The Pen, Freeform Pen and Curvature Pen in Paint by Zaweba
Draw precise paths with the Pen, freehand ones with the Freeform Pen and its Magnetic option, or smooth curves with the Curvature Pen in Paint by Zaweba.
For the cleanest cut-out of a product, a logo traced from a sketch or a crisp shape that will scale to any size, nothing beats a path. Paint by Zaweba has three tools for drawing them, each suited to a different way of working, plus the tools that edit their points, all in the P group on the toolbar.
The Pen
The Pen draws paths point by point. Click to place a corner point; click and drag to place a smooth point with handles that set the curve. Each new point connects to the last, and clicking the first point closes the path.
It takes a little practice, but it is the most precise way to draw. Use as few points as possible: put them where the curve changes direction, and let the handles do the work in between. Drag handles in the direction the curve is heading, and about a third of the way to the next point. Fewer points make smoother curves and paths that are easier to edit.
The Freeform Pen
The Freeform Pen draws a path as you drag, like a pencil. Its fit tolerance decides how closely the path follows your hand: a low value keeps every wobble, a high value smooths the path with fewer points.
Its Magnetic option makes the path snap to edges in the picture as you trace. Run it roughly round a product against a contrasting background and the path clings to the edge, which makes quick cut-outs much easier than clicking every point by hand. Go slowly round corners and tight curves, and the path follows better.
The Curvature Pen
The Curvature Pen is the friendliest of the three. Click to place points and the tool draws smooth curves through them automatically, with no handles to drag. It is a quick way to draw flowing shapes such as lettering, leaves and organic outlines. Adjusting a curve is a matter of moving a point.
What a path becomes
Each pen can make one of three things, chosen in the options bar. A shape layer is a vector shape that can be filled and stroked, stays crisp at any size and can be edited later. A path is just the outline, kept in the Paths panel, which you can turn into a selection, use as a vector mask or stroke with a brush. When you draw a path with another one already selected, the new part is added to the selected path. Pixels draws the shape straight onto the current layer as paint.
For cut-outs, draw a path, then make a selection from it, or a vector mask, so the edge stays crisp and editable.
Editing points
Add Anchor Point, Delete Anchor Point and Convert Point sit in the same P group. Add places a new point on a segment, Delete removes one, and Convert switches a point between a sharp corner and a smooth curve.
For moving points, handles and whole paths, the Direct Selection and Path Selection tools do the work.
Tips for clean paths
Zoom in when tracing a cut-out, and keep the path just inside the edge of the object, so no background shows. Use corner points where the outline really has a corner and smooth points elsewhere. Don't worry about getting it perfect first time; points can always be moved.
Paths are vectors, so they cost almost nothing to keep. Save them in the Paths panel even when you have finished with them, in case you need the same outline again. In Paint by Zaweba they are saved with the document and can be exported to SVG from the Paths panel for use in other design tools.
