Free transform, perspective and distort in Vectornation by Zaweba
The Free shape tool in Vectornation by Zaweba offers Free transform, Perspective distort and Free distort for skewing and reshaping artwork.
Moving, scaling and rotating cover most changes to an object's size and position. Sometimes, though, you need artwork to lean, to recede into the distance or to bend into a new outline. The Free shape tool in Vectornation by Zaweba, key E, handles these with three modes: Free transform, Perspective distort and Free distort.
Each one does something the plain selection handles cannot.
Free transform
Free transform is the general purpose mode. It works much like the selection box, with a few extra powers. Constrain keeps changes in proportion. Ctrl-drag a side to shear, which slants the artwork so that one side slides past the other. Move outside the box and you rotate.
Shearing is the key addition. It gives a sense of speed or slant, makes a shadow fall at an angle, or matches artwork to an angled surface. A word sheared a little looks dynamic; a shape sheared to match a slope fits a scene.
Perspective distort
Perspective distort makes artwork look as if it recedes into the distance. One end grows smaller, the other larger, as if seen at an angle. This is how you put a sign on the side of a building in an illustration, lay a pattern on a floor, or show a label on a box seen from the corner.
Perspective makes flat artwork sit in a three dimensional scene. It is useful for mock ups, where a design is shown on a product or a wall, and for illustration, where flat elements need to belong to a space.
Free distort
Free distort lets you move each corner of the bounding box independently, so the artwork stretches to fill any four sided shape. Where perspective keeps a sense of depth, free distort goes wherever you drag. It suits fitting a design to an irregular panel, adding a playful wobble to lettering or matching artwork to a shape that is not a neat rectangle.
Choosing a mode
If the artwork should simply lean or tilt, use Free transform with a shear. If it should look as if it is going into the distance, use Perspective distort. If it should fit a particular four cornered outline, use Free distort.
For bending artwork along curves rather than corners, other tools are better suited. Envelopes and the Reshaper and Pin bend tools give curved warps that a corner based distort cannot.
Working tips
Work on a copy, or keep the original hidden on another layer. Distortions are easy to apply and harder to undo once you have made several other edits.
For perspective scenes, set up guides first that show the lines going into the distance, then match the edges of the artwork to them. That keeps several pieces in the same perspective, which matters more than any single piece being perfect.
Watch what happens to type. Distorted text can be hard to read, and very strong perspective can make letters at the far end too small. Check legibility at the final size.
How it fits with the rest
The Free shape tool sits alongside the Transform tool, the Transform panel and the transform commands. Use the Transform panel for exact sizes and positions, the Transform tool for precise moves, scales, skews and rotations about a chosen pivot, and the Free shape tool when you want to shape by eye.
Between its three modes, the Free shape tool in Vectornation by Zaweba gives you quick, visual control over how artwork sits in space.
