CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide part 32 pot

Additionally, your artistic approach with this tool is different than with drawing paths—you click-drag to produce an entire stroke instead of click-dragging to set a node and a path seg

Here’s what the Sprayer property bar options give you control over:

● Object Spray Size/Scale These two options control the initial object size of the sprayer style (the objects that make up a specific spray type) based on a scaled percentage of the original spray object selected When the Size/Scale options are locked, you can set the scaling of successive objects to be increased or reduced in scale relative to the size of the first object in the sprayer style

● Spray Order This option lets you set the ordering of the sprayer objects:

Randomly, Sequentially, or By Direction If the sprayer style features only one object to vary, changing this option has no effect Try the mushrooms preset; the Spray preset contains several different objects of different sizes, and you can get different looks by choosing Randomly and By Direction

● Dabs and Spacing These two values set the number of objects to be placed along

a drawn or existing path and the distance between the centers of each object Dabs are the individual objects in the sprayer style; Spacing controls how many objects

appear within a given distance Think of Spacing as “population.”

FIGURE 10-5 The Sprayer mode of the Artistic media tool offers a huge number of design

variations

Sprayer Mode Object Size

Scaled Size of Successive Object

Browse

Spray Order

Add to Spraylist Dabs

Open Spraylist Dialog

Spacing Reset

Rotation Properties

Offset Properties Delete

Save Category

Sprayer File List

Reset

● Rotation This option is used to set the angle for the first object of the sprayer

style The Increment option is used to compound rotation values for each subsequent

object Rotation angles and increment values can be based on the degree measure

relative to the page or the path to which the objects are applied For example, if you

need a circular pattern whose objects are oriented toward the center of the circle, the

rotation option is the ticket

● Offset This option sets the distance between the path you click-drag and the sprayer

objects Offset can be set to be active (the default) at settings between roughly 0.01

and 13 inches The direction of the offset can also be set to Alternating (the default),

Left, Random, or Right To deactivate the Offset options, uncheck the Use Offset

option in the selector, which sets the Offset measure to 0

● Reset Clicking this button returns all sprayer style settings in the property bar to

their original default settings

As with other Artistic media tool modes, you can draw while applying this effect, or

apply an artistic media stroke to an existing line

With a sprayer style applied and the line selected, you can use property bar options to

edit the effect Doing this edits the style only as it is applied to your line and not in the

original style in the Sprayer file list Figure 10-6 shows a sampling of the available sprayer

FIGURE 10-6 These are a few of the sprayer styles available in CorelDRAW X5

To create your own Sprayer brush, first open the Artistic media docker (Window | Docker | Artistic Media) Create several shapes—they can be groups of objects, and they can contain any fill you like—and then arrange them horizontally on the page Select them, and then click the Save button at the bottom of the docker Saving and choosing sprayers to use is almost identical to the way you save and use brushes.

Calligraphy Pens and Applying Media

The Calligraphy tool mode produces results similar to adjusting the nib shape with any regular Pen tool; however, the width and angle can be conveniently changed dynamically when you use the Calligraphy tool Additionally, your artistic approach with this tool is different than with drawing paths—you click-drag to produce an entire stroke instead of click-dragging to set a node and a path segment

You have three options on the property bar when Calligraphic is selected: the Freehand smoothing (the degree of accuracy when you click-drag); the Stroke width, which sets the maximum width (because calligraphic stroke are alternately thick and thin); and the

Calligraphic angle (increasing values in this field rotates the stroke evaluated from the vertical in a counterclockwise direction)

If you use a mouse as an input device instead of a digitizing stylus, using the Calligraphy tool to draw elegant curves and handsome signatures becomes problematic A mouse simply cannot express the degree of accuracy a tablet and stylus do This doesn’t have to be an obstacle to creating calligraphic designs, however Follow this tutorial to learn how to apply

a Calligraphic property—and any artistic media except Pressure—to an existing path.

Defining and Applying Calligraphic Brushstrokes

1. Open the Calligraphy.cdr file There is a thin centerline on the top, unlocked layer The bottom layer is just for reference Mistral was used as the typeface and is a good example of calligraphic swoops, curves, and turns Keep reading this chapter to learn how to guide a pen tool to create a similar centerline trace over a typeface

2. With the Pick tool chosen, select the lowercase a after the initial C.

3. Choose the Artistic media tool, and then click the Calligraphic tool on the property bar Do not deselect anything

Freehand Smoothing Stroke Width Calligraphic Angle

4. Here’s the trick: click either the up or down elevator button to the right of the Width

field (or type 2 or 1 in the field instead of using the elevator buttons) What you’ve

done is get the Calligraphic pen to “recognize” that you want to change a value of

the selected path’s calligraphic width The change isn’t important, it’s the

recognition that applies the calligraphic property to the selected stroke

5. Continue to adjust the Width (.2" works well at the path’s scale here), and then play

with the Angle—anywhere from 35º to 55º will look good in this example

6. Because you began with an existing stroke, the calligraphic treatment has an outline

and no fill Click the black color well on the Color Palette, and then right-click the

No Fill color well to remove the outline

7. Perform steps 2–6 with the initial C, and then with the brush, dot the i.

Pressure Mode

The last of the artistic media modes was created for users of digital tablets; if you own a

stylus and tablet, you can set up the drivers for the stylus to apply pressure, and CorelDRAW

will read stylus pressure to vary the width of the stroke as you drag across the page You

have Freehand smoothing and Width controls on the property bar

If you’re using a mouse, you can:

● Hold theDOWN ARROWkey to make the line smaller as you drag

● Only after using theDOWN ARROWkey, press theUP ARROWkey to widen the

stroke as you click-drag The maximum width is the value in the num box, and you

cannot exceed this width, so plan ahead

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Create a value change by clicking the elevator buttons.

Honestly, don’t expect world-class art using the mouse and arrow keys; you might run into a design situation where you need to vary the width of a stroke, but there are other ways

to edit an existing stroke that produce more refined results

How to Draw in CorelDRAW

Using artistic media is fun and useful, but it’s now time to learn how to build paths instead

of brushstrokes In the same group of Curve tools, you’ll find CorelDRAW’s path and node creation pens They’re used for both accuracy and artistic expression, and they have varying degrees of ease of use that correspond directly to their power

Drawing with Freehand and Polyline Tools

The Freehand and Polyline tools share a common function, giving you the freedom to draw

as if you were sketching by freehand on a physical sketchpad, but the tools work in slightly different ways Sketched lines can create a single open or closed vector path Both tools are

in the toolbox, grouped with other line-creation tools For mouse users and stylus users alike, click-dragging initially produces a start node for a path segment and then a path segment that follows; a node is placed when you release the mouse (or stylus) button, setting the end of the path segment To use these tools:

1. Begin by selecting either the Freehand or Polyline tool Your next step depends on which tool you choose

2. If you chose the Freehand tool, you can create a continuous line by click-dragging

a path shape As soon as the mouse button is released, the line is complete, shown next To draw a straight line between two points, click once to define the start point and a second time somewhere else to define the end point As soon as you release the mouse button, the curve is complete

Freehand tool

Begin

Click-drag

End (release mouse button)

3. If you chose the Polyline tool, the technique is slightly different Use a click-drag

action to create a continuous freehand-style line, but after you release the mouse

button, your cursor can continue extending the curve with path segments You

click-drag to freehand-style extend the path, or single-click to add a straight line path

segment A double-click action at your final point defines it as the end point

4. Both tools produce “bare bones” paths—no fancy strokes, no elegant calligraphic

varying widths This means you can use the property bar options to make your path

begin with an arrowhead, make the line a dashed line, and change the stroke width

Using either of these line tools, you have control over the smoothness of path shapes

drawn using click-drag actions by adjusting the Freehand Smoothing option in the property

bar before drawing your path You can control smoothness after drawing a path by selecting

nodes with the Shape tool and then using the Reduce Nodes spin box Reduce Nodes has a

range between 0 and 100 percent; lower values apply less smoothing, and higher values

apply more smoothing, as shown in Figure 10-7

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Polyline tool

Click-drag

Begin

Single click Click-drag

End (double-click) Line Styles on Property Bar

Drawing Arcs with the 3-Point Curve Tool

The 3-point curve tool was created for artists to build perfectly smooth arcing line segments,

with complete control over the direction and steepness of the curve between two points

Making a smooth arc is accomplished in three steps, and you can then extend the curve by

beginning a new 3-point curve at the first curve’s end point, to then close the two curves as

a single object

You’ll quickly discover that part of the power of the 3-point curve tool is its use in building a series of connected arcs: you can design French curves and ornamental borders by

FIGURE 10-7 Freehand Smoothing and Reduce Nodes can change a crude drawn line into

smooth curves

Original Freehand path (no smoothing)

Path after applying Reduce Nodes

Drag, then release, to define the end-of-arc point.

First click defines first arc point.

Move, then click, to define final shape.

Cursor indicates you’re in position to extend curve.

Create joining curve this way.

Release mouse button over start point of first curve segment.

Filled object

designing a 3-point curve, positioning your cursor over the end point until you see the cursor

signifying an extension of the last-drawn curve, and then building another 3-point curve

This is how the head, eyes, and pupils of the cartoon tabby cat in Figure 10-8 were drawn

Open Ginger tabby.cdr and take the 3-point curve tool out for a spin; Ginger tabby

finished.cdr is the completed illustration you see here The goatee was drawn using the

artistic media Brush mode

Using the Bézier and Pen Tools

The Bézier tool and the Pen tool are variations on the same theme of drawing connected

curves and straight segments (unlike the 3-point curve tool) through the action of first

clicking to set a path point, and then either dragging to define a curve behind the click point,

or by clicking (no dragging) to define a straight path segment behind the click point You’ll

find these tools grouped together with other line-drawing tools

One of the less obvious differences between the two tools is that the Pen tool offers a

“look ahead” point when you draw with it: before you click or click-drag a point, the

proposed path between the point before you click and the previous (already defined) point

on the path is shown in light blue When you’re just beginning with CorelDRAW, the choice

between these tools might seem to be:

● The Pen tool provides intuitive results when you want a path that has both straight

segments and curves

● The Bézier tool excels at creating curved segments that are joined smoothly, and

when straight segments are not your design goal

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FIGURE 10-8 You can create smooth, connecting arcs quickly by using the 3-point curve tool

The Science of Béziers

Bézier curves (pronounced bezz-ee-aye) were named after French engineer Pierre Bézier,

who published papers on their use after seeing the need for mathematically describing very smooth curves that are easy to manipulate, to design automobile bodies A Bézier curve is a parametric curve, which means it approximates a curve through 2D space, using a convex control hull that can be described by two points on a curve, and two points off the curve

(called control handles in CorelDRAW) for intuitively reshaping the curve The Bézier tool

by its nature creates smooth connections between path segments, through the action of click-dragging to set a path point while at the same time defining the slope of the curve segment that is created behind the newly created point When control points are on a curve, they are

called nodes in CorelDRAW You can also create straight path segments between curves by

using the Bézier tool; it’s a matter of technique Click-dragging creates smooth curves that have smooth connections between segments, and the act of clicking without dragging sets a path point that is not smooth—if you click again in a different location, a straight path segment is the result

Because the Bézier tool can produce both curved and straight path segments, there is

almost no distinction between the terms line and curve in the discussions in this chapter The

shapes of Bézier lines are controlled in part by node properties and by the position of curve handles Two paths can have nodes in the same relative page position, but they have

completely different shapes (as shown in Figure 10-9)

FIGURE 10-9 These two paths each have the same relative node positions, but node properties

make them appear completely different from each other

Same Node Positions

Nodes can be defined as Cusp, Smooth, or Symmetrical, as shown in Figure 10-10.

Cusp nodes can be used to create a discontinuity in direction between two line segments;

in English, the two segments connect in a non-smooth fashion Think of the moon being on

the cusp; it’s crescent shaped and this is the sort of shape you can create using cusp node

connections Smooth nodes cause the path slope and direction to align on either side of a

node; their relationship is in 180-degree opposition, which has the effect of creating a

smooth transition at the node point itself Control handles surrounding a smooth node may

be unequal distances from the node Symmetrical nodes are not only smooth, but the control

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Nodes and Control Points

Depending on the type of math used to describe a vector path, nodes (points) connect

a beginning and end point, and the nodes have control handles, at the end of which are

control points, the screen element you use to manipulate curves The number of control

handles and points depends on the segment connected by each node For example, an

arc (a curve) connected to a straight line segment has one control handle visible, and it

controls the slope of the curve segment When two curve segments are connected, you’ll

see two control handles if you click the connecting node with the Shape tool, and this

node can have different connection properties (cusp, smooth—described later in this

chapter) A straight path segment can be described as two nodes connecting the segment,

and the control handles for the nodes coincide in position with the node itself For all

intents and purposes, the control handles can’t be seen; they become visible when the

segment is changed to a curved segment The control handles appear on the segment,

and you can move them away from the launch point of the curve and then freely

manipulate the slope of the curve by dragging the control points

FIGURE 10-10 These paths use different node connection properties

Control point

Smooth node

Symmetrical node