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FreeHand®
Drawing Technique No. 1
Part A |
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The following tutorial details a simple
technique for drawing a complex shape by combining primitive
shapes in Macromedia® FreeHand. The shape is a fan
grate on the back of a computer case. The techniques
described here are very typical for creating complex
shapes from primitives.
![](images/fhdraw101.gif)
1. The basic idea is to create the shapes
by punching out five evenly spaced lines from a series
of four concentric circles. The resulting open paths
will use a heavy stroke with rounded caps.
![](images/fhdraw137.gif)
2. Once we achieve these shapes, we can
take advantage of FreeHand's "Expand Stroke"
command to create closed paths from the simple open
paths.
![](images/fhdraw138.gif)
3. Start by creating a new document. For
this tutorial we will make it easy and use a grid. Click
View > Grid > Show, then View > Snap
To Grid.
![](images/fhdraw102.gif)
4. Select the Line tool and click directly
on a grid intersection. Drag downwards while holding
the Shift key to constrain the line vertically.
![](images/fhdraw103.gif)
5. When you release the mouse button,
the top endpoint of the line will be directly on a grid
intersection.
![](images/fhdraw104.gif)
6. Double-click the Mirror tool on the
Xtra Tools panel. In the dialog, choose "Multiple"
from the top drop-down. Then choose "Rotate"
from the bottom drop-down and use 5 sides for the mirror
shape. Leave the "Close Paths" box un-checked.
7. Make sure the line drawn in a previous
step is still selected. Click the mouse pointer directly
over the top end point of the line. It will snap to
the grid.
![](images/fhdraw107.gif)
Click
Here To Continue...
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