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An Introduction to Vector Drawing with Paint Shop Pro X

From Arizona Kate, Guest Contributor, for About.com

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Bugs with Boots Cartoon Drawing

Bug with Boots Cartoon Drawing

Ms. Ladybug looks 'cute as a bug' in her new boots!

This stylish little cartoon was created using the vector tools in Paint Shop Pro X. No drawing skills needed! Everything is created with preset shapes! Tips for new users included.

Note: Nearly any version of PSP that has vector tools could be used (v.6 or newer). Name and location of commands and tool options may be slightly different. Remember! You can get a free demo of PSP X from Corel.com.

What is vector?
There are basically 2 ways to create digital drawings: raster and vector. Raster (or bitmap) images are made by 'painting' pixels. Raster images degrade in quality when resized. Vector images are objects created with coordinates rather than pixels. As we change the position, shape & color of objects, PSP does the vector calculations for us. We can re-size, rotate, distort and edit vector objects in a number of ways without losing line quality. For more information, see the article "Vector and Bitmap Images."

Tip: One of the great benefits of vector tools is the ability to change your mind about color and other things without starting over. Simply edit the Properties. First, select the vector shape you want to change with the Pick Tool. At the far right of the Tool Options palette is the Properties icon (2 blue shapes with a red checkmark). When you select the Properties icon the Vector Properties dialog box will appear allowing you to change a number of settings, including color, stroke width and anti-alias.
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