Freehand drawing with the Pencil in Vectornation by Zaweba
The Pencil in Vectornation by Zaweba draws and reshapes freehand paths, while the Smooth tool evens them out and the Path eraser removes parts of them.
Drawing freehand is the most natural way to put an idea down, and in Vectornation by Zaweba the Pencil is the tool for it. It draws freehand paths and can reshape existing ones, and it comes with two companions, the Smooth tool and the Path eraser. The three sit with the brush tools.
They suit sketching, line art, handwriting and any shape that is easier to draw than to construct point by point.
Drawing with the Pencil
Take the Pencil and draw. As you move, it lays down a path following your hand, which becomes an ordinary vector path once you finish. You can fill it, stroke it, apply a brush or use it in any of the other ways a path can be used.
A pen tablet makes the Pencil feel closest to drawing on paper, but a mouse works too, especially for loose shapes.
Reshaping with the Pencil
The Pencil does more than draw new paths. It can reshape existing ones. Draw along or near a path you have already made and the Pencil redraws that part, so you can correct a stretch of line by simply drawing it again. This is often quicker than adjusting points and handles, and it keeps the natural feel of a hand drawn line.
Smoothing and erasing
Freehand lines carry the small wobbles of a moving hand. The Smooth tool smooths a path: run it along a line and the bumps soften into a calmer curve. Use it on the parts that need it rather than the whole drawing, so that the character of the line survives where you want it.
The Path eraser removes parts of a path. Rub it over the stretch you do not want and that part goes. It suits trimming the end of a line that went too far, opening a gap in a stroke, or taking out a mistake in the middle of a long path without redrawing the whole thing.
A freehand routine
A practical way to work is to draw loosely with the Pencil, redraw any stretch that is wrong by drawing over it, run the Smooth tool where the line is shaky, and use the Path eraser to clean up overshoots. Then switch to the Pointer to place and scale the result, and apply a stroke or brush.
For a sketched illustration, you might do this on a layer above a scanned drawing, following your pencil lines, then hide the scan once the vector version is done.
How it fits with the other drawing tools
The Pencil is one of several ways to draw paths in Vectornation. The Flow curve tool draws smooth curves through points you click, and suits deliberate, clean shapes. The Shape sketcher turns rough strokes into exact geometry. The pen gives you full control of every handle. The Pencil is the freest of them, best when you want the line to look drawn.
For tidying paths after drawing, the Refit command and the Curve refitter rebuild a path with fewer points, which is worth doing on long freehand lines before you edit them further.
Mistakes to avoid
Drawing too slowly with a mouse often gives a jittery line; a steady, moderate speed works better. Smoothing too much can make lines look lifeless, so stop as soon as the wobble is gone. And when reshaping with the Pencil, make sure the path you mean to change is the one you are drawing near, or you may start a new path instead.
With these three tools Vectornation by Zaweba keeps freehand drawing quick and forgiving.
