How to draw smooth lines with photoshop - Lazy Nezumi

[Neil_Whitehorn]

i apologize if this doesnt belong here, however i was so heavily impressed with this i felt that i needed to post about it somewhere. just figured that this was a relatively useful tool for making comics and i could have sworn i saw something here in the fomic creators forum for things used for maing comics so ... yeah ...

bumped into someone at the computer store the other day, they recognized me, apparently we went to the same school and what not. they introduced me to this little program and i was sooo impressed by this i just had to post about it

http://lazynezumi.com/

Lazy Nezumi Pro is a Windows app that helps you draw smooth, beautiful lines, with your mouse or pen tablet.
It works with many of your favorite art programs, including Photoshop and Flash.

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[Kyousouka]

This is a neat program, especially now that it has some extra features to modify the shape of your strokes in unusual ways.

However, I must caution against using it if you feel you need it because your own lines are too jittery. Using a tool like this like a crutch will keep you from improving your stroke quality and economy, which will hurt your artistic development even if it allows you to make neater-looking lines right now. I highly recommend learning to make smooth, controlled lines on your own without Lazy Nezumi. Once you can do that, Lazy Nezumi can be used to make up for the unavoidable occasional hand jitter or tablet/mouse signal noise and the like, as well as for its stroke effects.
There's a lot more to making lines/lineart/sketches look good than just neatness/smoothness, and relying on smoothing tools will prevent you from training yourself to planning/using your lines more effectively.


Also, I've heard of some people using LN just to counteract PS's "naturally" jaggy lines when drawing quickly or drawing zoomed out, rather than for its intended purpose. This is a waste of processing power. PS has its own smoothing feature that works wonders in those situations and works more efficiently than LN. Just enable "Smoothing" in your brush properties.

[Static Sludge]

I agree with Kyousouka above. also, if you're lines aren't naturally smooth I find it strange to smoothen them out (if it doesn't come naturally I mean!)

my artwork has always been looser then others I know, and when I tighten it it either looks stiff or not quite my drawing style. so don't compromise your style just for the sake of smooth lines, we all have different takes on line work 3nodding