Vector drawing tools
A vector drawing is nothing but points joined by curves. Get comfortable placing points and the whole surface opens up, because filling, shaping, and rigging all sit on top of that one skill. This page tours the entire Draw group inside FoundryInk's Draw and rig surface, tool by tool, so you know exactly what each button does and when to reach for it.
1Points and curves, the whole alphabet
Every vector line in FoundryInk is a string of points with a curve running between each pair. Because the shape is stored as math, not pixels, it stays razor-sharp at any size and bends cleanly when bones grab it later. You are not painting here, you are placing anchors and telling the line how to travel between them. Learn to drop a point and bend the curve on either side of it and you can draw literally anything.
2Open Draw and rig
In the Animation studio, click the Vector button on the add-row bar to make a new vector layer. On that row, click Draw and rig to open the drawing surface. Along the top you will see three modes, Draw, Rig, and Test. Everything in this tutorial lives under Draw, so click it first and confirm it is the active mode before you touch a tool.
3Read the rail: Draw group and Fill group
The tool rail is split into two families. The Draw group holds everything that makes and moves points, and the Fill group turns closed outlines into solid shapes. This tour stays in the Draw group, the filling half gets its own page. Knowing the split is half the battle, because outlines come first and fills come second, always.
4Add Point: drop your anchors
Add Point is the tool you will use most. Pick it, then click on the canvas to drop a point, and click again to drop the next one, with a curve stretching between them as you go. Each click extends the line further, building your outline one anchor at a time. This is how every shape in the surface starts life, whether it is an eyebrow or a whole torso.
5Closing an outline, and leaving it open
A line can be a loop or a stroke. To make a closed loop (the kind you can fill), click your very first point again and the outline seals shut. To leave the line open (great for a single strand of hair or a whisker), press Esc to finish the stroke where it is. Only closed outlines can be filled into shapes later, so if you plan to colour a region, close it.
6How a curve bends around a point
Each point governs the curve arriving into it and the curve leaving it. When you drop points, the surface guesses a gentle curve through them automatically, so a few points already read as a soft arc rather than a jagged zigzag. You will fine-tune exactly how round or sharp each point sits on the next page, with the shaping tools. For now, just notice that the line flows through your points rather than snapping between them in straight jumps.
7Freehand: sketch a stroke, keep the curve
Prefer to draw the way you would on paper? Pick Freehand and drag a continuous stroke across the canvas. When you let go, the surface fits your scribble to a clean curve, converting your gesture into a proper string of points and curves. It is the fastest way to rough in a flowing line like a jawline or a coat hem without clicking anchor by anchor.
8Select Points: the tool behind every edit
Before you can move, delete, or shape anything, you have to select it, and that is what Select Points is for. Click a single point to grab it, or drag a box (a marquee) across several points to grab them all at once. Selected points highlight so you can see exactly what your next action will affect. Almost every editing tool works on the current selection, so this quiet tool is the hub the others rotate around.
9Translate Points: nudge things into place
Once points are selected, Translate Points lets you drag them to a new spot, carrying their curves along for the ride. Use it to nudge a wandering point back onto the line, to slide a whole selected cluster over, or to widen a mouth by dragging its corners apart. It is the everyday move-it-over tool, and you will lean on it constantly while cleaning up a drawing.
10Magnet: shape a crowd of points softly
Sometimes you want to reshape a whole region without dragging each point one at a time. Magnet pulls the points nearest your cursor the most and the ones further away less, so a whole stretch of outline bulges or dents in one smooth motion. It is perfect for pushing a cheek outward, softening a belly, or coaxing a stiff line into a more organic sweep. The falloff keeps the result rounded rather than pinched.
11Noise: add a little life to a line
A perfectly smooth vector line can look a bit sterile. Noise jitters your selected points by small random amounts, roughening a line so it reads more hand-drawn and organic. Reach for it on things that should not look machine-made: bark, fur, a torn paper edge, a scratchy ink outline. A tiny touch goes a long way, because too much noise turns a clean shape into static.
12Weld: merge two points into one
When two outlines should join, or a stray duplicate point is splitting your curve, Weld fuses two points into a single point. Pick the tool and bring the two points together and they become one, closing the gap between two lines or cleaning up an accidental double-click. It is the tool that stitches separate strokes into one continuous outline so a shape can fill without leaking.
13Trace over a reference
Drawing from a blank canvas is hard, so pin a sketch behind it. Use the Reference image picker to place a rough or a photo under your work, then pull the Opacity slider down so the reference sits faint beneath your bold new lines. Now you can trace confident points over real proportions instead of guessing. When the drawing stands on its own, hit Clear to remove the reference.
14Undo, Redo, and drawing without fear
Drawing is trial and error, so the safety net matters. Undo steps back through your recent actions and Redo steps forward again, which means you can try a bold move and reverse it instantly if it flops. Knowing you can always undo frees you to experiment: drop points aggressively, sculpt with Magnet, roughen with Noise, and roll back anything that did not land. Fearless drawing makes better lines.
15What the Draw group does not have
The Draw group has two deliberate limits. This surface has no draw-shape primitives, meaning there is no ready-made rectangle, ellipse, or star stamp. You build every shape yourself from points, which sounds like more work but keeps everything editable and consistent. There is also no snapping toggle, so points land where you click rather than jumping to a grid. Place carefully, or nudge afterward with Translate Points and Magnet.
Try every Draw tool once
One pass through the whole group. Links into the app. Saved on this device.
Drawing tool questions
Check the mode strip at the top. Add Point only works in Draw mode, so if you are sitting in Rig or Test the canvas will ignore your clicks. Switch to Draw, pick Add Point, and try again.
Press Esc. That ends the current stroke as an open line, which is what you want for a single hair, a whisker, or any stroke you do not intend to fill. Clicking the first point instead would close it into a fillable loop.
Use Freehand when you want a flowing, gestural line and are happy to tidy up after, since it drops more points than you strictly need. Use Add Point when you want deliberate control over exactly where each anchor sits. Many artists rough in with Freehand and refine with Add Point.
Magnet reshapes a whole region of an outline at once, pulling nearby points more than distant ones so the line bulges or dents smoothly. It is a sculpting tool for finding organic curves by feel. Follow it with Translate Points when you need a point in an exact spot.
A flawless vector line can read as cold and machine-made. A small amount of Noise jitters the points so the line looks hand-drawn, which suits bark, fur, torn edges, and scratchy ink. Use it sparingly and apply it last, because a jittered line is harder to edit.
Very often, yes. A shape needs a fully closed outline, and a tiny gap where two points nearly meet will stop it filling. Use Weld to fuse those two points into one, or make sure you closed the loop by clicking the first point.
No, the surface has no draw-shape primitives, so you build every shape from points by hand. It is a little more work up front but keeps your art fully editable. For a circle, drop four points in a diamond and round them with Smooth on the next page.
No, there is no snapping toggle, so a point lands exactly where you click. Place carefully, then use Translate Points or Magnet to align things afterward. Zooming in helps you place precise points by hand.
You know the whole Draw group
You can drop points, close outlines, sketch with Freehand, and select, slide, sculpt, roughen, and weld. That is the full vocabulary for making vector lines in FoundryInk. Next, learn to shape those points into clean curves, rounding, sharpening, and thinning them until the line reads exactly as you want.