Paintbrush queston

[FlashVeteran]

i have been using flash to trace my drawings so far, and i want to start using illustrator because i know its better for that sort of thing. However everytime i try to draw a line that is too close to the last line it just remakes that line.

Instead of pressing ctr + left click (deselect) after every line i draw, is there a way to make it stop auto selecting the last line drawn? I personally do not like this feature, it slows me down a lot. Thanks in advance!

 

[FlashVeteran]

Just to let you all know, i have looked in preferences and didn't find anything, and i looked in the help file but didn't find it (I'm not saying its not there). I normally don't like to bother people with this sort of thing, but if such an option does exist it is very obscure and well hidden, I just cant find it!

 

[apepp]

...not for the pen tool there isn't or the line tool, you can for the brush tool or pencil tool by double clicking the tool in the toolbar, then turning this feature off...

...the pen tool behaves differently as you have discovered, the last point is always selected on the line, as the tool likes to assume you want to continue around a corner or produce a curve...

...so there are pros and cons to this feature...

...most users with the pen tool draw and then modify on the fly by pulling the control anchors in mid stroke so they can curve as they go, add points, delete points or adjust a curve by pressing the alt/option key to switch to the anchor select tool, all without changing to another tool in the tool bar...

...the quickest way to deselect when you have your line as needed is to press control/command key to switch to the select tool and click on the artboard...

...the other way is the keystroke control/command + shift + A...

Andrew

 

[apepp]

...also note the 'edit selected path' value, you can lower this so the path doesn't get affected too easily if you have "keep selected" turned on...

...i personally have this set to the lowest value of "2"...

andrew

 

[apepp]

...forgot to mention, it is worth setting this as the default is you wish by double clicking the brush tool without any docs open, change the settings, quit and relaunch just to ensure they have stuck...

...do the same for the pencil tool if you wish...

Andrew

 

[ERIXWORX]

What about using a separate layer for the trace? I usually create a new layer and lock the layer beneath with the original art.

'There is no LEASH LAW for the IMAGINATION!'
myspace.com/erixworx

 

[apepp]

...yes, using a separate layer is probably recommended for tracing...

...this won't however change the way the paintbrush works in default settings when drawing a line next to another line previously created...

Andrew