| » Forum Index » Problems and solutions » Topic: Stroke path |
|
Posted on 31/07/09 3:08:49 PM |
|
Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply  |
Stroke path
Hello, I'm sure there is a simple solution to this, but when I want to stroke a path, unless I actually select the brush tool. I get a jagged (or slightly pixellated line). Is there a setting I am missing? It's not a big deal, just a pain to have to go to the brush tool every time. And, if I am making a shape, duplicating it then transforming it and moving it, so in effect 2 actions, is the easiest way to repeat this in the actions palette, which I have been doing? |
Posted on 31/07/09 5:08:07 PM |
|
GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4057 Reply  |
Stroke path
Hi Deborah, If I understand your queries correctly you need to select the brush tool in order stroke the path with whichever brush is selected. Quick way to select the brush tool is to hit 'B' on the keyboard and then 'V' to get back to the Move tool. The one big pain about keyboard moves is when you are actually creating some text and you hit the 'V' (or any other) key ..... 'cos you type a 'V'! If you transform a shape you can repeat the transformation by either going to Edit>Transform>Again or just use Cmd>Shift>T. This will take into account any move you made before hitting 'Enter'. Does this help? Gordon _________________ Maturity is knowing when and where to be immature |
Posted on 01/08/09 1:15:09 PM |
|
Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply |
Re: Stroke path
Hello Gordon, Am enclosing two screen shots - 1 where the brush tool is selected, before I stroke the path, and 2 where the brush is not selected, ending up with two different results. The thing is I don't remember having to select the brush tool before stroking a path. Or maybe I'm just going senile! And for the transformation, as I was also moving the shape as well, that didn't work, so I had to record it as an action. Thanks anyway.  |
Posted on 01/08/09 4:57:45 PM |
|
Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Stroke path
Hi Deborah I'm not sure that I have understood the issue correctly, so forgive me if I'm teaching granny etc. The path will be stroked with whichever tool you choose and it will apply the current settings for that tool. For example if the paintbrush is set to jitter or scatter at 50% opacity, then that setting will be applied. With the pen selected, you can right click and the dropdown box will be displayed. Alternatively you can find stroke path in the paths tab. I think the issue could be that you are moving from a vector to pixels and therefore the resolution of the file is critical. A file of 16 X 20 inches at 300 ppi will give a much smoother finish than a similar file at 72 ppi. Also, a vector can still look jagged on a monitor, even at high resolution, until you zoom in to the image. You will see in the image I've attached that the line from the dropdown was stroked with a large soft brush and then the process was repeated with a hard smaller brush with using white paint. The red line was created on a second path using a hard edged eraser to expose the background layer. The original file was 12 X 8 inches at 300ppi and the line was relatively smooth. I do hope this helps. Nick  |
Posted on 01/08/09 5:13:29 PM |
|
Deborah Morley
Makeover Magician Posts: 1319 Reply |
Re: Stroke path
Thanks Nick, Call me granny from now on. For some reason, I have never used the dropdown for stroke path, and it was set to pencil, hence the bad circle in my 2nd image. I was hoping it was something really simple and it was. Thanks again Deborah |
Posted on 01/08/09 5:26:37 PM |
|
Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply |
Re: Stroke path
So glad to have helped. Nick |