Modifying Drawings

1. The Selection tool can also be used to modify drawings. When you have this tool selected in the toolbox and move your cursor around a shape you have created that is not selected, the icon will change according to whether it is over a line, a corner or away from a shape.

2. If you are over a line and see the first icon, you can drag on the line and pull out a curve.

3. If you are over a corner and see the second icon, you can pull out the corner.

4. If you are over a line and hold down the ALT key, you can pull a corner point out of a line.

5. This is a good method to quickly sculpt shapes into the form you require. In the last chapter, we saw how the Subselection tool used in conjunction with the Pen tool gives very precise control over your drawing. Sometimes, however, it is better to work quicker and rougher and create your basic shape before refining it further, rather than being very careful and drawing a complex shape from the beginning.

6. If you select a shape with the Selection tool and then click on the Straighten option – the outline of the shape will become straighter and more angular. Clicking on the Smoothing option will make your shape have smoother curves.

7. Turning on Snap to Objects will give you a slight magnetic pull when one shape is near another.

8. When you have selected a shape with the Selection tool, you can see the properties of the Shape in the Properties Inspector. Expanding this window allows you to see the W, H, X, and Y figures. By entering X and Y co-ordinates in Properties Inspector, the shape can be moved in exact amounts.