Vectors 101 for all versions of PSP
"Part 2, Exploring Node Types"

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Tutorial written September 19, 2005.

Hopefully after doing this tutorial you will come away with a better understanding of
what each node type can do. I wrote this tutorial using PSP 9 but node types are the
same in all versions of PSP but the way you get into editing nodes are different in versions
7 and 8 than they are for 9 and X. My screenshots show how to go into node editing for
versions 9 and X.

1. Open a 400 X 400 transparent canvas.

2. Set your background color to a nice color you like. foreground should be turned off.

3. Set your Preset Shapes to an Ellipse with these setting...

Width doesn't matter, the only time you need to set an exact width is when you have
a foreground color set and want to have an outline around your shape.

4. Draw out a large oval on your canvas.

5. To work with nodes in PSP 9  and X you must first, right click on your oval and select
"Convert to path"....

6. Now that we've converted to path, click on your Pen Tool .

7. Look on the right side of your PSP screen, you should see a Layers Palette. See the
eye (Visibility Toggle)?? I want you to click on the eye. This turns off your color so that
you can see your nodes better. This step is optional but I prefer to work with my color
invisible. To turn your color back on all you do is click on the eye again...

8. Now we're ready to learn the types of nodes. You should have an oval that looks
something like this...

Don't worry if it's not as round as mine, that's not what we're learning here. You have 4
little square boxes on your oval outline. These are called nodes.

Symmetric Node Type

9. Take your mouse pointer and place it on the very top node. Click once on the square to make
that node active. You should now see an arrow through your node...

10. By default original node types  and newly added nodes are set to be Symmetric.
What Symmetric means is that both ends of the arrow will move at the same time and at
the same size but in opposite directions.

Let's play with this node type.

11. Put your mouse pointer over the right end of the arrow until you see a turning arrow.
When you see the turning arrow click using the left mouse button and HOLD, slide your
mouse back slowly and see what happens. Now slide it forward. See how by moving the handles
on the arrow it changes the outline of the oval?

Undo your moves so that your arrows are back when you started from. Click and hold the right
arrow end, pull out on it. Note how both ends pull out evenly.

Sometimes Symmetric is what you need but other times you don't want both ends to move
like that.

Undo your oval back to the start.

Asymmetric Node Type

 12. Make active the top node once again. Using your right mouse button click on the top node.
A menu should open up. Click on Node Type, Asymmetric....

With this node type we don't see a difference in the way we can move the handles of the
arrow up and down. But try pulling the right handle on the arrow outward.
ahhha! See what happened? Only the right handled moved! Now try the left handle, only it
moves too!! *L*
This is the only difference between Symmetric and Asymmetric....

Undo your oval back to it's original form.

Cusp Node Type

13. Cusp, for me, is the type I use the most. Let's explore how it works.

Right click on your top node, like in the step above to change the type to Asymmetric
but change the type to Cusp.

Hold on to the right handle of the node, move it out, down or up. Try the left one.
With this node type each end of the arrow's handles move independently of the other one.
It's almost like having two nodes.
  

Close your canvas and open a new one same as the old one.

Set your Preset Shapes to a Rectangle and draw one out on your canvas.
Right click on the rectangle and select Convert to path. Click on the Pen Tool.
In the Layers Palette click on your eye to hide your color.

Now let's see what the other node types do. Let's skip Smooth for now, we'll come
back to it later.

Curve Before Node Type

14. Click on the node in the left corner of your rectangle to make it your active
node. Right click, Node Type, Curve Before.

Look at what you have here, you have one handle on your node. Go to the end of the
handle and hold on to it and move it inward. Pull down on it. See what it does? This is
a useful node type to make curves. (example; pots, vases, a moon, lots of things.)

Undo back to the original rectangle.

Curve After Node Type

15. Curve After works the same as Curve Before only it gives you the single
handle after the node.

Right click on the top left node and choose Curve After. Your single handle is now
on the top of your rectangle, pull in and downward on the handle....

Right click again and choose Smooth! Wahoo, look what it did! Play with the handle
now. Interesting isn't it?

Click on the top right node to make it active, right click and choose Curve Before.
Pull in and downward on the handle. Right click again and choose Smooth. You should
now have a nice arch. Kind of looks like a slice of bread doesn't it or maybe an arched doorway?

The Smooth node type comes in handy when working with curves. It helps a lot when
using the Pen Tool to draw with.

I hope this has helped explain the different node types.

Until next time... God Bless!
Connie