This section describes the tools and techniques you need to create and edit objects in e-Picture documents. Topics include drawing and editing objects, selecting objects, and applying filters, special effects, and composite methods.
In e-Picture, you create objects using the drawing tools. Most tools create vector objects (lines and curves defined mathematically with vectors). You choose stroke and fill options for vector objects. The paintbrush tool draws bitmapped objects and has only stroke options.
As you draw objects they appear in the document window and in the Object panel. You edit some object properties, such as size, orientation, and location in the document window. You edit other object properties, such as color, opacity, and filters using the Tool Inspector or the Object panel menus.
To select individual objects, you use the arrow tool. To select areas of pixels, you use the bitmap selection tools-the freehand selection tool, the rectangular selection tool, and the elliptical selection tool.
The Tool Inspector contains the stroke and fill options for drawn objects. You can use the Tool Inspector to set options either before you draw the object or anytime the object is selected. When you select a tool, the Tool Inspector changes to display the options for that tool. For example, when you select the rectangle tool, the Tool Inspector contains the color selectors, the width setting, and the menus for selecting dash and join styles. When you select the paintbrush tool, the Tool Inspector contains color selectors and the size, ratio, pressure, hardness, and angle settings for brushes.
When a drawing tool is selected, four boxes appear immediately above the color selection area in the Tool Inspector. Clicking the transparent box, the solid color box, the gradient box, or the patterns box brings up new options in the Tool Inspector. For more information see, Drawing with a transparent stroke or fill, Drawing with a solid color, Drawing with a gradient, or Drawing with a pattern.
When you create an object you set options for the stroke and the fill. Stroking creates a line that defines the object outline. Filling paints the area inside the stroke.
Note: Press Shift as you draw to constrain the shape of the object. The line and poly line tools are constrained to multiples of 45 degrees. The rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, and arc tools are constrained to squares, rounded squares, circles, and perfect arcs.
Once you complete the object, it appears in the Objects panel. To edit the object, you change the settings in the Tool Inspector or use the controls and commands in the Objects panel. See Moving and aligning objects. To change the location, size or orientation of an object, you edit it in the document window. For more information, see Moving and aligning objects and Resizing and rotating objects.
You can draw objects that fall outside of the canvas (the area bounded by the limits). These objects can then move into or out of the image during an animation.The gray areas outside of the canvas is referred to as the overscan. When you turn off overscan, you see only the objects that are inside the canvas. You can set overscan for each individual view.
For information on resizing the canvas, see Changing canvas properties.
Click the Overscan box in the lower right corner of the document window.
To draw an object with no border or fill, click the transparent button in the Tool Inspector. Handles appear as you draw, and when selected, a transparent object is outlined with a thin red line.
To set a solid stroke or fill color, you use the
color
selectors in the Tool Inspector. You can choose to use colors
from
different color models or sample colors from an existing document.
Color Model |
Options: |
---|---|
RGB | Mix color using Red, Green, and Blue values (0-255) |
HSB | Mix
color using Red, Green, and Blue values (0-255) Set Hue angle (0 to 360) Set Saturation (0 to 1) Set Brightness Value (0 to 1) |
Wheel | Click
location to select a color Drag slider to change the displayed colors |
Picker | Drag an image into the box. Move the cursor into the image and click with the eyedropper to select a color. |
CMYK | Mix color using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black values (0-255) |
Note: Using an alpha channel to set object transparency against a background applies only to PNG files. Setting transparency using an alpha channel differs from setting GIF transparency in that alpha channels let you designate a specific level of transparency.This preciseness makes it easier to blend individual pixels into the browser background. Netscape Navigator 4.04 supports PNG files, but not PNG alpha channels. Internet Explorer 4 supports PNG alpha channels but the results can be inconsistent, especially when you're setting transparency for a gradient.
e-Picture allows you to create your own gradient using multiple colors. A simple gradient starts with one color and moves to a second color. By default, the starting and ending colors are black and white. You can select any color from the Color panel for the gradient bounding boxes. To create different effects, you can change the gradient angle or offset, or select a pattern for the gradient.
The midpoint of the gradient is halfway between the two bounding boxes. As you drag the midpoint, the location where the colors are 50/50 changes. The color values remain the same. To create more complex gradients, you can add additional color boxes and midpoints, edit the midpoint color mode, or change the gradient blending mode.
The gradient parameters control the offset and angle of the gradient. The offset indicates the percentage of the gradient displaying the beginning color. The angle displays the angle of the gradient from its starting position.
You can add a color at any point in the gradient to create a gradient with multiple blends between colors. When you add a new color box, a new midpoint is added. The midpoint is automatically set to be halfway between the two bounding boxes that define that gradient segment.
When a gradient is created, the midpoint lies exactly halfway between the starting and ending colors. You can change the appearance of the gradient by centering, deleting, or changing the color mode of the midpoint.
Note: When you right-click on a locked color box or midpoint, the options you choose apply only to the locked box or midpoint.
By default, the midpoint is where the starting and ending colors for the gradient are 50/50. You can change the way the gradient colors blend together.
After you've created a gradient, you can save it in the Gradient Catalog. e-Pictures also comes with a set of preset gradients which are stored in the Gradient Catalog.
.
Ctrl-drag the gradient from the Preview box to the Gradient catalog.
Ctrl-drag the gradient from the Preview box to the desktop. Choose Copy here from the menu.
Double-click the thumbnail to the right of a gradient to display it in the Preview box.
Drag the file from the desktop into the Preview box.
Select the gradient in the Catalog and press the Delete key.
e-Picture allows you to use an image as a pattern to stroke or fill anobject.
Line attributes are available whenever you're using a drawing tool. These attributes control the line width, whether a line is solid or dashed, the dash pattern, the line cap style (the appearance of endpoints) and the line join style (the appearance of corners).
Caps style |
Example |
---|---|
Round | ![]() |
Butt |
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Square |
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Arrow 1 |
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Arrow 2 |
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Arrow 3 |
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Circle |
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Diamond |
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Nail |
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Join style |
Example |
---|---|
None | ![]() |
Miter | ![]() |
Round | ![]() |
Bevel | ![]() |
When you're using the paintbrush tool, you can set the brush options for the stroke. These options include brush size, ratio, pressure, and hardness.
Note: Changing the brush angle has no effect if the brush ratio is set to 1.
The Bezier tool lets you draw straight
lines and
smooth curves. Each time you click in the document window, a
point appears.
You use these points to edit the line or shape of the curve.
When drawing
a smooth curve, place an anchor point at the beginning and end
of the curve
(not at the tip). For best results, place the anchor points as
far apart
as you can and use as few as possible.
When you drag to draw a curve, you create a smooth curve, connected by smooth points. When you click rather than drag while creating a shape, you create a sharp curve created with a corner point. When selected, smooth points display direction lines. To change the shape of the curve, you drag a direction line. As you drag, the curved segments on both sides of the point adjust simultaneously. When selected, corner points do not have direction lines. You drag corner points to change the curve.
Note: Press the Insert key as you select a corner point to turn it into a smooth point with directional lines. Press the Delete key as you select a smooth point to turn it into a corner point.
The text tool lets you enter and edit text anywhere in a document window. You select the font, spacing, size, shear, and alignment of the text in the Tool Inspector.
How you select an object depends on the action you're taking. When you want to move, resize, or rotate an object, you select it in the document window. You can select multiple objects only to move them or change their alignment.
When you want to edit the individual properties of an object, such as its color or opacity, you select it in the Object panel. For more information, see Editing objects with the Tool Inspector and Editing objects with the Objects panel.
Click the arrow tool, then click the object in the document window. Press the Tab key to select the objects in order of creation.
Click the arrow tool, then hold down Alt as you click the object in the document window.
Click the arrow tool and drag a box around the objects in the document window or Shift-click each object in the layer.
Press Alt+A or choose Selection> Select All Objects.
Choose Selection> Invert Object Selection.
To change the location of an object in the document window, you select it with the arrow tool. You can select multiple objects to move them as a group or change their alignment. To select multiple objects, click the arrow and drag to enclose all the objects. Objects in a multiple selection are surrounded by a thin, red line. When you align objects, the alignment is always based on the top object.
Click the arrow tool, select the object or objects, and drag.
Note: Press an arrow key on your keyboard to move selected objects one pixel at a time. Press Shift and an arrow key to moves objects 8 pixels at a time.
Click the arrow tool, drag a box around the objects, and drag.
To rotate or resize an object, you select it in the document window and use the handles to change its size or orientation.
Press: |
To do this: |
---|---|
X | rotate an object 1 degree clockwise |
Shift + X | rotate an object 8 degrees clockwise |
Z | rotate an object 1 degree counterclockwise |
Shift +Z | rotate an object 8 degrees counterclockwise |
Shift-click and drag a handle | resize an object maintaining proportions |
Ctrl + right arrow | increase the horizontal size by 1 pixel |
Ctrl + left arrow | reduce the horizontal size by 1 pixel |
Ctrl + up arrow | increase the vertical size by 1 pixel i |
Ctrl + down arrow | reduce the vertical size by 1 pixel |
Shift + right arrow | increase the horizontal size by 8 pixels |
Shift + left arrow | reduce the horizontal size by 8 pixels |
Shift +up arrow | increase the vertical size by 8 pixels |
Shift + down arrow | reduce the vertical size by 8 pixels |
You can convert any object to a bitmap selection. The bitmap selection retains the shape and transparency of the object and can be used as a mask for filtering or other bitmap image manipulation. The underlying object remains in the image unless you delete it from the Objects panel.
After you have converted an object to a bitmap (using the Object > Convert to Selection command), you can use the selection to crop a bitmap image. For example, you can draw a shape with the Bezier or paintbrush tool, or use a selection tool to select part of an imported bitmap image, and then crop the layer to that selection.
Choose Object > Crop to Bitmap Selection.
You select areas by dragging around an area using the freehand selection tool or one of the marquee selection tools. To soften the boundaries between moved or pasted selections and the surrounding pixels, you can use feathering and anti-aliasing.
Feathering a selection blurs the edges by building a transition between the edges of the selection and the surrounding pixels. This blurring can cause some loss of detail at the edges of the selection. Anti-aliasing smooths the jagged edges of a selection by softening the color transition between edge pixels and background pixels. Since only the edge pixels change, no detail is lost.
Click the rectangle or ellipse marquee tool and drag around the area.
Click the freehand selection tool and drag around the area.
Hold down Shift as you select.
Choose Selection> Select All Area.
To edit an object's properties, you click the object in the Objects panel and then use the tools and settings in the Tool Inspector. When you select an object in the Objects panel, the Tool Inspector changes to display the Filters and Composite tabs, the object name, and an Apply button. The Live updates option in the Tool Inspector lets you preview options as you edit.
Deselect the Live Update option.
The Objects panel lists the objects in the current layer, starting with the topmost object. Use the scroll bars or resize the panel to see additional objects. Press the Tab key to cycle through the objects.
You use this panel to change an object's position and opacity, to hide, show or lock an object. The commands in the Objects panel menu let you flatten objects, apply effects and filters, or to change the composite method.
Click the object name. The name is highlighted in the Object panel and handles appear around the object in the document window.
The Info section of the Objects panel displays the coordinates, width and height, and composite method of the selected object.
Click the Info triangle at the bottom of the Objects panel.
Each object on a layer has its own opacity. The opacity you set for the layer combines with the individual object opacity to determine how the object appears. For example, if you set an object's opacity to 50% and set the layer opacity to 50%, the object appears at 25% opacity.
You can choose to hide or show any object. You might want to hide objects while you're editing other objects on a layer or to make an object invisible for part of an animation.
Click the far left column in the Objects panel. The eye icon disappears indicating that the object is hidden. Click again to redisplay the object.
Locking an object lets you isolate part of a document so that it is not affected by changes that you make. This can be useful, for example, when you're working on objects that overlap. Any changes you make to a layer effect all the objects, however, even if the objects are locked.
Click the second column to the left of the object name in the Objects panel to lock the object. A lock icon appears in the column. Click the column again to unlock the object.
When you duplicate an object, the duplicate appears on top of the selected object. Use the arrow key to drag the duplicate to a new location. When you copy an object, you can choose where to place the pasted copy.
Select the object in the Objects panel and choose Duplicate from the Objects panel menu.
Select the object in the Objects panel and click the trash can or choose Delete from the Objects panel menu.
Select the object in the Objects panel and choose Edit> Copy.
You can change the position of an object in a layer by dragging the object up or down or by using the arrows in the Objects panel. For example, you might want to move text in front of or behind an object, or you may want to have a moving object in front of all the other objects in a layer. The object at the top of the Objects panel is in front of all the objects under it.
e-Picture lets you select from a wide variety of filters. Unlike other applications that only let you filter bitmaps, e-Picture lets you apply filters to individual vector objects, entire layers, or bitmaps. Objects can be edited even after you've applied a filter to them.
|
|
---|---|
Artistic | Oilify |
Blur | Blur |
Color |
Balance Brightness Contrast Levels Color Limit Replace Color |
Merge | Invert Maximum Minimum |
Noise | Add Noise |
Pixelate | Crystalize |
Sharpen | Sharpen |
Stylize |
Edge Detection Solarize |
In addition to filters, you can also add effects to individual objects. These effects change the appearance of the outside edge of the object.
Effect Name |
---|
Outer Shadow |
Outer Glow |
Inner Shadow |
Inner Glow |
Emboss and Bevel |
The composite method determines how the pixels in the object combine with underlying objects in the same layer.
Composite Method |
---|
Normal |
Multiply |
Screen |
Erase |
Add |
Subtract |
Darkest |
Lightest |
Difference |
Average |
Invert |
Dissolve |
Replace Hue |
Replace Saturation |
Replace Luminosity |
Replace Color |
XOR Mask |
Copy |
Over |
Filter |
There will be times when you will want to change a vector object into a bitmap object. For example, you might want to use the bitmap selection tools on the object. Flattening an object turns the object into a bitmap but its individual properties are lost. It can no longer be edited as an individual object.
You can also merge and flatten individual layers and entire images. For more information see, To convert a layer to a selection area:.
Warning: Do not flatten an object until you are sure you are finished editing it.