those background images will be imported as well, even though the layer is hidden.

Exporting Color Libraries

In the section “Adding PANTONE® Colors” earlier in this lesson, you added several colors or tints of colors to your Swatches panel for use in this document. If you want to reuse those colors in other documents, you can export them as a color library and then import the library in the other documents. This saves you time and, more important, ensures that you use the same colors. If you are printing your drawings, it could be an expensive mistake if you inadvertently use two similar, but different, blue colors. For example, suppose you create two drawings for use in a newsletter that will print in two colors: black and blue. For one image, you use PANTONE® Blue, and for the other image, you use PANTONE® Reflex Blue. When you add the two images to your newsletter, the page layout program sees that there are two blue colors plus black. When you output the job to the printer, instead of a two-color job, you now have a three-color job. That extra color can significantly increase the printing cost.

Of course, with only one color, it is not difficult to create that same color in your new document. But when you have several colors, as you do in your cyclist drawing, exporting the colors makes your job easier.

1) From the Swatches panel Options menu, choose Export.

The Export Colors dialog box displays a list of all of the colors and tints of colors.

2) Hold down Shift, select the first color in the list, and then select the last color in the list. Click OK.

Holding down Shift lets you select all of the colors at once. If you want to export only some of the colors, you can hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and click the colors you want.

3) Type cyclist as the color library name and change the file name to cyclist.bcf. Click Save.

You now have a color library that you can use whenever you want. You’ll import this color library into another document later in this lesson.

4) Save your file.

Using the Freeform Tool

Now that you’ve completed the cyclist, you will add your image to another document to create an ad page. You could have drawn all of the elements in one document, but by creating separate documents, you can easily add the cyclist to other pages if needed.

Hopefully, by now you are getting the hang of using the Pen tool. Don’t worry if you still feel awkward using the tool—it takes lots of practice. In this task, you will use the Pen tool to draw the mountains, but then you will switch to the Freeform tool to modify the curves instead of using the control handles as you did previously. The Freeform tool lets you modify a path by pushing, pulling, or reshaping. As you use the tool, points are automatically added or deleted on the path.

Push/Pull mode lets you adjust a selected path by pushing the pointer across a path segment or by pulling the segment directly. Pulling is similar to dragging a segment using the Subselect tool. Pushing reshapes only that part of the path that the pointer touches.

Reshape mode functions similar to pushing, except that the effect weakens as you drag the pointer. Reshaping is a powerful way to create naturalistic shapes, such as tentacles or tree branches.

1) Create a new document and save your file as road_ad.fh11 in the Projects folder. Choose Window > Document or click the Document tab in the Properties panel group. Select Letter as the page size and Landscape as the page orientation.

2) Select the Background layer and then import the road_ad.tif file from the Lesson05 Media folder. Place the image on the background and then lock the layer.

You will use this image to help you draw the road and mountains for the ad page. The image is the same size as the page. Before you lock the background layer, you can check the Object panel to verify that the image is centered on the page. With the object selected, the X and Y coordinates in the Object panel should be equal to zero.

If they are not, enter zero in each text box and then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) to apply your changes. The image should now be centered.

3) Create a new layer and name it mountains. Draw a rectangle for the sky area. Use the Pen tool to roughly draw the shape of the mountain.

Don’t try to create the curved lines—you will use the Freeform tool in the next step to shape the mountains. Just click around the area to form jagged straight-line segments. Remember that you can hold down Shift as you click to create the horizontal line segment at the bottom of the mountain range.

4) Double-click the Freeform tool to open the Freeform Tool dialog box. In the dialog box, select Push/Pull. Change the push size to 20 and then click OK.

The Freeform tool offers these options:

Push Size: Enter a value from 1 to 1000 in the Size box or adjust the slider.

Push Precision: Enter a value from 1 to 10 in the Precision box or adjust the slider. Lower numbers mean lower precision and fewer points added to the path.

For the pull settings, you can select a Bend option from the pop-up menu:

By Length: Use this option to specify the length of the segment that will be affected; you can specify from 1 to 1000 pixels.

Between Points: Select this option to affect all of a path segment between its end points. A small s appears beside the pull pointer when this option is active.

If you are using a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet, you can set the Pressure options:

Size: This option activates the tablet’s pressure-sensitive size adjustment capability.

Length: This option activates the tablet’s pressure-sensitive length adjustment capability.

5) With the Freeform tool, click within the mountain area. Hold down the mouse button and gently push an area of the mountain path.

When you hold down the mouse button, the pointer changes to a circle cursor. The size of the circle is the size you set in the previous step. As you push with the tool, the path changes based on where you push and the size of the circle. You can push the path outward or inward with the tool.

6) Move the pointer close to the path of the mountain and drag the path.

The pointer adds a small s to the cursor to indicate that you are in Pull mode.

Continue to push or pull the path with the Freeform tool to shape the mountain to your liking. You don’t have to match the background image.

Using the Pencil Tool

You can use the Pencil tool to draw freeform shapes. Instead of clicking or dragging as you do with the Pen tool, you simply drag with the Pencil tool. You use it as you would use a pencil on a piece of paper. You don’t have as much control as you draw with the tool, but you can always alter the path later. For areas of your drawing where you are not as concerned with precise curves and corners, the Pencil tool offers a fast way to create shapes. The highlight areas in the mountains provide a perfect opportunity to use this tool.

1) Double-click the Pencil tool to open the Pencil Tool dialog box. Enter 5 in the Precision text box. Select Draw dotted line and then click OK.

You can enter a value from 1 to 10 in the Precision text box, or you can adjust the slider. A high value shows minor variations as you draw; a low value smoothes minor variations as you draw. You can draw paths more quickly by displaying a dotted line as you draw; the final path will still be solid.

2) Draw around the highlight areas on the mountain.

Again, don’t try to match the background image exactly. Use the Freeform tool to modify the shape of an area if necessary.

3) From the Swatches panel Options menu, choose Import and locate the cyclist.bcf file you created earlier. Click Open (Windows) or Choose (Mac OS). Hold down Shift and select all of the colors in the library. Click OK.

The colors are added to the Swatches panel for this document.

4) Create 70 and 20 percent tints of the blue color and add these to your Swatches panel. Fill the mountains with the 20 percent color and use the 70 percent color and white for the highlight areas. Change the sky rectangle to the blue color.

On Your Own

Add a new layer for the ground and the road. Draw a rectangle for the ground area and use the Pen tool to draw the road. Add a brown or tan color from the PANTONE® color library for the ground color. Add the sun and the text.

Adding the Bike And Rider

The last piece you need to add to your drawing is the cyclist you created earlier. Remember that the cyclist file contains several layers. You will import all of those layers into this document along with the objects on the layers. You drew many elements for the bike and the cyclist, and they are not grouped. When you first import the file, all of the elements are selected, making it easy for you to immediately group them. If you were using the bike and rider in numerous other documents, you might want to group all of the elements in the cyclist file. Since you are using them only in this document, however, you will group them once they are imported.

1) Choose File > Import and locate your cyclist.fh11 file. Move it off to the side to the pasteboard and then click to place the file.

Placing the image on the pasteboard instead of on the page makes it easier to select all of the parts of the bike and rider if you inadvertently deselect the elements. You’ll move the image back to the page after you group all of the elements.

2) Choose Modify > Group.

All of the elements are grouped as one. The group appears on only one layer. Before you move the rider to the page, you need to change the order of the layers.

3) Drag the road and mountain layers below all of the layers for the bike and rider. Move the cyclist group to the page and position it on the road.

Depending on the curvature of your road, you may need to rotate your cyclist. If necessary, double-click the group and use the transform arrows to rotate the cyclist. You want the wheels of the bike to align with the stripe in the road.

4) Save your file.

Take a break. You deserve it after this lesson.

What You Have Learned

In this lesson, you have:

• Used the Bezigon tool to draw shapes with straight line segments (pages 122–125)

• Used the Combine command to combine several shapes into one shape (pages 125–129)

• Added PANTONE® colors to the Swatches panel and filled objects with those colors (pages 129–131)

• Changed to Keyline mode so you could more easily select objects (pages 131–133)

• Customized a dashed line for a drawing (pages 134–135)

• Added multiple guides to the page (pages 135–136)

• Used the Pen tool to draw objects with curved and straight line segments (pages 136–138)

• Changed a curve point to a connector point while drawing with the Pen tool (pages 139–140)

• Used the control handles of a point to change the shape of a curved line segment (pages 140–142)

• Retracted and extracted control handles on a point (pages 142–143)

• Exported a color library for use in another document (pages 148–149)

• Used the Freeform tool to change the shape of a path (pages 150–153)

• Used the Pencil tool to draw freeform shapes (pages 153–154)

• Imported a color library into a new document (page 154)