The Draw mode for vector layers is essentially a 2D drawing program. You can draw lines and curves,
reshape existing curves, and manipulate objects in various ways. There are a couple
ways that Moho differs from other drawing programs. First, everything you draw in Moho
is a set of points and curves. In many programs, when you draw a circle, you get a circle
object, or you may type some text to create a text object. In Moho, once you've created the circle
or the text, there's no difference between them whatsoever - they're both collections of
curves. One happens to be in the shape of a circle, and the other in the shape of some text.
There are advantages in treating all objects the same: first, you never have to worry
about what type of object you're working with - the answer is always the same: a set of
points and curves. The other advantage is that any operation you can perform on hand-drawn
curves can be performed on text, or a circle, or whatever.
The other feature of Moho's drawing mode that is different from many other drawing programs
is the concept of "welding". In Moho, two points can be "welded" together into a single point.
In fact, any number of points can be welded together. When points are welded together, moving
one of them moves them all, along with any curves that pass through that point. This
is particularly useful when you start to animate objects. For example, if you want to move
a character's nose, then welding it to the face might not be a bad idea. That way, however
you distort the nose or the face, they'll always stay connected.
Drawing Tools
The following tools are available when you're working in Draw mode. They all live in the toolbar
at the left of the main window. All of these tools are used by selecting them from the toolbar
then clicking and dragging in the working area of the main window. If you hold the mouse over a
tool, a tooltip will appear with the name of the tool if you need a quick reminder. Also, some tools
have a shortcut key that can be used to activate them. If a tool has such a shortcut, this will
show up in the tooltip as well (or you can check the
keyboard shortcut
appendix).
Select Points
Many of the following tools work only on the currently selected points. This is the tool you use
to select/de-select points. This tool can be used in a few different ways. The most basic way to
select points is to drag a rectangle around them. Also, using this tool you can click on a
single point to select it. The third method of selection is to click on a curve to select the
entire object. Finally, clicking on a filled-in area will also select an entire object. Each of
these selection methods is illustrated below:
Modifier keys: By holding the <shift> key, you can extend a selection. Otherwise, you will always start a new selection when using this tool. Holding the <alt> key will prevent this tool from selecting curves or shapes when you click on them (sometimes when things get crowded it's hard not to click on a shape by accident).
The behavior of the selection tool can be modified in the Moho preferences dialog. If you want to only use the selection rectangle, and none of the other selection methods described above, go to the preferences dialog and un-check "Curve and shape selection".
The selection commands in the Edit menu are also very useful for managing selections. These are described in the Menu reference.
The currently selected points may be deleted by pressing the <delete> or <backspace> keys.
Translate
The Translate tool is used to move a group of selected points. It operates only on the currently
selected points, unless fewer than two points are selected - then it operates on the nearest
point to where you clicked.
It's important to note that this tool, like most of the Moho drawing tools, modifies points, not curves. If you select all the points in an object and use this tool, the entire object will move. However, if you only select some of the points, then you'll end up distorting the object (which can be very useful). In the picture below, the selected points are highlighted in red. Notice the effect of using the Translate tool on these points.
Holding the <shift> key while using the Translate tool will constrain the selected points to only move vertically or horizontally.
The Translate tool can also be used in conjunction with Moho's welding feature. To weld two points together, use the Translate tool to drag one point on top of another (you must drag just one point to weld, not a group of points). While dragging the first point on top of the second, press the spacebar to weld them together into one point. Be sure to press the spacebar before letting go of the mouse button.
Scale
The Scale tool also operates on the currently selected group of points. Two or more points must
be selected to use this tool. Click near the outer boundary of the selected group of points.
Then, drag toward the center to make the selection smaller, or drag outwards to make it larger.
Holding the <shift> key while using the Scale tool will tell Moho to resize the selection by
the same amount horizontally and vertically (if you drag in a diagonal direction), or to resize
the selection in only the horizontal or vertical direction (if you drag the mouse horizontally
or vertically).
Rotate
The Rotate tool also operates on the currently selected group of points. Two or more points must
be selected to use this tool. Click near the outer boundary of the selected group of points. Next,
drag the mouse in a circle around the selection to rotate the points. Holding the <shift> key
while using the Rotate tool will constrain the rotation to 45 degree increments.
Add Point
The Add Point tool is what you use to draw curves in Moho. Just click and drag in the working
area of the main window to create a new curve segment. There are three variations to using
the Add Point tool - they differ in where the original click takes place. The first way to
use this tool is to click in empty space and drag - this will start a new curve. The second
technique is to click just past the end of an existing curve to add another segment to that
curve. The final way to add points is to click on a curve segment to add a point there,
then drag it to the final desired position. Each of these uses of the Add Point tool is shown
below.
The Add Point tool can also be used to weld two points. Click and drag in one of the ways described above to add a new point. Drag the new point on top of an existing point, and press the spacebar before releasing the mouse. An example is shown below:
Delete Edge
It's easy to delete points - just select them and press backspace or delete. However, sometimes
you may want keep two points, but break the curve connecting them. To do this, use the Delete
Edge tool. Just use it to click on the curve segment you want to delete and it will disappear.
Rectangle
The Rectangle tool is a shortcut for creating a rectangular shape. Just click and drag to draw
a rectangle. Hold the <shift> key to constrain the shape to a square. Hold the <alt> key
to make the click point the center of the rectangle, instead of one of its corners. There's
nothing special about rectangles created with this tool - they're just four points and four curve
segments and can be manipulated just like anything else. You could create the same shape with the
Add Point tool, but for a simple rectangle, this tool is quicker.
Oval
The Oval tool is a shortcut for creating an oval shape. Just click and drag to draw
an oval. Hold the <shift> key to constrain the shape to a circle. Hold the <alt> key
to make the click point the center of the circle. There's nothing special about ovals created
with this tool - they're just four points and four curve segments and can be manipulated just
like anything else. You could create the same shape with the Add Point tool, but for a simple
oval, this tool is quicker.
Curvature
This tool works on the currently selected points, or on the nearest point if less than two
points are selected. It adjusts the level of smoothness of the curves passing through the
selected points. Drag to the left to make the curves less smooth, and drag to the right to make
the curves rounder.
Noise
The Noise tool works on a group of selected points. Click and drag to move the points around
in random directions. This tool can be used for example when you want to duplicate an object
using Copy and Paste, but you don't want the new object to look exactly like the original. Just
use this tool to distort it a little bit.
Horizontal Shear
This tool works on a group of two or more selected points. Click and drag to shear, or slant
the group of points to the left or right.
Vertical Shear
The Vertical Shear tool works exactly like the Horizontal Shear tool, except that it slants
a selected group of points vertically instead of horizontally.
Freehand Drawing
The Freehand tool lets you draw complex shapes by just dragging the mouse around. You can adjust the
sensitivity of the Freehand tool at the bottom of the Draw mode toolbar. After using the Freehand
tool, you will often want to go back and use the Translate tool to modify the result, delete unnecessary
points, and weld points together.
Move Layer
Use this tool to move the entire layer. It doesn't matter what points are selected - everything
in the layer will move when you use this tool. Holding the <shift> key while using the Move Layer
tool will constrain the layer to only move vertically or horizontally.
Scale Layer
Use this tool to resize the entire layer.
Holding the <shift> key while using the Scale Layer tool will tell Moho to resize the layer
by the same amount horizontally and vertically (if you drag in a diagonal direction), or to resize
the selection in only the horizontal or vertical direction (if you drag the mouse horizontally
or vertically).
Rotate Layer
Use this tool to rotate the entire layer. Holding the <shift> key
while using the Rotate Layer tool will constrain the rotation to 45 degree increments.
Set Layer Origin
Click anywhere in the layer to set the origin to that point. The origin of a layer is indicated by
the crosshair displayed when editing that layer. The origin is the point that the layer rotates
around when using the Rotate Layer tool, and is also the point that the layer resizes around when
using the Scale Layer tool.
Drawing Modifiers
The following buttons appear in the toolbar as well, but work a little differently. Instead of selecting one of these to use in the working area, just click one of these buttons to modify the currently selected points.
Peak
Click this button to turn smooth curves into sharp corners. It affects all curves that pass
through currently selected points. At these selected points, the curves will change from
smoothly bending to sharp corners. (The Rectangle tool, for example, creates curves with this
setting turned on.)
Smooth
This button has the opposite effect of the Peak button above. It converts sharp corners into
smooth curves.
Horizontal Flip
Click this button to flip a selected group of points horizontally.
Vertical Flip
Click this button to flip a selected group of points vertically.
Working with Text
To create a text object, just choose the Draw->Insert Text... menu command. Type in the text you want, select a font, and click OK. The text will appear in your document, pre-filled with plain black color, and it can be resized and positioned just like any other object.
Remember: there's nothing special about a text object. It can be manipulated just like anything else. This includes using any of the drawing tools to distort its shape, or to add new points in the middle of a character. This also means that in order to move or rotate a text object, you need to select all the points in the object. This is easy to do using the Select Points tool - just click on the filled in area of the text to select all of it.