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  The Anatomy of a Vector Illustration
Part Three		      
   
   

Objects And Their Properties, Paths And Subpaths

Continuing with the anatomy of a vector illustration, let's take a look at objects and their properties, paths and subpaths.

Objects - Stroke and Fill Properties

Objects have stroke and fill properties. Stroke (or outline) properties apply to the path of an object and fill properties apply to the area enclosed by the path.

Stroke Properties:
    Weight (line thickness)
    Color
    Solid vs. Dashed
    Line Caps and Corners:

Except for differences in terminology, line cap and corner properties are the same between Deneba Canvas™, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Macromedia FreeHand:

 

CorelDRAW

 Adobe
Illustrator		 FreeHand Deneba
Canvas
  "Caps and
Corners"		 "Cap and Join" "Cap and Join" "Line Joins and
End Caps"
Caps        
butt.gif Square Butt Butt Flat
square.gif Extended
Square		 Projecting Square Square
rounded.gif Rounded Round Round Round
Corners        
miter.gif Mitered Miter Miter Miter
bevel.gif Beveled Bevel Bevel Bevel
round.gif Rounded Round Round Round


Fill Properties:
    Color
    Uniform or Gradient Fill
    Patterns and Textures

Stroke Examples: (fill = uniform or none)

Solid Dashed None Pattern*
fills01.gif fills02.gif fills03.gif fills04.gif
* Pattern stroke unavailable in CorelDRAW

Fill Examples: (stroke = none)

Linear
Gradient		 Radial
Gradient
Pattern
Texture*
fills05.gif fills06.gif fills07.gif fills08.gif
* Vector texture fill available in CorelDRAW only

It could be said that Tiles are one of the basic fill properties. Patterns and tiles are basically the same kind of fill.

Deneba Canvas Stroke and Fill Examples:

Canvas is unique in that it can apply the same properties to strokes as it can to fills. In addition to colors, textures and gradients, you can also apply symbols and hatch patterns as strokes and fills. Below are a few examples:


Texture Fill		 Gradient Fill
Solid Stroke		 Gradient Fill
Gradient Stroke
Hatch Fill
fills09.gif fills11.gif fills10.gif fills12.gif

Paths and Subpaths

Paths are either:

1. Open or
2. Closed
paths.gif

Fills are not restricted to closed paths. Open paths can be filled just like closed paths:
openpath.gif
Paths of an object having more than one path are called subpaths.

postit.gif   Note: Subpaths are nothing more than discreet, individual paths in an object composed of more than one path. The word "subpath" is easily misunderstood because the prefix "sub" implies subordination. Multiple paths within an object are of equal hierarchy (rank).

By default each path becomes a new object when it is first created. Subpaths are created when objects are formed from composite paths.

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