Vector drawing mistakes

Some time ago, I wrote an article about vector drawing. A basic explanation, but very helpful.
A few hours ago I was looking through some files on my computer and I found a lot of archives that I compiled during my student days in order to help my friends with their vector drawing works.
Vector drawing is a kind of art… In order to understand vectors, I can propose the following analogy, “Paths are like ropes- we must tug on them, if we want them to take shape. Curiously, most of the vector drawing mistakes stem from the ignorance of this concept. Some people use the point handles like the steering wheel of their cars: it doesn’t matter how the car turns around, the aim is to simply turn the car.
Thus, it is very common to find the following vector drawing mistakes (you can click on the images to see them in real size).





1. Extra points
Few will notice the changes when we place extra points in a straight path segment (in a line). The new line may be a little mucky :it is not perfect, and we know that.
It is more complicated if we place an extra point in a curved path:
we will probably notice a little bump in the place of the curve where the point is. This is one of the most common vector drawing mistakes: we forget to take the extra points off from the curved paths. Often, these points are waste of a ‘remove overlap’ action. In any case, the result is the same: we get bad resolution.



2. Misplaced point
If you are making a path and using your handles in 90º or 180º (orthogonal), make sure where you place the points. A misplaced point generally makes dirty curves.



3. Imbalanced point
Maybe the most frequent mistake… if your points are perfectly placed in the extremes of the curves and the handles are in orthogonal position, then why do you still see a dirty curve??? This occurs because of an imbalanced point: In a curve, the points on the right side must be like a mirror of the points on the left side… You must place them at the extremes of the curve, but THOSE EXTREMES must be in the right place of the path.





4. Wrong point selection
Corner point, connector point, curve point… we already talked about them in the last post (‘Vector drawing’). It’s very important to choose the correct kind of point when you are drawing a path… Bad selection point=bad resolution.




5. Imbalanced handles
Handles must be in orthogonal position, but you must be careful about how long those handles are… If the line is a rope, the point is the tightrope walker and the handles are the stick. An imbalanced stick could make you fall down!





6. The handles are not in orthogonal position
Try to use the handles orthogonally, you will note that it will be easier to draw your paths and those paths will become perfect (or “better”).




7. Extra handles
If you have a terminal curve point, take the handles off. They are not necessary and you will note that the curve looks cleaner.

8. (Bonus track) Working with arcs
If you are not sure about the correct position of the handles, use the arc tool of your vector drawing program, this tool make perfect curves and it is very helpful.

Special thanks to our friend Konstantin Shishkin, for all of his help