Mesh fills offer you the power to solve many types of realistic illustrative challenges with a minimum of objects. But, few new users take the plunge and dive into the complex depths of this slightly intimidating CorelDRAW feature. Next, we’ll take some of the mystery out of working with mesh fills and explore a few simple, practical applications.
We all know that Corel DRAW is great for illustration and for drawing shapes. Wouldn’t it be great if we could use those shapes in combination with bitmaps, say photographs for example, to create some interesting and original artwork. It might be nice to be able to place a photograph inside a shape so we could use that in a newsletter, brochure or poster. “Masking” off the bitmap with a shape (and the shape can be pretty much anything you can create in Corel DRAW, including text) would be pretty fancy and you might expect it to be difficult to do. You may be surprised to find, then, how easy it is to accomplish in Corel DRAW. Read the rest of this entry »
Since CorelDRAW® acquired the ability to blend objects way back when, I’ve been able to create a neon glow effect. But there was always something missing. Specifically, the appearance of the glass tubing in which the electronically changed neon gas is contained. Read the rest of this entry »
In the real world, all the shapes you see with your eyes have at least some degree of perspective-the effect of distant shapes appearing smaller. So it goes without saying that to make your shapes appear realistic in an illustrated scene, you’ll need to add a sense of depth by scaling things which are close larger than things which are farther away. Perspective also comes into play with the surfaces on individual objects. For this, you can add a sense of depth using CorelDRAW’s perspective effect. Let’s take a close look at perspective drawing and learn a few tips and tricks CorelDRAW provides. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m sure you know that you can easily draw lines, curves, ellipses, circles, squares, rectangles, stars, polygons and more with CorelDRAW®, but what about other shapes? What if, for example, you wanted to draw a heart? How would you go about doing so? CorelDRAW doesn’t provide a “heart-shape” drawing tool. The only option is to roll up your sleeves and do some node editing. Read the rest of this entry »
Mesh fills offer you the power to solve many types of realistic illustrative challenges with a minimum of objects. But, few new users take the plunge and dive into the complex depths of this slightly intimidating CorelDRAW feature. Next, we’ll take some of the mystery out of working with mesh fills and explore a few simple, practical applications. Read the rest of this entry »
When it comes to drawing realistic-looking threads for either illustration or engineering drawings, many users often puzzle of just how to tackle the shape and shading aspects. Here’s one basic technique you can try on your own using the tools available in CorelDRAW 11 to create machine-bolt style threads around a cylindrical object. Read the rest of this entry »
In part 1 of this 2-part article, we learned how to create the illusion of chiseled effects in CorelDRAW 11 using the most basic of shapes. Next, we’ll explore how to deal with more complex shapes and apply realistic color schemes to simulate lighting. If you haven’t yet absorbed part one, now may be a good time since the settings you’ll need to have selected and the techniques covered in those step sequences lay the groundwork for the tutorials which follow. Read the rest of this entry »
In this visit to the CorelDRAW 11 toolbox, you’ll discover a technique to creating perfectly chiseled shapes. Chiseled shapes enable you to create the 3D illusion of shapes which appear either recessed into or raised above a flat surface (as shown next) from simple two-dimensional shapes. Success will depend on your object’s shape, skill with node editing and path commands, and an effect or two. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the most popular effects in CorelDRAW’s tool arsenal is the Interactive Drop Shadow Tool. It enables designers and illustrators to instantly apply the attractive soft, beautiful shadow effects seen in today’s professional-quality layouts and drawings. Drop shadow effects are based on bitmap characteristics, which presents two questions many users often end up asking themselves: What color model is my shadow based on? and; What is the resolution of the bitmap representing my shadow effect? Read the rest of this entry »