Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
5.
The oval is still in rotate/skew transform mode: drag
Drop a rotated copy
the top-right rotate handle down until the preview
shows that the intended position is clear of the original
position. Tap the right mouse button and then release
both buttons to drop the copy of the oval.
Repeat step 5 a few times, each time with the new
6.
duplicate selected, working clockwise. In no time,
you've created a fairly symmetrical pattern. If you want
a perfectly symmetrical pattern, hold
CTRL
as you drop
copies to constrain the angle of rotation.
Move transformation center
Transforming QuickShapes
You can do some exceptionally neat things to modify
QuickShapes—rectangles, ellipses, and polygons—because
these shapes have internal behaviors you can change in a
dynamic way that's totally reversible. You'll see the advantages
of changing a shape that can be
un
changed in the following
sections.
Undoing a QuickShape Transformation
When you create a QuickShape with the Rectangle, Ellipse, and
QuickShape Tools, notice that the shape has control points that
look exactly the same as control points along a path you'd draw
with the Shape Editor and other tools. However, you don't use
these special control points to steer paths but instead to create
modifications to the entire shape.
Try this: With the Ellipse Tool, drag an oval, making it very
short and wide. Now with the Ellipse Tool, Selector Tool, or
QuickShape Tool, double-click on any of the control points. The
oval becomes a perfect circle because that is the native state of
this type of QuickShape. You can perform this on any ellipse
you've distorted with the Selector Tool too; skewed ellipses also
return to perfect circles with a double-click on a control point.
Double-click a control point
to restore proportions
Create Round-Corner Rectangles
A rectangular QuickShape has a different editing property than
an ellipse because it has corners. You can round the corners of
a rectangle by double-clicking a corner point. A second double-
click on the corner returns it to a 90° intersection of adjoining
lines.
