Anchoring nodes
When you apply a brush stroke to a path whose length and stroke width are different from the length and height of the stroke definition box, the stroke will be stretched or squashed, and its aspect ratio will be changed. For example, if you make a stroke in the shape of an arm and apply it to a long path, all parts of the arm will be equally stretched. Instead, you can use the anchoring feature to maintain the proper proportions in the hand, while letting the sleeve stretch with the path.
In the top image, the stroke has no anchored nodes, so it becomes stretched out evenly along the path. The second stroke has anchored nodes at the beginning and ending points of the path and only the middle points (the sleeve) are stretched along the path.
Anchoring nodes
To anchor one or more nodes on a path within a stroke:
- Open the Edit Stroke window (as described in Making a custom stroke or Editing strokes).
- Select the path nodes you want to anchor. (For more on selecting nodes, see Selection tools.)
- Choose one of the following options:
- To anchor the nodes to the path's starting point, right-click, and then click Anchor To Start from the context menu.
- To anchor the nodes to the path's ending point, right-click, and then click Anchor to End from the context menu.
- To anchor the nodes to an arbitrary point along the
path, first anchor the points to the starting or ending point, and then drag
the anchor marker along the red arrow to the position you want with the
Anchor Point tool
.
Expression Design automatically chooses this tool for you when you anchor points. For example, if you place the
anchor point one-third the length of the red arrow away from the starting
point, the nodes will always stay 1/3 of the way along the path, even when
the path is stretched.
All the nodes in the hand and the sleeve cuff are anchored to the end of the path. Note that the anchor icon is highlighted with a diamond shape when selected.
Unanchoring nodes
To unanchor one or more nodes, choose the node or nodes with the Anchor Point tool, the Direct Selection tool, or the Lasso Selection tool. Right-click, and then click Release Anchor from the context menu. You can also unanchor all of the nodes associated with an anchor by right-clicking the anchor with the Anchor Point tool, and then clicking Release Anchor.
Selecting anchor markers
You can select an anchor marker by clicking it with the Anchor Point tool. Once selected, you can change the anchor marker's position by dragging it along the reference backbone (the red arrow).
Selecting anchored nodes
When you click on an anchor marker with the Anchor Point tool, all of the nodes associated with that anchor are selected.