Multiple vector lines and points added to shapes unecessarily

[Mattyj]

Sometimes when I create a shape from vector lines the end result seems to have multiple extra vector lines and points added to it. I have no idea why?

[hayasidist]

are you using the paint bucket to create the shape???

if you are - that's not an ideal approach. Use the create shape tool.. (the one that looks like a kidney - default shortcut U)

[Daxel]

Sometimes when I create a shape from vector lines the end result seems to have multiple extra vector lines and points added to it. I have no idea why?

Use the create shape tool.. (the one that looks like a kidney - default shortcut U)

Exactly. The paint bucket tool needs the vector drawing to be correctly closed with its points welded or it will create a new vector drawing to try to fill it. That's why you are getting the extra points.

Lost Marble: I think that a small visual difference between welded and unwelded points would be super useful for the users for a lot of situations.

[hayasidist]

Exactly. The paint bucket tool needs the vector drawing to be correctly closed with its points welded or it will create a new vector drawing to try to fill it. That's why you are getting the extra points.

It's more than just "not welded" -- any shape that isn't Fillable will get "traced" by paint bucket.

examples of "unfillables" where all the points are correctly welded include: lines crossing without a point at the intersection (e.g. a figure of 8 without a point at the cross-over); multiple paths between adjacent points (e.g. two points joined by two paths without intermediate points)

These are commonly found when drawing with the "freehand" tool.

[MrMiracle77]

Paint bucket in Moho works kind of like the paint bucket tool in Windows Paint. Moho starts where you click and just throws out a blob of paint until it finds some vectors, at which point it stops. This works fine most of the time for simple shapes, but sometimes if shapes overlap or vectors aren't joined together quite right, Moho will create the best approximate outline using the existing vectors as a reference.

I did this a few years ago, thinking that if I could explain it to myself then maybe I could explain it to others:

[Mattyj]

Awesome thanks ppl, pretty sure it will be the paint bucket

[Greenlaw]

Yeah, as the guys described above, Paint Bucket can be unpredictable. When the paths are properly closed, Paint Bucket will create the shapes as expected but for anything else, it has to auto-trace the region and you get what you get. This is normal behavior for Paint Bucket and it's usually adequate for making quick fills for, say, a bunch of FBF drawings. But when it's important to get clean vectors for deforming with a puppet rig, you'll want to create the shapes manually.

Most of the time, this is pretty easy....

When drawing an enclosed shape, use Auto-fill and/or Auto-stroke. As soon as the shape is closed, it's automatically filled and stroked.

If you didn't use these options (and there are many valid reasons not to,) for a 'standalone' enclosed shape, you can simply click on the path edge with the Create Shape tool and press enter. (Clicking on the path edge will automatically select all the points in the path.)

For complex paths, where you using only a portion of the path or combining multiple paths, you'll want to carefully select the points before pressing Enter. I usually use click-and-drag to activate marquee selection and use Shift to make multiple selections and Alt to deselect points. Alternatively, if you press Ctrl you get the lasso selection. (These states might be reversed depending on what your default tool settings are.)

[SimplSam]

Paint bucket in Moho works kind of like the paint bucket tool in Windows Paint. Moho starts where you click and just throws out a blob of paint until it finds some vectors, at which point it stops. This works fine most of the time for simple shapes, but sometimes if shapes overlap or vectors aren't joined together quite right, Moho will create the best approximate outline using the existing vectors as a reference. I did this a few years ago, thinking that if I could explain it to myself then maybe I could explain it to others:

I just learnt a whole lot about the Paint Bucket tool I never knew before ... Maybe too much !!

[Greenlaw]

@MrMiracle77, that's a fantastic demonstration! Thanks for creating and sharing it.