Stroke Menu#

This page covers many of the tools in the Strokes menu. These are tools that work primarily on strokes, however, some also work with point selections.

Subdivide#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Subdivide

Subdivides the strokes by inserting points between the selected points.

Number of Cuts

The number of subdivisions to perform.

Smooth

The amount of the smoothness on subdivided points.

Repeat

Number of times to repeat the procedure.

Selected Points

When enabled, limits the effect to only the selected points within the stroke.

Position

When enabled, the operator affect the points location.

Thickness

When enabled, the operator affect the points thickness.

Strength

When enabled, the operator affect the points strength (alpha).

UVs

When enabled, the operator affect the UV rotation on the points.

Simplify#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Simplify

Reduce the amount of points in the strokes.

Fixed#

Deletes alternated points in the strokes, except the start and end points.

Steps

The number of times to repeat the procedure.

Adaptive#

Uses the RDP algorithm (Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm) for points deletion. The algorithm tries to obtain a similar line shape with fewer points.

Factor

Controls the amount of recursively simplifications applied by the algorithm.

Sample#

Recreates the stroke geometry with a predefined length between points.

Length

The distance between points on the recreated stroke. Smaller values will require more points to recreate the stroke, while larger values will result in fewer points needed to recreate the curve.

Sharp Threshold

The maximum angle between points on the recreated stroke. Smaller values will require more points to recreate the stroke, while larger values will result in fewer points needed to recreate the curve.

Trim#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Trim

Trims selected stroke to first loop or intersection.

../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_trim-1.png

Original stroke.#
../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_trim-2.png

Result of trim operation.#

Outline#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Outline

Converts a stroke to an outline.

View

The projection method to generate the outline

View:

Use the viewport’s view as a projection.

Front:

Use the X-Z axes view as a projection.

Side:

use the Y-Z axis view as a projection

Top:

Use the X-Y axes view as a projection

Camera:

Use the view from the active camera as a projection.

Material Mode

How materials are assigned to the outline.

Active Material:

The stroke outline will be assigned the active material.

Keep Material:

The stoke outline will have the same material as before.

New Material:

A new material will be created and assigned to the outline.

Thickness

Thickness of the stroke perimeter.

Keep Shape

Try to keep global shape when the stroke thickness change.

Subdivisions

Number of subdivisions for the start and end caps.

Sample Length

The length each resulting segment of the outline. Smaller values create outlines closer to the original shape.

../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_outline-1.png

Original stroke.#
../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_outline-2.png

Generated stroke after outline operation.#

Join#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Join ‣ Join, Join and Copy

Shortcut:

Ctrl-J, Shift-Ctrl-J

Join two or more strokes into a single one.

Type
Join Ctrl-J

Join selected strokes by connecting points.

Join and Copy Shift-Ctrl-J

Join selected strokes by connecting points in a new stroke.

Leave Gaps

When enabled, do not use geometry to connect the strokes.

Move to Layer#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Move to Layer

Shortcut:

M

A pop-up menu to move the stroke to a different layer. You can choose the layer to move the selected strokes to from a list of layers of the current Grease Pencil object. You can also add a new layer to move the selected stroke to. When creating a new layer, there is another pop-up to type in the name of the new layer.

Assign Material#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Assign Material

Changes the material linked to the selected stroke. You can choose the name of the material to be used by the selected stroke from a list of materials of the current Grease Pencil object.

Set as Active Material#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Set as Active Material

Sets the active object material based on the selected stroke material.

Arrange#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Arrange

Change the drawing order of the strokes in the 2D layer.

Bring to Front

Moves to the top the selected points/strokes.

Bring Forward

Moves the selected points/strokes upper the next one in the drawing order.

Send Backward

Moves the selected points/strokes below the previous one in the drawing order.

Send to Back

Moves to the bottom the selected points/strokes.

Close#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Close

Shortcut:

F

Close or open strokes by connecting the last and first point.

Type
Close All

Close all open selected strokes.

Open All

Open all closed selected strokes.

Toggle

Close or Open selected strokes as required.

Create Geometry

When enabled, points are added for closing the strokes. If disabled, the operator act the same as Toggle Cyclic.

Toggle Cyclic#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Toggle Cyclic

Toggles between an open stroke and closed stroke (cyclic).

Type
Close All

Close all open selected strokes.

Open All

Open all closed selected strokes.

Toggle

Close or Open selected strokes as required.

Create Geometry

When enabled, points are added for closing the strokes like when using the Close tool. If disabled, the stroke is close without any actual geometry.

Toggle Caps#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Toggle Caps

Toggle ending cap styles of the stroke.

Default

Sets stroke start and end points to rounded (default).

Both

Toggle stroke start and end points caps to flat or rounded.

Start

Toggle stroke start point cap to flat or rounded.

End

Toggle stroke end point cap to flat or rounded.

../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_cap-1.png

Stroke ending with rounded caps.#
../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_cap-2.png

Stroke ending with flat caps.#
../../../_images/grease-pencil_modes_edit_stroke-menu_cap-3.png

Stroke ending with combined caps.#

Switch Direction#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Switch Direction

Reverse the direction of the points in the selected strokes (i.e. the start point will become the end one, and vice versa).

Set Start Point#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Set Start Point

Set the start point for cyclic strokes.

Normalize Thickness#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Normalize Thickness

Makes the thickness equal for the entire stroke.

Mode

Stroke Property to normalize.

Value

Thickness value to use on all points of the stroke.

Normalize Opacity#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Normalize Opacity

Makes the opacity equal for the entire stroke.

Mode

Stroke Property to normalize.

Value

Opacity value to use on all points of the stroke.

Scale Thickness#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Scale Thickness

When enabled, scales the stroke thickness during scale transformations.

Reset Fill Transform#

Reference

Mode:

Edit Mode

Menu:

Stroke ‣ Reset Fill Transform

Reset all fill translation, scaling and rotations in the selected strokes.