Creating Complex Shapes with Corel DRAW!

This tutorial will show you how to create complex shapes in Corel DRAW! I used Corel DRAW! 7.0 for Windows. Some things may be done differently with other versions.

It's fairly easy to create simple shapes with a vector drawing program such as Corel DRAW!. There are built-in tools for creating circles, ellipses, squares, rectangles and polygons, etc... You may wonder, though, how to create more complex shapes. The tools to help with this are there, as well, they're just not as obvious.

In this tutorial I'll demonstrate how to center objects, how to "combine" more than one shape to cut one shape from another and how to "weld" several shapes into one. I'll also show you how to duplicate objects while changing their size and how to rotate an object with its center of rotation changed so as to duplicate shapes around a single point that you determine.

Before we begin, let's take a look at the shape we'll be creating (see figure 5.1).

figure 5.1

You may recognize this shape as the shape that's used to signify radioactivity. I had this shape in mind for a new design that I wanted to use here at GrafX Design. You'll see it showing up here-and-there at the bottom of various pages.

At first glance you may not see how this shape can be created with circles and triangles. Take a look at figure 5.2, though, and you'll note that the radioactive symbol is made up of an outer circle (shown in blue), an inner circle (in red) and three triangles (in yellow).

figure 5.2

Start out by opening a new image.

NOTE: If you don't see the rulers at the top and left of the main window--choose View, Rulers. This will turn the rulers on.

To help with the exact placement of the different objects that make up the final shape you can set the guidelines. Simply click-and-drag down from the ruler at the top to create a horizontal guideline, and click-and-drag from the ruler at the left to create a vertical guideline (see figure 5.3).

figure 5.3

You want the quidelines to dissect the image in the center so set the vertical guideline at 4.25 inches (half of 8.5 inches, the width of the page) and set the horizontal guideline at 5.50 inches (half of 11 inches, the length of the page). You can see the coordinates of the guidelines change, as you move them, in the lower left of the screen.

Now you're ready to begin drawing.

Select the Ellipse tool and, while holding down the CTRL key to constrain the ellipse to a circle, draw a circle about 2.5 inches in diameter.

Choose Arrange, Align and Distribute. This will bring up the Align and Distribute dialog box. Choose the Align tab, select Center of Page and click OK. Your circle should now be centered over the guidelines.

Choose Arrange, Transform, Scale and Mirror to bring up the Scale and Mirror dialog box (see figure 5.4).

figure 5.4

Make sure there's a checkmark in the Proportional checkbox and enter 80% beside the H in the Scale window (with Proportional checked you won't need to set both the H, horizontal, and the V, vertical. Click on the Apply to Duplicate button.

Change the 80% to 20% and click the Apply to Duplicate button again. You should now have 3 centered circles (see figure 5.5). Select the Pick tool and click away from the circles to de-select them.

figure 5.5

Click on the outside circle, to select it, and then SHIFT-click the second circle to select it as well.

Choose Arrange, Combine. Nothing seems to have happened, but the inner circle has been cut away from the outer circle leaving a donut shape with a large hole in it. If you select a fill color now you'll see that this is true because the second circle doesn't fill in (see figure 5.6).

figure 5.6

What you've just done is you've created a new shape from two separate shapes.

Double-click the Polygon tool to bring up the Options dialog box. Set the shape to polygon and the number of points/sides to 3.

Place the cursor in the middle of the circles and click-and-drag up and to the left to create a triangle. It should be big enough to span the distance between the small circle and the new circular shape (see figure 5.7).

figure 5.7

Choose Layout, Snap to Guidelines.

You may want to zoom in to about 400% to help with the following steps.

Select the Pick tool and use it to select the triangle shape. Move the shape into position with its bottom corner at the center of the circles (see figure 5.8).

figure 5.8

With the Pick tool still selected, click on the triangle again to get the rotation arrows. Move the center of revolution to the same point as the bottom of the triangle (see figure 5.9).

figure 5.9

The center of revolution is a small circle with a dot in it. It will originally show up in the center of the triangle. You can click-and-drag it into place. Since the snap-to-guidelines is set it will snap into place in the center of the guidelines.

You should still have the Scale and Mirror dialog box open. Choose Rotation. Set the Angle to 120 deg. and click the Apply to Duplicate button to create a second triangle. Click the Apply to Duplicate button once more to create a third triangle (see figure 5.10).

figure 5.10

Click anywhere to clear the selection and then click-and-drag a marquee around all of the shapes to select all of the objects.

Near the top-right of the screen you should see the Weld icon (see figure 5.11).

figure 5.11

Clicking on this icon will complete the image (see figure 5.12).

figure 5.12

Make sure you keep a copy of the vector drawing i.e. save the image as a CDR file so you can go back and make changes easily later on.

Of course, this final image was only really half of the design I had envisioned. To complete the design I exported the image as an EPS file and opened it in Photoshop. I then added some texture using Auto/FX. I played with the color, contrast and brightness, and lighting until I had the exact texture I wanted. I also added an Inner Bevel using Alien Skin's Eye Candy. Finally, I added a custom radial gradient behind the shape. There was still something missing, though, so to finish up I went back to Corel DRAW! and I created some text along a circular path and exported that, too. I then opened the text in Photoshop and cut-and-pasted it over the radioactive image to arrive at the completed design you see below (figure 5.13).

Creating Drop Shadows with Corel DRAW!

This tutorial will show you how to create drop shadows in Corel DRAW! I used Corel DRAW! 7.0 for Windows. Some things may be done differently with other versions.

Drop shadows are not something you'd expect to be able to do in a vector based drawing program. Although the shadows created with this technique differ from those done with a paint program such as Photoshop they are, nevertheless, a pretty cool effect.

Open a new graphic. Choose the text tool and enter your text. Choose the pick tool to select the text. Use Text, Format Text to bring up the Format Text dialog box.

Choose a size and font for your text. I used 50.0 points and the Dauphin font (see figure 1.1).

figure 1.1

Choose Edit, Copy then Edit, Paste. Move the top copy aside and use Edit, Paste to create a third copy. Move this one aside, as well (see figure 1.2)

figure 1.2

With this last copy still selected choose a light gray color. This will change the last copy to light gray.

Move one of the other copies over the light gray one so that it's a little above and to the left of the light gray copy. If you have to, use Arrange, Order, Forward one so that the black copy is above the light gray one (see figure 1.3)

figure 1.3

Use the pick tool to select both the light gray and the black copies.

Choose Effects, Blend to bring up the Blend menu. I left the default 20 steps and clicked Apply to get figure 1.4.

figure 1.4

Finally, use the pick tool to select the last copy and, with it selected, changes its color to the color you want the the text to be. Move it into place over the blended copies to arrive at something like figure 1.5.

figure 1.5

Creating 3D Buttons with Corel DRAW!

This tutorial will show you how to create 3D buttons in Corel DRAW! I used Corel DRAW! 7.0 for Windows. Some things may be done differently with other versions.

The buttons you'll draw during this tutorial were inspired by my stereo. I originally created these buttons for the first Earth Orbit Consulting web site. I subsequently went on to create the first GrafX Design online tutorial describing how I had created these buttons with Paint Shop Pro. To show you how some graphics can be created with a vector program as easily as they can be with a paint program, I'm re-creating that first tutorial here.

This technique involves a little more effort than the first Corel DRAW! tutorial though it's still rather simple.

Open a new graphic. Choose the ellipse tool and, while holding down the Ctrl key to constrain the ratio, draw a circle about 2.5 inches in diameter at the left of the page.

Select the pick tool and, with the circle selected, hit Ctrl-c and Ctrl-v to copy and paste the circle. Use the right cursor key to move the copy to the right of the page. (see figure 2.1).

figure 2.1

Select the rectangle tool and draw a rectangle between the two circles. Make sure that the corners of the rectangle meet with the circles (see figure 2.2)

figure 2.2

Use the pick tool to draw a marquee around both circles and the rectangle. Click the intersection icon. This will only create the intersection of the left-most circle and the rectangle (see figure 2.3).

figure 2.3

Use the pick tool to draw another marquee around the right-most circle and the rectangle. Click the intersect icon again. You should now have two intersections with the rectangle. Choose the circles, one at a time, and delete them. This should leave you with something like figure 2.4.

figure 2.4

Use the pick tool to select the left-most curve and fill this object with a light gray. Select the right-most curve and fill this object with a dark gray (see figure 2.5).

figure 2.5

Select the fill tool and choose the gradient tool from the flyout menu. This will bring up the Fountain Fill dialog box. Under Color blend, select Custom. This will change the Fountain Fill dialog box so that it resembles figure 2.6.

figure 2.6

Add another point to the blend by double-clicking above the rectangular blend window. Change the middle point (the one you just added) to a light gray by clicking on the Current pulldown menu (it's just above the custom blend window). Change the color at both of the outside points to dark gray. Set the Angle to 90 and adjust the middle point so that your blend resembles the one in figure 2.6. Click OK.

NOTE: The custom blend starts out with only a beginning and an ending point. You can add more points to create your custom blend by double-clicking above the blend window. These points can also be moved by clicking and dragging.

Select the button with the pick tool and, using the outline tool flyout menu, set the outline to none.

Use Arrange, Transform, Scale and Mirror to resize the button.

At this point you might want to save the button (see figure 2.7).

figure 2.7

I exported the button as a JPG with the following settings in the Bitmap Export dialog box. The really important settings to remember are the Maintain aspect ratio and Super-sampling.

figure 2.8

Use the text tool to add some text to your button. I used the Bedrock font. You may choose to copy and paste the text with a different color to add a highlight (see figure 2.9).

figure 2.9

Export the final button as a web-ready JPG and make sure you keep a copy of the vector drawing i.e. save the image as a CDR file so you can go back and make changes easily later on.