This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Curves
The Pencil tool is best used for drawing many curves, as indicated previously. The Pen tool is great for drawing point-to-point curves. This can provide a wavelike effect.
To use the Pen tool, select it from the toolbox, and draw a vertical line on one side of your stage by clicking where you want your curve to start, dragging down, and releasing. Then, do the same on the other side of the stage. When you release, a curved line will connect your two control nodes.
NEW TERM
Nodes: Nodes in Flash are control points along or at the end of a line, curve, or shape. They can be selected and moved to alter the shape of a line or form.
Images made with the Pen tool often turn out a bit differently than expected. It is often best to draw an image approximating the one you want, and then edit it. To edit an image made with the Pen tool, use the Select tool. When the tool is over the end of a line, the cursor appears as a right angle. At other points of the line, it appears as an arc. In both cases, click and drag to alter the curve. Figure 3.4 shows a curve being edited by moving a control point.
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Figure 3.4 Editing a Bézier curve made with the Pen tool.
TIP
To move the entire image, with the Select tool on, click at any point on the curve. The cursor appears as a directional box with four arrows. Click and drag to reposition your curve.