How do I create an "smooth" expanded or contracted work path from a imported path ?

TW
Posted By
Tom_Walace
Jan 5, 2004
Views
1246
Replies
7
Status
Closed
Ok, I bring in a nice, smooth path from illustrator. Then I decide I’d like to have an additional path in my Photoshop file which would be contracted from the original imported path.

When I select the original path, and make it a selection (marching ants), and then try and convert it to a working path via the Paths icon or the flyout menu…I get a ragged chunky path.

Is there any way to get a smooth path based off the smooth path imported from Illustrator….but doing this directly in Photoshop?

Thanks.

Edit: Oh, and by the way, I have tried applying the "Smooth" function to the ragged working path and it just doesn’t cut it.

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L
LenHewitt
Jan 5, 2004
Tom,

You can paste a path from Illustrator as a PATH – it never needs to be rasterized. Just select Paste as path when pasting
TW
Tom_Walace
Jan 5, 2004
Hi Len,

Yep, that’s what I do normally, but there are times when I’d like to take that pasted "path" from Illustrator and for convenience sake create offset paths from the original right in Photoshop. Is this possible?

And if not, I wonder why…because Photoshop allows you to create vector paths with the pen tool and edit vector paths, etc right in Photoshop…so why wouldn’t they allow you to create what I would assume is a very frequent and common function like offset paths?

Is a work path considered a raster image? Seems like it’s vector to me….in that you can manipulate the nodes and their handles.
B
BLUDVLZ
Jan 5, 2004
Tom,

No a work path is not a raster image. The contents of that path become raster once you fill/stroke them with color, but the paths always remain vector.

What you might want to try is increasing the Tolerance settings when converting your selection to your new, offset path. Try an obscene number like 10 or so and see it that produces a path more suitable to your liking. You may still have to do some minor adjustment to the path to smooth out/adjust some areas, but it should yield a smoother result.

Another option that might work for you would be to copy your path and then use the Transform feature to scale it larger or smaller, depending on your liking. To do this, all you have to do is have your pen tool selected in the toolbox, then choose Edit>Transform Path from the menu. Just scale, distort or skew to your liking.

HTH
SF
Scott_Falkner
Jan 5, 2004
Your prolem is that Photoshop has no tool or command to expand or contract paths, The path must be rasterized first, then the raster image modified, then the modified raster image autotraced back into a path (a selection is, effectively, a greyscale raster image).

A better solution is to do your path modification in Illustrator with Object->Path->Offset Path, then import that path into Photoshop.
BG
barry_gray
Jan 5, 2004
All transform functions work on paths in PS- expand, contract, distort, rotate, etc. Select path > select transform path.
If that’s what you are looking for?
TW
Tom_Walace
Jan 6, 2004
Thanks guys….I guess based on your replies that Photoshop won’t allow you to create a "smooth" offset (which is a shame and a little weird I think) so I will continue to go between Illustrator and PS to create/paste paths like I have been doing.

Thanks for your replies, and you all have a great new year.
SF
Scott_Falkner
Jan 6, 2004
Barry,

I don’t have CS, only PS 6. There is no way to expand a path. Expand/Contract only apply to selections, so are only raster-based. Transfor commands work fine on paths, ut there is no expand/contract available.

If this is something that’s been added in PS7 or CS, that’s brilliant. Is there also Pathfinder support (unite, intersect, ect.)?

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