AppleWorks 6.0 Drawing and Painting Documents
2/03

Differences Between Drawing and Painting

Paint documents create bitmap graphics. Bitmap graphics consist of tiny pixels of color that can be edited individually. The closer you zoom into a paint document, the more visible the pixels become. If you increase the size of a bitmap graphic it will begin to look jagged around the edges. Bitmap graphics can only be selected with tools such as the Lasso and Selection Rectangle since each pixel is an individual element. You can edit a bitmap graphic pixel by pixel using various tools. Once you alter a paint image, you can not go back to the original design unless you immediately use the undo command (Edit Menu/Undo). Paint Documents contain one layer only, so covering pixels will eliminate them.

Draw documents create vector based graphics which are determined by mathematical equations. Vector graphics can be re-sized while maintaining the original look. Selecting these objects with the arrow tool allows you to change the entire object. However, individual pixels can not be edited so if an accent is applied, the entire graphic will change accordingly. Vector graphics can be layered, arranged, aligned and deleted as individual objects.

To use Paint, Draw, and Word Processing capabilities in various document types, see the frames handout.

Drawing

To create a Draw Document, go to File/Show Starting Points and click Drawing. A Draw document and Tools Palette will appear. On the Tools Palette, dotted lines separate sets of tools.The second set of tools are the basic tools you use for a draw document. From top to bottom, left to right, starting from the Arrow tool, they are:

  1. Arrow- selects and allows you to re-size objects
  2. Line- draws a line, drag with the shift down key to keep it straight
  3. Rectangle- draws a rectangle, drag with the shift key down to make it a square
  4. Rounded Rectangle- draws a rounded rectangle, use shift to make it square, double click the rectangle to change its corners
  5. Circle- use shift key to make it a perfect circle
  6. Arc- go to Edit/Arc Info to change the arc
  7. Irregular Polygon- click to create a starting point, click to make a corner, double click to complete the polygon
  8. Freehand- drag to draw freehand shapes
  9. Bezier Tool (takes practice)- click to create an anchor point, click but do not release the mouse to create another anchor point, drag to create the desired curve, repeat as desired, double click when done
  10. Regular Polygon- click the tool and go to Edit/Polygon Sides to change side number, drag to create the polygon
  11. Eye Dropper- click on a color or fill to duplicate accent settings for another object

Editing Objects in the Draw Environment

  • move an object by dragging with the arrow tool
  • size it by clicking once with the arrow tool, and dragging a corner handle
  • change the fill or border using the Accents Palettes (see below)
  • change the layer order with the Arrange Menu
    • move to front brings the shape all the way to the front
    • move forward moves the object one layer forward
    • move to back moves the object all the way back
    • move backward moves the object one layer back
  • scale, rotate, flip and reshape with the Arrange Menu

Accent Palettes (or their equivalent in the Tools Palette) can be used to alter object attributes. Go to Window/Show Accents to see the palette. Use the Arrow tool to select an object and use the palettes below to alter fill and outline (pen) styles.

Accent Palettes

Fill Colors

Gradient Colors

Fill Patterns

Fill Textures

 Accents allow you to change the border and fill of your frames. Use the fill, pen, or text button at the top of each frame to change the appropriate attribute. Use the tabs on the bottom to move from one accent palette to another. Draw objects can be changed after they are created by selecting and altering accents. Paint shapes must have accents chosen prior to creation.

Pen Styles

Grouping, Aligning, Autogrid

Sometimes it is useful to group a set of objects so they can be moved and sized as one.

  • select multiple objects by holding down the shift key and clicking on desired objects
  • go to Arrange/Group
  • to undo the group, select it and go to Arrange/Ungroup

To Align Objects

  • select them with the shift key down
  • go to Arrange/Align Objects
  • choose alignment style and click OK

Using the Autogrid

The grid that appears in the background of a Draw document can be used to align objects. By default, objects automatically snap to grid, but you can change this setting by going to Options/Turn Autogrid Off. Alternatively, you can change the grid settings by going to Format/Ruler/Ruler Settings. By changing the number of divisions, you will make your grid work differently. The more divisions your ruler has, the smaller the snap effect. You can also hide or show rulers at the top of the page via Format/Ruler/Show Rulers.

Adding a Page to the Document

  • go to Format/Document
  • type in the desired number of pages down or across in the size field
  • by default your pages will print left to right, top to bottom
  • to preview your pages, go to File/Print and click Preview

Painting

Although all the draw tools can be used in the Paint environment, they work somewhat differently, because they are bitmap images. It is important to set the Accents Palette correctly before a shape is drawn.

To create a Paint Document, go to File/Show Starting Points and click Painting. A Paint document and Tools Palette will appear. The third set of tools are the basic tools you use for a Paint document. From top to bottom, left to right, starting from the Rectangular Selection tool, they are:

  1. Rectangular Selection- drag to select a rectangular area, hold down shift to select a square, hold down apple to omit white space
  2. Lasso- drag to select a shape freehand, will automatically omit white space surrounding a shape
  3. Magic Wand- selects adjacent pixels of the same color
  4. Paint Brush- paints with the selected fill and pattern, double click tool to set brush shape
  5. Pencil- paints fine lines with the selected accents, double click tool to toggle between 800 and 100 percent zoom
  6. Paint Can- pours selected color or fill onto adjacent pixels of the same color
  7. Spray Paint- sprays with current fill or color settings, double click tool to set dot size and flow rate
  8. Eraser- erases pixels, double click tool to erase document, shift drag to maintain a straight line while erasing

Editing Selections

  • deselect by clicking outside a selection
  • click and hold th mouse button down on the Zoom Percentage box at the lower left hand corner of the document to see a list of sizes, drag to select a size
  • experiment with selections using the Transform Menu to
    • invert
    • blend
    • tint
    • lighten
  • fill a selection with a new color using Transform/Fill
  • when scaling a selection via the Transform Menu, hold down shift to maintain proportions
  • the button bar can also be used for to transform selections, move the mouse over each one to see what it does

  • move a selection by dragging from its center
    • if you move a selection over existing pixels and deselect, the pixels underneath will be lost
  • to pick up attributes, drag a selection to another document or area, click pick up

Paint Modes

  • go to Options/Paint Mode
  • select a mode
    • Opaque paints over existing pixels
    • Transparent Pattern allows existing pixels to show through newly painted white pixels (not textures)
    • Tint adds a transparent tint fill to newly created objects

Document Size

  • go to Format/Document
  • change the number of pixels across and down
  • click OK