how to smooth paths?

MJ
Posted By
Mark_J_Peterson
Nov 2, 2008
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12433
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7
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Closed
Hi. Is there a way to smooth paths ?
(similar to [select>>refine edge>>smooth] for selections) Thanks for any advice.

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MJ
Mark_J_Peterson
Nov 2, 2008
PS: For example if you use the freeform pen tool and want to "smooth" the drawing.
M
Mylenium
Nov 2, 2008
Not that I’m aware of. You would have to manually edit the individual points to get rid of excess ones that make the outline jittery. If such stuff is a common requirement in your work, you should perhaps take a look at Illustrator… Surely will make life simpler.

Mylenium
MJ
Mark_J_Peterson
Nov 2, 2008
Hi Mylenium. Yes, that’s exactly what I did. Sometimes it works, but more often it’s not possible, because removing points is likely to destroy the path.
If in Photoshop it’s not possible, I’ll probably edit the paths in Illustrator and re-import them in Photoshop (hope that’s possible), but if there were a method in Photoshop itself, I’d be happy of course, in case somebody knows …
Or are you definitely certain, that it’s not possible in Photoshop, Mylenium ? Because I’ll stop wasting my time searching for it then … 🙂
JJ
John Joslin
Nov 2, 2008
There is a kludge, which is to convert the path to a selection, use Refine Edge… to smooth it, and then convert back.

Illustrator would be better though.
MJ
Mark_J_Peterson
Nov 2, 2008
Thanks John. Actually I thought about that, but since I was using "unclosed" paths (i.e. with a starting point and an end point which are not connected) – essentially lines, not areas – I thought it’s not possible that way, but now that you mention it, I figured, I could just close the paths for conversion’s sake.

The problem with that is though, that when creating a path from a selection, you choose 1-10px tolerance, which I feel re-introduces some form of "unsmoothness" …

But for now, I think that’s my best bet (without Illustrator).
P
Phosphor
Nov 2, 2008
Do you not have Illustrator, or can’t afford it (No shame in either case)?

Maybe you could check out the free-and-open-source Inkscape? <http://www.inkscape.org/index.php?lang=en>

Documentation shows that it has a "Simply" path function that may do what you need: < http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Paths-Editing.h tml#Paths-Misc>
MJ
Mark_J_Peterson
Nov 2, 2008
Hi. I have Illustrator and in the meanwhile I found the help chapter about it:

< http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Illustrator/13.0/WSCB13EA3D- 2DAE-4a05-BB60-0FCA9907DDA9.html>

I hope re-importing paths into PS is possible. I’ll see …

And thanks a lot for the links, Phos+four dots. I’m somehow addicted to applications … and even more if it’s potent freeware programs. I’ll definitely try that out.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

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