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Photoshop or some other vector drawer like in flash?


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vectordrawer

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Im looking for somethign that will help me trace over images in photoshop? I hate the pen tool in photoshop and illustrator for making lines and then curving them..... I really prefer the line drawer and manipulator in flash which just allowes you to draw a straight line and then curve it how you want with your cursor.... Unlike the penn tool where the curves go all over the place and just makes a mess.......... Has photoshop got any hidden tools like the flash vector drawer that i can use? I have access to illustraot too if that got any like flash which will make tracing over images and lines easier? Thanks guys!
 
Your best bet is honestly the pen tool. I know it's a nightmare to work with at first, but once you nail it it's a great addition to your skillset.

I hope it's ok for me to post this, as it's on my own blog, but we published a tutorial specifically about helping people learn the pen tool, and solve the problem of the lines going all over the place: http://psd.fanextra.com/tutorials/become-a-master-of-the-pen-tool-in-under-30-minutes/
 
Do you realize that you can actually reshape a Work Path in Photoshop much as you are describing, by placing the Selection tool cursor on the path between the points?
 
Great :). Don't worry about early struggles, we all struggled with the pen tool at one point.
 
@Trevor - I didn't know that, cheers for the heads up.

Overall though, I really don't think you can beat the pen tool for drawing Vector. Ai Pen tool is my 'go to tool' for most projects. Like Tomross has said, once you get over the initial struggle, it's awesome.
 
I think you can go a long way just by understanding the different pen tool icons. Most of these automatically change with context, so when you see the icon, you know what's going to happen when you click. Together with the Ctrl (Cmd) key to spring to the Selection tool, and Alt (Opt) keys to make corners, and you are good to go. It just ain't that hard. The tip about grabbing and dragging the path between points also works while creating the path, and springing to the Selection tool with Ctrl (Cmd) keys.

The other trick is joining two paths together. Add a point where you want the break, and immediately delete it (with delete key). Do the same with the other path, then hover over one of the new end points until you see the chain icon (bottom left below) click down then click again on another end point. Etc.

Pen Tool Icons.jpg
 
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