| Vector Drawing Tutorial for Paint Shop Pro - Page 4 | |
(If you arrived on this page from a search, you can start the tutorial on page one.)
STEP 5 ....FRONT LEGS & HEAD
Select the ellipse on the FRONT layer with the Pen tool, hold down Ctrl key and ADD 14 nodes, 7 on each side (refer to screenshot). The top ones will be used to shape the head and ears and the rest for kitty's legs and feet.
Refer to previous instructions if you need to and, with PEN tool, change the node type to CUSP for the 6 nodes you just added to top of head. Hold down Shift key to select more than 1 node at a time or drag a selection around the 6 nodes. Do not include top center node in the selection. After changing the 6 nodes, select the top center node and change the node type to SYMMETRIC.
PSP 7 users: Remember, use Object Selector, Node Edit & Ctrl key to add nodes and Node Edit, right click to change Node Type!
Below those 6 nodes is another pair of nodes. Push those inward somewhat to create a neck. The head is a slightly flattened oval.
Next ...let's give kitty some ears! It'll be easier if you zoom in for a closer look. Select the Pan (arrow) tool and Zoom by +5 steps. Move the nodes and node handles around to make 2 pointy ears as shown here. The ears point nearly straight up. Your kitty doesn't have to match mine exactly....but do try to get both sides of face symmetrical.
Now move down to center bottom node. Select and drag this node upwards about 1/3 the length of the body. This will be the dividing line between the 2 front legs. Move the node handles until they point straight down, overlapping the line segment itself. (refer to screenshot). Arrange the rest of the bottom nodes into the shape of 2 front paws. Zooming in a few steps will make adjusting node handles a little easier.
Remember to change the Node Type to CUSP where you need a sharp turn in the line segment (ankle) and to SYMMETRIC when you need a nice rounded shape on both sides of the node (toes) !
Now look your kitty over and make any adjustments. Fine tune the shape of the head, re-position or adjust size of the tail or hips...or whatever is needed before moving on to the details. I decided to make kitty a little slimmer and tilt his head a tiny bit.
Would it help if I showed you where I placed each node? Hopefully, you can get a pretty good idea of node placement by the red dots in this screenshot. Simply put....nodes are placed whenever a change of direction is desired along a line segment. This would include modifying the shape of a curve or changing an angle. Nodes that are 'hidden' behind the shape in front of it are shown in faded red (aka pink)! ;-)
