Connect and Create: Option to make all edges visible

[JoelMayer]

I think it would be a real timesaver, if we could have a little checkbox or something that enables all edge visibility when using the connect and create tool. Then i wouldn't have to go in to make edges visible after the shape is created. Often times this is actually what you would want the tool to do anyway.

[SimplSam]

When I do it (with Both or Stroke) - it makes the shape with all edges visible.

[JoelMayer]

When you have stroke only (which is a common occurence when tracing stuff) it has this behaviour. Also can be seen in Victor's demonstration of the new fill options on the Moho YouTube channel.

[SimplSam]

OK doing it that way don't work. But if you removed the existing shapes and selected at least 1 point per desired stroke, then it does work.

EDIT: No need to select all points. Just one point per desired stroke.

[synthsin75]

It's hiding the newly created edges. You can unhide them with the hide edge tool.

More than likely, this is intended to not change your drawn artwork.

[Greenlaw]

I see what you mean, but this is normal and to be expected. Moho sees the exisitng strokes as two different shapes, and creating curves between the two shapes will not change that...they are still going to be two shapes. (Actually, four shapes now.)

I would deal with this by welding the points together, that is dragging one point on top of the other and allowing Autoweld to merge them. The result is still two shapes, but they are visually joined as one, and no additional shapes are created.

I think the 'proper' way, however, is to delete the entire shape and create a new single shape for the curve...that is, unless I have a good reason to keep them separated as two shapes. (For example, I may need to hide one of them or change its color during animation.)

The other way is to select the pair of joined points and generate two more shapes (or select all four points and create one two-part shape), as you seem to be doing. This may be considered 'messy,' though because even though it's visually correct, it creates additional shapes unnecessarily.

Personally, I'd go with the 'proper' way of just making one new shape...that is when I'm not being lazy.

Just a thought: for complex drawings, I like to create all my curves first and then 'skin' them with shapes in a separate stage. This two-stage process ensures that I don't create unnecessary shapes. This multi-stage process is like working in a 3D animation program: finish the geometry first, and then apply materials and textures. It might sound like extra work but it's actually easier and more efficient to separate the tasks into stages. Well, it is for me anyway.

[JoelMayer]

So if i have to recreate every shape created like this again anyway, what‘s the point of having this tool in the first place

No but i mean it‘s been demonstrated as a valid way of drawing shapes when just using lines first. I still think it‘d be a good thing to have for it to just show the edges as well since THAT’S kinda expected behaviour in my humble opinion.

I‘m moving more towards using Moho as a clean-up tool using simple, freehandy drawn rigs atm so anything that speeds the still kinda clunky process in Moho up would definitely be welcomed.

[Greenlaw]

If you're using the Freehand tool, just enable Auto Weld...



Drawing with Freehand is, admittedly, a little tricky, and I use it mainly just for FBF work in Moho. I have a set of rules I follow when using the tool and it works very well for me most of the time when I need it.

But, for vector art that I intend to rig with bones, and I find it's better to use the workflow I described earlier. With bones, the point placement needs to be optimal to get nice deformation, and the Freehand tool places points too arbitrarily for that.

[synthsin75]

So if i have to recreate every shape created like this again anyway, what‘s the point of having this tool in the first place

No but i mean it‘s been demonstrated as a valid way of drawing shapes when just using lines first. I still think it‘d be a good thing to have for it to just show the edges as well since THAT’S kinda expected behaviour in my humble opinion.

No, you just have to unhide those edges.
Or, you can draw them connected in the first place.

It is valid, because it allows you to quickly create fills from previous strokes, and it assumes you want to keep the strokes you drew as they are.
It would be infuriating if it always changed your strokes. I doubt anyone really expects their drawing app to change the strokes they intentionally draw.

[JoelMayer]

Yes i know i can u hide the edges as i said in my first post but no worries

Disagree to agree or something like that haha.

[Greenlaw]

Whoops! My apologies, Joel...I misunderstood what was going on in your video.

I have Wes' Create Shape mod installed because I really need its ability to create stacked shapes (the native tool doesn't do that,) but I never noticed that using the mod meant I don't have the Connect and Create button. So this whole time, I wasn't even aware of the feature, and it didn't register with me what you were actually doing. D'oh!

Anyway, now that I'm aware of it, I'll remove the mod and play around with the new native version for a bit. I'll let you know what I think later.

(Hmm...I should turn the mod into a regular custom tool because I still need its stacking feature. I wish this was a standard feature in the native tool, though. Maybe as another option?)

[Greenlaw]

Okay, I got to play with Connect and Create for a few minutes, and yeah, I think I'll find this useful.

I see what you mean about expecting the new strokes to be visible, and I agree that this should be an option. It's not a big deal to unhide the strokes, but it would be nice to not deal with it when I want to see the strokes. (Like you, that's probably going to be most of the time.)

Using your example, I found it curious that when I select two points to connect, the tool connects all four points, and closes the curve. I know I can just erase the unwanted curve segment, but like in the above example, auto-closing the curve should be an option since I may not always want that.

Soooo...+1 from me.

[JoelMayer]

No worries at all Greenlaw! Thanks for trying it out ^^

I should've perhaps linked this video from the get go, where Victor demonstrated the new tool...

[SimplSam]

In that video (i.e. https://youtu.be/e5fyD7FgzSw?t=602) at 10 mins in - it behaves as you demonstrated. i.e. Respecting the existing Stroke edge visibility, which goes with what Wes said.

Anyhow... If you are into a bit of hacking, you can copy lm_create_shape.lua, lm_create_shape.png from <Moho 14>\Resources\Support\Scripts\Tool to <custom folder>\Scripts\Tool and then edit lm_create_shape.lua to comment out the edge hiding.

i.e. Change (line #409 currently):

Code: Select all

    hideCurve = true

to:

Code: Select all

    -- hideCurve = true

Save and reload/restart Moho

[Greenlaw]

Oh, cool! Thanks for the hack, SimplSam. I think I'll implement that here.

For any new Moho users here, I'd like to stress that you should do this to a COPY of the script and place the copy in your Custom Content Folder's Scripts folder. Do not edit the original scripts found inside the Moho Programs folder.

When Moho detects the modified version of a native script in the Custom Contents Folder, it will bypass the original script and load the copy from the Custom Content Folder. This way, you can easily return to the original script in case the mod is broken or when the original script is updated by Lost Marble. To do this, remove the mod from the Custom Content Folder's Scripts folder, and restart Moho.