Freehand Tool

Use the Freehand Tool to draw irregular hand-drawn lines in the form of Curve entities and 3D Polyline entities. Curve entities are comprised of multiple line segments that are connected together. These curves behave as a single line in that they can define and divide faces. They are also connected such that selecting one segment selects the entire entity. Curve entities can be useful for representing contours in a contour map or other organic shapes.  Activate the Freehand Tool from the Draw menu or from the Tool Palette.

Drawing Curves

Curves can be placed on existing faces or separate from existing geometry (aligned to an axes plane). To draw a Curve:

  1. Select the Freehand Tool. The cursor will change to a pencil with a curve.

  2. Click and hold to place the starting point of your curve.

  3. Drag the cursor to draw.

  4. Release the mouse button to stop drawing.

  1. (optional) End your curve at point where you started drawing to draw a closed shape.

 

Drawing 3D Polyline Entities

3D polylines do not generate inference snaps or affect geometry in any way.  3D polylines are usually used for tracing imported drawings, 2D sketching, or for decorating your model. Press and hold the Shift key, before you begin drawing, to draw a 3D polyline.

Note - Select Explode from the 3D polyline's context menu to convert a Freehand Sketch into regular edge geometry.