Adobe Illustrator like Paintbrush?
Hi
Todd Wrote ............
In Adobe Illustrator the paintbrush tool will make a line you draw look like
it was drawn perfectly and just kind of smoothes the line out. Is there a
way I can get this same effect in GIMP? If so how. Thank you,
The best tool I have seen so far that draws _PERFECT_ curves, lines,
etc. is SodiPodi (freely available from the Internet) - which is a
vector tool. Its pencil/brush tools are smoother than Illustrator and
better than the equivalent brush tool smoothing options of Flash. You can
find the same quality in the calligraphic brush tool of InkScape which
is also an open-source tool. With both InkScape and SodiPodi, you can
draw _perfect_ vector sketches. I don't know how good I am with the
mouse but I use my mouse like a pencil/brush when I am working with
SodiPodi brush (or InkScape Calligraphic brush). I have been drawing
sketches since childhood and enjoy drawing/painting as a matter of
fact. I very strongly suggest that you try SodiPodi as well as the
InkScape - you will find both of them better than Illustrator when it
comes to smoothening out the curves/lines. I like SodiPodi/InkScape
and prefer these tools over Illustrator, etc. in this respect. Both
of these tools save your work in SVG format (with few differences?)
which can be imported into and exported from most other vector tools
such as Illustrator, etc.
You can get smooth curves in Gimp also by using the Path tool - though
it's a bit too cumbersome when it comes to sketching. Gimp's Path
tool, however, is designed for an entirely different kind of work
domain - mainly selections. Converting selections to paths, paths, to
selections, etc. If you are an artist, you would find Gimp very good
for creating realistic looking pictures.
Another way-out (but crude) technique to achieve what you want using
Gimp would be to draw with a very small-round and slightly feathered
brush the curves you want to draw on a white background with another
color such as black, select the white background with Fuzzy Select
(Magic Wand?) tool, invert the selection just formed by selecting
Select/Invert from the menu and then converting the selection to path.
Now you can adjust and smooth curve the way you want :)
Best
Asif
