Using the Vector Layer Settings
When a vector layer is selected in the Layers palette, an additional panel is added to the Layer Settings dialog box, as shown in Figure 8.7. You can access the Layer Settings dialog box by double-clicking the layer or by clicking the Layer Settings button at the top of the Layers palette.
Figure 8.7. Vectors panel of the Layer Settings dialog box.
Within the Vectors panel are several settings for giving the stroke or fill of the objects on the current vector layer a hand-drawn look. The Noisy Outlines setting enables this randomness for the object’s strokes, and the Noise Fills option does the same for the object’s fill. If you enable Animated Noise, the randomness changes within bounds over time. The blue circle in the Vectors panel provides an instant preview of the given settings to give you an idea of what the current settings will produce.
Caution
The Animated Noise option will be lost to the Flash SWF format during exporting. To keep the animated noise results, export to AVI, QuickTime, or to a sequential image format like PNG.
The Offset, Scale, and Extra Lines options control the variety of randomness applied to the vector layer objects. The Offset value determines the average distance that the stroke or fill strays from its drawn path. Figure 8.8 shows the results of changing the Offset value from left to right to 0, 5, 10, 20, and 50, respectively.
Figure 8.8. Results of changing the Offset value.
The Scale value determines the area within which adjacent sections of the stroke or the fill can be moved. Larger scale values result in gradual changes and smaller scale values yield sharper changes with more details. Figure 8.9 shows the results of changing the Scale value from left to right to 50, 25, 10, 5, and 2.
Figure 8.9. Results of changing the Scale value.
Tip
If both the Noisy Outlines and the Noise Fills options are selected, then the fill will match the altered stroke.
The Extra Lines value is only available when the Noisy Outlines option is enabled. This value duplicates the stroke using the same settings to create a new random stroke. The results can create a controlled scribble. Figure 8.10 shows the results by incrementing the Extra Lines value from 0 to 4 from left to right.
Figure 8.10. Results of changing the Extra Lines value.
The Gap Filling option helps fix anti-aliased lines that don’t blend together correctly. Enabling this option will help to fix this problem.
Once any of these settings are enabled, the vector layer is updated automatically to show the resulting noisy lines and fills. Using these settings, you can create a kid’s-style drawing quickly, such as the one in Figure 8.11. These settings are also good for achieving a hand-drawn look.
