how to get smooth lines/Optimize free hand tool

[manzanimator]

Hey!

i would like to ask, what is the best way to optimize the Free hand tool. so i can sketch and clean a frame by frame animation.
smoothness, merge strokes, auto strokes, auto weld, trim start, trim end, if drawing with antialiasing, gpu aceleration, Paths, etc.???

what do you use, What options do you checkbox? what do you think is the way to optimize the free hand tool?
i am trying to learn a bit more about frame by frame, and can't never really get a confortable way to work.

thank you! If someone has any advanced knowledge about this, would really enjoy to see an animation example of it! :

[Greenlaw]

If you're using 11.2, check out the new Simplify tool. This is a button you can find in the Select Points tool bar. To use it, select the curve you want to simplify (or just a few points in the curve) and click the Simplify button. It applies the simplification to the currently selected curve.

Unfortunately, you can't isolate the process to just the selected points, but if you have a curve selected, it does leave other curves in the layer alone.

Also, you must select at least one curve to use this tool. Selecting no curves and clicking the button means nothing gets simplified.

Note that Simplify does a different type of simplification than the Simplify Curve script found under the Scripts-Draw menu. The new Simplify button tries to optimize the curve closer to how an artist might draw the curve for rigging purposes, while the Simplify Curve script shoots for closer accuracy to the original shape but it can leave more points in the corner areas untouched. You may wish to try both to see what works best for you.

I've been using the Simplify button all day and it usually produces great results (for my current needs anyway)! I only wish this button was also located in the Freehand Tool tool bar because I'm finding myself switching between Freehand Tool and Select Points just to click on this button.

You will also want to look at the Delete Edge tool. Normally, it removes edge segments when you wipe the cursor over the curve but if you hold down Ctrl, it 'erases' points from the path. I use this often when cleaning up Freehand drawn curves. I find this more useful for cleaning up freehand-ed curves than the Point Reduction tool because it lets me delete specific points very quickly.

G.

[manzanimator]

Oh! thank you for all thoses advices! I have been testing a bit and it seem's to do some nice improvement!
I use to draw with adding points and never got familiarized with free hand tool.
Even didnt know that script and simplify tool!

i will try a to do a little frame by frame animation to see what i can reach with this! thank you greenlaw!

[Greenlaw]

Glad that helped.

TBH, I only seriously started using the Freehand tool in ASP a couple of months ago. In past versions of ASP, freehand drawing seemed impractical to me for animation because of the excessive point complexity but the recent drawing tool improvements has changed that.

Lately, I've been using the Freehand and Blob Brush tools more routinely at work. In many situations, I'm finding it faster to clean up the freehand results using Simplify and Delete Edge in 'erase points mode' than plotting the points manually. Note: it really helps to learn the keyboard shortcuts, like F for Freehand and G for Select Points (to access the Simplify button,) and of course D for Delete Edge to access the 'erase points' mode (using the Ctrl modifier).

Of course I haven't abandoned point-by-point drawing yet--it's still a useful and even necessary method drawing in ASP--but having the improved freehand and editing tools as a viable drawing option in 11.2 is really speeding up my workflow.

G.