Editing points and handles with the Point picker in Vectornation

A shape is only as good as the points underneath it. The Point picker in Vectornation by Zaweba, key A, is the tool for getting at those points. Where the Pointer treats an object as a whole, the Point picker lets you select an individual anchor point or handle and change it on its own.

That makes it the tool for refining. You draw a rough outline with whatever tool suits, then come in with the Point picker to pull a curve fuller, straighten a slightly wobbly edge or line up a point with its neighbour.

Picking points and handles

Click on a path with the Point picker and you can work with its anchor points. Select a point and drag to move it. The curves on either side follow, because the handles belong to the point. Select a point on a curve and you can reach its handles too. Drag a handle and you change the shape of the curve on that side of the point.

On a smooth point the two handles work together, so the curve flows through the point without a kink. That is usually what you want for lettering, organic shapes and logos.

Breaking a smooth point with Alt

Sometimes you do want a kink. The top of a heart, the tip of a leaf or the point where a curve meets a straight edge all need a sharp change of direction. Hold Alt and the Point picker breaks a smooth point's handles, so that each side can be set on its own. The point then turns a corner, with independent curves leaving it in two directions.

It is easy to do this by accident, so if a curve suddenly develops a sharp turn after you edit it, think back to whether you were holding Alt. Undo is the quick fix.

Rounding corners on the canvas

The Point picker also brings live corner widgets. These let you drag to round a corner directly on the canvas. You can see the result as you go, which is much easier than guessing a number and checking.

This is handy for icons and interface shapes, where a slight rounding takes the harshness off a hard edge, and for heavy shapes where a sharp join looks wrong at large sizes. Vectornation also has a separate corner tool and a Corners command for choosing a type of corner and a radius, but for a quick visual adjustment the widgets are usually enough.

How it fits with the other tools

The Point picker works hand in hand with the tools that add, remove and convert points. If a curve needs an extra bend, add a point and then use the Point picker to place it. If a stretch has too many points, remove some and use the Point picker to tidy the handles that remain. For bigger clean-ups the refit and smooth commands may be quicker, but the Point picker is the final word on exactly where each point sits.

Habits that help

Zoom in. Points and handles are small, and working close up makes it far easier to grab the right one. Select only the points you mean to move; a stray extra point selected will move too and distort the shape. When a curve looks lumpy, look at the handles before adding more points, because the cause is often one handle that is too long or pointing the wrong way. Fewer, well placed points nearly always give a cleaner curve than many points pushed about.

Used this way, the Point picker turns a rough drawing into a clean, deliberate one, one point at a time, inside Vectornation by Zaweba.