Gauging interest in pen tool tutorial

[DriftRoot]

Occasionally in these forums I'll see references to the pen tool, commonly found in better graphics programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and PaintShop Pro, not to mention AE (I think). A lot of times people express frustration with it or do not seem to be using it correctly. Right now I'm in the middle of creating a pen tool tutorial for one of my design classes, and I'm wondering if this is the kind of thing people would like to see in the a-m-v.org tutorial section.

The tutorial focuses on the use of the pen tool for creating quick and accurated selections, alpha channel transparencies, masks, etc., all of which are common components of AMVs. It will offer instruction in the pen tool's capabilities, its pros and cons and tips for achieving the best results. The tutorial will not cover in detail how to export masks for use in your video editing program of choice, since a tutorial on that is already here. A section on using workpaths created by the pen tool in AE also may be included if it seems appropriate - although maybe I could do that as a separate tutorial.

Anyways, let me know. The pen tool can be incredibly frustrating until you learn its ins and outs - but then it becomes your best friend. While there are other tutorials on the Web for using the pen tool, I know I personally would have liked to see one here as it applies to AMVing - something a lot of editors may never have thought of or, if they did, felt it would be too difficult to handle.

[Shinodude]

vegas 5.0 and 6.0 also have a pen tool im not sure if 4.0 has it tho

[DriftRoot]

Most decent graphics programs have it - which just demonstrates how useful it is - and the pen tool controls are pretty consistent across various applications. Once you "get it," you get it, there may be slight differences in execution or keyboard shortcuts, but a pen tool is a pen tool.

[Minion]

pen tool is the base for every vector art program (illustrator, freehand, correl, flexi, ect.)
when i explain it to people, i tell them
"first click your start point, then hold your endpoint and drag to make a curve. make a curve when you make your start point if you want a different shaped arch".

when i first started doibng work in illustrator, i avoided pen tool like AIDS.
and yes, it does eventually become your best friend.

the best way to learn pen tool, is to drop an image into illustrator, and try to make a perfect trace with as few paths as possible.
once you've learned it in illustrator, it's the same thing in every other programs. just different keyboard shortcuts, as you said(thouh its usually ctrl to go back to selection tool, or cmd on a mac), and you'll be making masks and selections instead of creating objects (presumably).

[Minion]

doing work in illustrator

some days i pray for an edit button more than others

[DriftRoot]

pen tool is the base for every vector art program (illustrator, freehand, correl, flexi, ect.) when i explain it to people, i tell them
"first click your start point, then hold your endpoint and drag to make a curve. make a curve when you make your start point if you want a different shaped arch".

Hehe, it's truly scary how simple you make it sound. Don't listen to Minion, everyone, it's a trick!

[TaranT]

Are you talking about something like this: http://www.ulead.com/learning/pi/pi10_04_1.htm ?

[Minion]

pen tool is the base for every vector art program (illustrator, freehand, correl, flexi, ect.) when i explain it to people, i tell them
"first click your start point, then hold your endpoint and drag to make a curve. make a curve when you make your start point if you want a different shaped arch".

Hehe, it's truly scary how simple you make it sound. Don't listen to Minion, everyone, it's a trick!

heh, thanks. i'm a graphic artist, so i deal with pen tool daily (as well as teaching people once and awile)

Are you talking about something like this: http://www.ulead.com/learning/pi/pi10_04_1.htm ?

no

[Zarxrax]

I've been messing with the pen tool for years now, and I STILL hate that little bugger! Its so trixy...

A tutorial for it would definately be a good thing, because it is a very basic (though difficult to learn) tool that people should be using sometimes.

I would recommend a video tutorial though, rather than text based.

[trythil]

Most decent graphics programs have it - which just demonstrates how useful it is - and the pen tool controls are pretty consistent across various applications. Once you "get it," you get it, there may be slight differences in execution or keyboard shortcuts, but a pen tool is a pen tool.

I'd still recommend that you explicitly limit the scope of the tutorial to (say) Adobe programs only, or even a subset of Adobe products that actually have very similar behavior. While pen tools generally do allow you to edit Bézier curves, those "slight differences in execution" can really impact one's workflow, and I do not think it wise for the tutorial to imply that it offers The One True Workflow for pen tools. (Not to mention that it's not always called the "pen" elsewhere.)

Example:

Synfig's "pen" (actually called bline) tool operates in a way that is rather different from Inkscape's. In Synfig, you can edit all components of the path at any time when the tool is active (and thus combines both pen and path editor). This can dramatically reshape one's workflow once one gets used to the idea of tool capabilities being combined. In Inkscape, you can edit only the latest component added to the path (ergo, acts more like a pen in that regard). However, the path editor tool allows you to edit the entire path once it is created, and allows you to do things that I haven't seen in other 2D vector graphics programs, such as pressure-sensitive proportional editing. That's handy, and really affects the way you edit paths, once you start using it.