Comments on: Tutorial: The Power of Layers http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/ Get the latest on the world's premier character portrait creator. Fri, 16 May 2008 20:36:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: HeroMachine Community Blog | HeroMachine.com http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-369 HeroMachine Community Blog | HeroMachine.com Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:09:26 +0000 http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-369 [...] while back I posted a quick tour of how you can use layers to improve your digital illustrations. But not everyone has a Wacom pen tablet, Photoshop, and Flash. Or even a computer. So how can you [...] […] while back I posted a quick tour of how you can use layers to improve your digital illustrations. But not everyone has a Wacom pen tablet, Photoshop, and Flash. Or even a computer. So how can you […]

]]> By: cfc http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-60 cfc Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:46:26 +0000 http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-60 Interesting... rough 1 looks like HM2. Rough 2 looks like the expansion. In Illustrator, if you click a shape with the black cursor it'll select the whole thing. If you click it with the white cursor, it'll only select the vertex or line segment that you directly clicked on. Either way, you can drag what you select around all you want. Interesting… rough 1 looks like HM2. Rough 2 looks like the expansion.

In Illustrator, if you click a shape with the black cursor it’ll select the whole thing. If you click it with the white cursor, it’ll only select the vertex or line segment that you directly clicked on. Either way, you can drag what you select around all you want.

]]> By: Jeff Hebert http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-58 Jeff Hebert Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:37:28 +0000 http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-58 Yeah, I know, I'm a fogey when it comes to software updates. I have Flash 8 installed, but since HeroMachine 2 was coded in MX, I haven't wanted to switch and screw anything up before the expansion's totally done. I love Photoshop CS, but Illustrator just hasn't ever done it for me. I don't know exactly why, but when I draw with Flash I feel like I'm actually drawing with a pen or brush. It feels very organic and natural to me, like I'm sculpting the lines by hand. Illustrator feels a lot more mechanical, and I never lose the sense that I'm making objects rather than drawings. I suspect part of that (possibly a large part) is just lack of familiarity and the unconscious sort of ease you feel with a package after long years of use, but there it is. Plus Flash had the coding language to go with the drawing part, so I didn't have to worry about importing artwork to my development environment. I could do it all in one space, so that pretty much nixed Illustrator out of the equation early on for my specific purposes. It's been so long since I used Illustrator, I don't even know the answer to this, so I'll throw it out there. In Illustrator, can you grab the exterior of a shape at any spot and drag it? Or can you only do that at specific anchor points? Yeah, I know, I’m a fogey when it comes to software updates. I have Flash 8 installed, but since HeroMachine 2 was coded in MX, I haven’t wanted to switch and screw anything up before the expansion’s totally done.

I love Photoshop CS, but Illustrator just hasn’t ever done it for me. I don’t know exactly why, but when I draw with Flash I feel like I’m actually drawing with a pen or brush. It feels very organic and natural to me, like I’m sculpting the lines by hand. Illustrator feels a lot more mechanical, and I never lose the sense that I’m making objects rather than drawings. I suspect part of that (possibly a large part) is just lack of familiarity and the unconscious sort of ease you feel with a package after long years of use, but there it is.

Plus Flash had the coding language to go with the drawing part, so I didn’t have to worry about importing artwork to my development environment. I could do it all in one space, so that pretty much nixed Illustrator out of the equation early on for my specific purposes.

It’s been so long since I used Illustrator, I don’t even know the answer to this, so I’ll throw it out there. In Illustrator, can you grab the exterior of a shape at any spot and drag it? Or can you only do that at specific anchor points?

]]> By: Me http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-57 Me Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:15:08 +0000 http://www.heromachine.com/2007/12/14/tutorial-the-power-of-layers/#comment-57 Interesting take on vector drawing. Have been embedded in the Illustrator/Adobe camp for a long time now after having gone from the MacDraw, Super Paint, Aldus Freehand, etc phases. (Mac-head? Guilty.) Flash MX? tsk, tsk. Behind the times! CS3 is here, and a price bump *is* expected next year. While not a Flash maven, other Adobe/Macromedia programs in the suite have been worthy refreshes. Knowing of course one is going from version 7 circa 2003 programs to version 11 circa 2007 programs, things are different. One can always install multiple versions of the suite on the same machine should the Great Old Ones really be required (licenses permitting, of course). Interesting take on vector drawing. Have been embedded in the Illustrator/Adobe camp for a long time now after having gone from the MacDraw, Super Paint, Aldus Freehand, etc phases. (Mac-head? Guilty.)

Flash MX? tsk, tsk. Behind the times!

CS3 is here, and a price bump *is* expected next year. While not a Flash maven, other Adobe/Macromedia programs in the suite have been worthy refreshes. Knowing of course one is going from version 7 circa 2003 programs to version 11 circa 2007 programs, things are different.

One can always install multiple versions of the suite on the same machine should the Great Old Ones really be required (licenses permitting, of course).

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