The Move Bezier Point tool lets you stretch the straight sides of many paths (Rectangles, Triangles, Regular Polygons, etc.) by moving their Bezier points. Bezier points are guide points that control the drawing of the side. By default, they lie on the side itself so the side is simply drawn straight. However, if you move them, you can create many interesting effects. You can lock onto a Bezier point in two ways:
- Touch it directly if you know where it is. For a straight side, it will be in the middle if the side has one Bezier point or spaced out evenly at 1⁄3 intervals if it has two.
- Touch a corner of the path, and the Bezier points will appear connected by dashed lines to the ends of their corresponding sides of the path. Drag your finger over the Bezier point until it locks onto it and then move the point.
Here’s an example.
A straight side can have
either 1 or 2 Bezier points, and you can change that number at any time using the
Change Number of Bezier Points tools. 2 points will allow you to warp the side in more ways, but
2 is not necessarily better. It depends on your needs. If you’re trying to make a bow and arrow, 1 Bezier point would be better
because it’s simply easier to get your intended effect. Most tools that create shapes with straight sides have a construction
option for the number of Bezier points with which to initially create the path.
Here’s an example.
A few tools with straight sides such as Rectangular Grids, Square Grids, Triangle Grids, and Guide Lines are meant to be rigid and therefore do not have Bezier points. Also, naturally curved shapes such as Circles, Ellipses,Parabolas, etc. don’t have Bezier points.
Moving Multiple Bezier Points Simultaneously
To move multiple Bezier
points on a path simultaneously use the “Moving Collection” construction option of the Move Bezier tool. Before moving the points,
you’ll need to mark a point of reference. Generally the most useful reference point would be the
center of the path (center of
a rectangle, center of a triangle, etc.) but any point can be used. When your finger is near the desired reference point, press the mark
button. Make sure snapping is turned on if you want a precise lock on a certain point.
The Bezier points will be moved relative
to this reference point and
according to the construction option for the transformation. You can move all the points using the Select All option or move a
selected collection of points using the Select Bezier Point option. For this second option, move to each point you desire to move and press the
Mark Button to select it. The options for moving are:
- away from reference point
- toward reference point
- away from or toward reference point but only horizontally
- away from or toward reference point but only vertically
- away from or toward reference point along a vector defined by the reference point and your finger’s current position
Example:
To reset the Bezier points on a side use the Reset Beizer Points tool.