ASP 11 Tutorial 2.4: Varying Line Widths - can't do it

[Hellyar]

Hello,
This is driving me crazy.
I've spent two days (OCD!) trying to get this to work.
[BTW: I spent ages on the Create Shape tutorial for making holes in shapes until I realised that the tutorial was wrong... which isn't helpful for a beginner.]
I think the real problem with 2.4 is that it describes things well until it says: "Use the Create Shape tool to create a second shape". What does "use" mean? Tools can select, move, etc. So, "use" isn't a very helpful instruction.
I've clicked with the Create Shape tool; I've depressed the Create Shape button; I've sworn at the screen... all useless. [The last one made me feel better, though!]
Any ideas, please? I'd like to move on to the next topic.
Thanks.

[hayasidist]

from the beginning:

with the "add point" tool draw a Path (a line) with three points

with the "select point" tool, click on the line you've just drawn (all 3 points should now be selected -- i.e. with red squares showing)

in the style window choose a stroke colour and line width (make the width "big" - say about 100)

click on the "create shape" tool icon (the kidney shaped one -- it has a default shortcut "U") - and in the control bar (at the top of the workspace window) make sure that the "stroke" (or "both") radio button is checked and then hit the button in the control bar labelled "Create Shape".

select just one point and activate the variable line width tool and click and drag left-right on the selected point to make the line width at that point smaller (left) or larger (right).

===

in the style window choose a different stroke colour and smaller line width (say about 90)

with the "select point" tool, click on the line again (all 3 points should now be selected -- i.e. with red squares showing)

click on the "create shape" tool icon again, and in the control bar (make sure that the "stroke" (or "both") radio button is still checked!) hit the button labelled "Create Shape". You'll now have 2 Shapes, one on top of the other, both using the same points.


hope that helps!

[Hoptoad]

Try this:

Draw a square.
Select all the points in the square (if you omit even 1 point, it won't work).
Click the Create Shape tool.
Press the spacebar.
Press return.

Your square is now a shape filled with color (hopefully).

After creating that shape, draw a circle inside a circle (like a donut).
Select all the points of both circles.
Click the Create Shape tool.
Press spacebar.
Press return.

You should've create a shape with a hole in it.

That's the basics.

[Hellyar]

To both of you...

Thank you very much for your kindness, taking the time and trouble to help! I am so grateful.

Hoptoad...
Thank you! This is the one where I believe the tutorial is wrong. It shows overlaid filled shapes to create the "compound" shape (i.e. with hole). I simply cannot get filled shapes to do this. However, if the shapes are not filled, then the process works fine. Is this your experience, too?

hayasidist...
Thank you for rescuing my sanity! It worked! If you have a few moments spare, would you mind rewriting the entire ASP11 tutorial, please?! Your instructions are so much clearer!

I think the thing I'm struggling with is seeing a top-down view of the program. At the moment, it appears as feature-feature-feature... and as I have a system-memory rather than a particulate-memory, it's leaving me a bit bewildered. For example, what is "Create Shape"? What is it that makes it different from, well, creating shapes by drawing, etc.? In other words, what is different about these created shapes compared with shapes that I have created? Basically, I don't "get" Create Shape!

Once more, thank you both.

[slowtiger]

Think of sketch vs. clean drawing. When you "draw" in AS, you merely give the program the coordinates of points and the connections inbetween. Only when you create a shape these connections will become visible outlines, and the inside will become a visible fill.

(Why? Because sometimes you want to create different shapes from the same coordinates.)

[Hellyar]

Thank you, slowtiger.