Best way to create long vector shapes?

[Mark Landsburger]

to clarify title

[Mike Clasby]

The best way to make long smooth curving objects is with the pen tool. If you feel pen tool challenged, it can be intimidating,
then I’d try drawing a long skinny rectangle with the Rectangular Mask Tool. Then press “V” on the keyboard to get the “Selection Tool” (your regular arrow cursor) back, and select one vertex (corner dot) of the rectangular mask. You can click on the vertex or draw a little marquee around it to select only one, it should become a little solid square. Now click “G” on the keyboard until you get that little wedge looking “Convert Vertex Tool” (or get it under the pen tool). Click on the selected vertex and the handles should appear. Drag the dot at the end of the handle and drag it out to make the shape you want. Select another vertex and do the same (still with the Convert Vertex Tool) until you get that long thin curving vector shape you want.

Now “V” to get you original Selection Tool, and double click any vertex of the mask. This should select the whole mask and give you a little transform selection box like in Photoshop. Grab the side of the box and drag it out to as large as you like. If you want it to expand proportionally, Shift drag a corner.

Alternatively, if you like the smaller curved rectangular shape, you can fill it with a color (Render Fill) then make it any size you want with the size parameter for the layer (best with only one mask per layer unless you want to change the size of all other them at once). Just be sure to press the little “Continuously Rasterize” (the second little box over in the Switches column of the timeline – looks like a little sun) button to get clean vector shapes.

Good Luck.

[Mark Landsburger]

Thanks for the detailed help. I’ll give it a go today and see how I do.

Appreciate the time.

LB