Suggestion: Shift modifier for line/curve tool

[Pratyush]

Hi everyone,

 

It's my suggestion for line/curve tool.

 

We know that many tools do there usual work and using them with shift aids in using the tool in special way i.e is difficult or tedious in doing the usual way. The shapes tool creates a shape constrained in square to make regular circles and square from the rectangle and circle shapes tool. The select tools work similarly. Magic wand tool works like a global selection when used with shift tool.

 

Currently line tool makes lines with having slopes of 15 degrees if used with the shift tool. The line/ curve tools works like line tool while first plotting it in canvas. Then it becomes a curve tool. and after that pressing shift doesn't do anything different. This feature unifies the curves and lines in single tool, make it simple but it has a drawback that it doesn't give a ability of using point to point line tool. Lines are very important in drawing and greater freedom in using this will certainly be handy. It will be of great help if a line tool have a fine tuned ability and history like the stubs of gradient tool.

 

My suggestion is after making a line and using the control point we have a 'shift' modifier which constrains the control points of curve tool in a line and let the tool work like a point to point line tool. While shift pressed end control points be movable as according to user and middle control only allowing the slope of line to be able to change keeping distance between end points fixed and using one of the control point as pivot. We are already used to have shift modifier for shapes tool and selection tools. It's introduction will not be an annoyance.

 

Hi everyone,  What do you think about it? I use line tool a lot not only for drawing lines but also for tons of things. Any experienced user will know how much versatile it is. Making perspectives, guide lines, shadows etc have lines in quite importance. They can be used in unconventional ways like removing things around the straight edges using overwrite blend or making special shapes for selection. To modify a line currently at least one Ctrl + Z is needed to be used and things can better.

 

 

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

I like the idea of a point to point feature or tool.
 
Other photo editing programs have the Polygonal Lasso Tool and the Pen/Paths Tool. I like Paint.net's line/curve tool a lot more than I do the pen/paths tool, since it is more user friendly and it's a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of tool, however a tool that can do point to point drawing would be cool to have in paint.net.

 

ps: have you seen this plugin pratyush? http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?/topic/26552-peephole-drawing-or-some-path-tools-in-the-future/

Edited March 21, 2015 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles