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I usually draw (or vectorize) using flash. I like how I can draw a line then bend that line. i.e. not using the pen. I find this easier since I can always go back and modify something easily.

Do you know any other software that works in a similar fashion? If it's available on Linux it would be great, since I'm trying to stop using Windows and Flash drawing is one of the biggest issues.

Thanks in advance!

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6 Answers 6

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wowee is this old, I just happened to notice this while looking at my old answers on this site. Over the many years I've found Wick Editor, which is a web app with drawing tools like Flash.

The drawing tools in Flash came from SmartSketch, a vector drawing tool Macromedia purchased and integrated into their own products. I actually used SmartSketch before Flash ever existed, so I was pretty amused to see the exact same drawing tools years later.

This bit of history doesn't help you out at all but I'm mentioning this answer for completeness sake. It is technically a program other than Flash that has the same drawing tools.

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While this is not going to help you get away from Windows, Autodesk Sketchbook Designer has a curve drawing/editing feature similar to what you describe. It allows you to re-stroke an entire curve or a portion of a curve using a free hand method. It also gives you control points you can grab and drag around to freely modify a curve.

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    I thought about posting Sketchbook designer but decided against it since it is (at least to me) not at all developed. The UI is cool and is very easy to use. The same goes for the functionality. BUT once you try using it with a Wacom... practically no shortcuts no customization of existing ones. no line scaling. no highres artboards (even if it's vectors resolution is always 72dpi). I seldom grew more frustrated by any software. Possibly because of it's immense and unrealized potential and unfinished feel. Are you currently using it in your workflow?
    – leugim
    Commented Apr 22, 2011 at 8:02
  • @leugim - I know what you mean. I really love the UI--so much so that I try to find occasions to use Sketchbook Designer wherever possible. It does have some pretty substantial limitations, however, and it feels largely neglected among the Autodesk lineup. With some real attention it could be great, but left as it is now it feels kind of abandoned; certainly not a contender as a cornerstone application in most workflows.
    – Sean
    Commented Apr 23, 2011 at 6:11
  • I feel the same when using Sketchbook designer! I also try and use it where ever possible. At the moment I use it the most at my doodle-stage. After that I generally trace the image or use it as a side-reference.
    – leugim
    Commented Apr 23, 2011 at 7:27
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Not quite the same but inkscape has some very nice drawing tools, IMHO. It's become my replacement for Freehand (which I always preferred to Illustrator).

http://inkscape.org/

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  • Inkscape is very good, I know it, but it uses pen, which is what I'm trying to avoid. So it's not relevant to my interests.
    – Kirby
    Commented Apr 21, 2011 at 20:10
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    Pen is but one of the tools. Try the freehand option. Or...maybe I'm not understanding what you are looking for. You can also draw beziers with the pen tool then 'bend' the segment itself by grabbing it with the 'edit paths' tool.
    – DA01
    Commented Apr 21, 2011 at 20:21
  • I don't want to modify the line based on points. I just want to click-drag one random point on a line, then pull/push it to make it curved. I could say "the point then it's generated and allows me to adjust it". Also, the original line is a straight line (made of two points).
    – Kirby
    Commented Apr 21, 2011 at 20:24
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    Kirby...try grabbing the freehand tool, adjust smoothing to maybe 30 or so, and switch it to 'Create Spiro Path' mode. Unlike beziers, where you adjust the point handles on the curve, on a Spiro path, you grab the actual points and slide them along the path as you see fit to adjust the line segment in our out. Still perhaps not what you are looking for, but perhaps an option.
    – DA01
    Commented Apr 21, 2011 at 20:29
  • I'll try that, since I don't see any options xD thank you very much for your comments :3
    – Kirby
    Commented Apr 21, 2011 at 20:52
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If there is anyone in 2022 looking for this solution, I’ve found that Adobe Animate is about as close to the original Macromedia Flash tools and functions.

Wick Editor isn’t bad for a free program. But it doesn’t connect the vector line art or smooth it (both of which Adobe Animate does).

If you can cough up the money, Adobe Animate is the closest contender.

If you need a FREE option, Wick is a close call but it’s not the real deal.

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    Adobe Animate is Flash.. rebranded and updated. :)
    – Scott
    Commented Mar 26, 2022 at 23:00
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Fireworks is a great vector drawing program. You can certainly bend and edit lines. Files can be saved as vector or raster and can also be exported with HTML if needed to be used online. Illustrator has been my tool of choice for vector drawing for many years for print documents, but Fireworks is now my vector tool choice for all my online work. If you have Flash, you probably have either Fireworks or Illustrator or even both already since all are part of Adobe Creative Suites.

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I know this has been answered now, but as someone who worked with a lot of Flash artists for animation back in the day... I think what you're talking about is the way it outlined all your ink strokes into outlined vectors as you drew them. This was something I always found weird coming from Illustrator, but Flash animators absolutely loved the way it worked.

The artist we work with now does all his stuff on an iPad with a pen, at super high resolution in pixels, and then converts the pen strokes to vector as needed. The effect is great. It has its limitations just like Flash did (it was very hard to change brush strokes with hundreds of vector points in Flash - it's very hard to get exactly the right crispness without too many vector points when going from raster to vector for an iPad drawing). But as a workflow for an artist who wants to use a lot of different brushes and paint anything on the fly, I think it's worth the clean-up. If you have a graphics department who can clean it up into vector, like us, all the merrier. But don't hobble your creative talents just because the tools changed and/or got worse. Go full painter and then make it work for web, print, animation or whatever format you need afterwards.

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