Drawing lines

You can draw a free-form line using the pencil, or you can draw a straight line using the line tool. To practice using these tools:

Pencil

  1. Select File > New.
  2. The New Document dialog appears. Simply click the OK button.
  3. The name of your first animation frame appears in the frames window. If you want to change the name of your frame, double click the old name and enter a new one.
  4. Select the pencil tool from the toolbox by clicking it once.
  5. Move the pointer into the animation window.
  6. The pointer changes to a pencil.
  7. Hold the mouse button down while you move (drag) the pencil.
  8. A line appears conforming to the movement of the pencil. Notice that as you move the pencil, the values of X and Y change, showing you the coordinates of the pencil’s position.
  9. Release the mouse button.
  10. Your pencil no longer draws a line.

Line

  1. Select the line tool from the toolbox by clicking it once.
  2. Move the pointer into the animation frame.
  3. The pointer changes to a cross.
  4. Drag the cross a short distance in the animation frame.
  5. A straight line appears. Notice that the line follows the cross and always draws a straight line from the starting point to the cross.
  6. Release the mouse button to end the line.
  7. Your animation frame should have two different kinds of lines.

You can alter lines by changing their thickness. To do this:

  1. Select Edit > Clear. The animation frame becomes blank. You can always clear a frame if you don’t like something that you have drawn.
  2. Click the pen size button in the toolbox and keep pressing the mouse button. AM displays a menu that allows you to choose a thicker pen size.
  3. Select a thicker line from this menu.
  4. Draw a line with the pencil tool or the line tool. The line is thicker than before.

You use the straight-line tool to draw straight lines or a shape that has several straight edges. You use the pencil tool to draw a line that is irregular or curved, or to draw freehand shapes.

For example, compare the two flowers below. The line tool created the flower on the left, and the pencil tool created the flower on the right.


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