How to Curve in Corel Draw

How To Design Curves In Corel Draw

Curves in CorelDRAW can be as simple as a single straight line, or complex open or closed shapes comprised of curved or straight segments. In this tutorial, we'll look at what defines a curve, the various curve drawing tools, and working with the nodes that comprise curves.

Introduction to Curves

Acurve is an object that follows a specific path which gives it its defining shape. A curve can be a straight line, an open curved line, or a closed, multi-segment path. Every curve has nodes, which can be displayed and manipulated with theShape tool.

Aside from spirals, freehand lines, and Bezier curves, most CorelDRAW objects are not created as curves.

Click on any of the images below to view full-size.

Here's a rectangle, which is listed as such in theObjectsdocker.

This rectangle hasnodes, which can be seen when activating theShape tool and clicking the rectangle. But you can't do much with these nodes except change the shape of the corners.

You can also see nodes when selecting the rectangle with thePick tool – they are the tiny white squares. But again, you can't use them to change the shape.

If you want to work with these nodes to change the shape, you first need to convert the rectangle to a curve. Do this by either clicking theConvert to Curve icon, by right-clicking and choosingConvert to Curves, or pressingCtrl + Q.

Now acurve is listed in theObjectsdocker.

When you use theShape tool now, you can access each node individually. Three nodes are white squares, and the arrowhead node at the start or end of the curve is a line node.

A node you select turns blue, and you can drag nodes to change the shape.

Manipulating Nodes

• You can marquee-select multiple nodes
• Delete a node by double-clicking on it
• Add a node by double-clicking along a line or curve

You can change the look of nodes by going toTools >Options >CorelDRAW. On theNodes and Handles tab, you can set node display size and colors. The three shapes represent the three types of nodes:cusp,smooth, andsymmetrical.

The square nodes of our rectangle-shaped curve arecusp nodes, which means nodes that hold a sharp corner.

Let's change these to smooth nodes. To do this, we need to convert the straight segments to curves. Select allnodes on this object and clickConvert to Curve. Then clickSmooth node.

Working with Nodes

Now all segment transitions are smooth. In addition to moving nodes themselves, you can use a node'scontrol handles to control curvature. Right-clicking on a node enables you to change its type, such as changing asmooth node to acusp.

For acusp node, use the control handles to create a sharp corner.

The last node type issymmetrical, which has a diamond shape. Symmetrical nodes have the same tangency and curvature on both sides of the node.

Now that we understand how nodes can be adjusted, let's look at some of the curve drawing tools, which can be found in this flyout toolbar.

The most basic curve tool is2-Point Line. You can drag out individual segments, and with theShift key pressed you'll snap to angles at 15-degree increments.

You can also start a next segment at the end node of an existing segment. Once a curve is closed, you can give it a fill.

This object is created as a curve, so you can go straight to theShape tool to start node editing.

For any curve tool, look in theProperty Bar to see additional options. For2-Point Line, there are options to make perpendicular lines, or lines tangent to a curve.

WithFreehand you can drag to create a curve. IfShift is pressed while dragging, the segment will be straight. Nodes are placed where the curves change direction or angle.

Polyline is similar toFreehand, except that you can continue drawing multiple connected segments. If you move the mouse instead of dragging, you'll create a straight-line segment. Double-clicking finishes the curve.

With theBezier curve tool, you can click repeatedly to create continuous straight-line segments.

Creating Curves

To create curves, start by dragging to define the starting direction, then click the next point and drag, and so on. Clicking without dragging adds a straight segment. Pressing theSpacebar finishes the curve.

While dragging to adjust curvature, if you pressShift you can snap to standard angles. When pressingAlt you can move the node itself.

By default, these nodes aresmooth nodes. But pressing theC key while moving a control handle creates acusp node.

Double-clicking theBezier icon opens the options for this tool, which also apply toFreehand. Here you can adjust corners and straight lines, and control auto-join.

ThePen tool is similar toBezier but has thePreview mode option. With preview, you can see how the segment will look before you draw it.

TheB Spline tool enables you to draw smooth curves, by setting control points that shape the curve without breaking it into segments. By default, the nodes aren't on the curve itself. But if you press theV key while clicking points, you'll create straight segments. Double-clicking ends the curve.

The3 Point Curve tool is great for drawingarcs without worrying about node control handles. Click and drag between the start and end points, then move the mouse and click the third point.

In the next flyout toolbar,Live Sketch is great for working with pen tablets, mimicking how you would hand-sketch lines and curves. You can set the timer after which strokes will be converted into curves, as well as the distance from the curve within which new strokes will be added to existing curves

Finally, theSmart Drawing tool tries to guess what you're drawing when dragging the mouse. You can adjust the levels of shape recognition and smoothing.

Yourfreehandcurves are then converted intovector lines or curves.

Once you have a grasp of how curves and nodes work, it's easy to create or trace the exact shape you want.

As an example, say you want to trace around the cat's mask in this document. You can use theBezier tool, setting a red color, and clicking and dragging all the way around, to make a smooth closed curve.

You don't have to worry about being overly exact, because you can use theShape tool to adjustnodes, or toadd nodes where needed.

For another example here's an asteroid imported into the document, which will also be traced. This timeFreehand is used to trace with line segments, double-clicking after each segment to continue the next segment, and clicking once to close the curve.

Then with theShape tool, select allnodes andcovert to curve, then make the nodessmooth.

Now the nodes can be adjusted to follow the outline.

leefluelike.blogspot.com

Source: https://megaknit.com/how-to-design-curves-in-corel-draw/

Share this post