Filling voids on bowl forms and shapes.

I enjoy drawing bowl shapes and sometimes like to do a complete fill. I'm have trouble trying to get a complete fill from separate enties. I make a curve for one side of a bowl and duplicate the other side horizontally. The next step is to put a oval at the top. Next step is a straight line or oval for the bottom. When I go to fill I get a trapzoid void in the middle. When I join elments or other wise I need a solid fill without trying to make one continous line. I hope I have descibed what I'm trying to do here. Suggestions are welcome.

I enjoy drawing bowl shapes and sometimes like to do a complete fill. I'm have trouble trying to get a complete fill from separate enties. I make a curve for one side of a bowl and duplicate the other side horizontally. The next step is to put a oval at the top. Next step is a straight line or oval for the bottom. When I go to fill I get a trapzoid void in the middle. When I join elments or other wise I need a solid fill without trying to make one continous line. I hope I have descibed what I'm trying to do here. Suggestions are welcome.

Welcome to the Xara X Conference Geotroy

I'm not sure I am following what it is you are trying to accomplish, but assuming that your shapes are filled to begin with, and not open paths, try seleing the shapes and then from the Arrange pull down menu, selecting Combine Shapes > Add Shapes.

This what you are trying to do?

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

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XaraXone

This isn't quite the same, but you might like to try experimenting with something like this... there's probably an even easier way, but I'm not too experienced with the software...

1) Create an ellipse that is the open top of the bowl.

2) Clone (ctrl-k) the ellipse and set a new colour. This will end up being the body of the bowl. Switch to the select tool, and shift-drag the bottom handle down until the bowl is as deep as required. (The top will also expand up, but we'll fix that next.)

3) Choose Arrange -> Convert to Editable Shapes from the menus to convert the new ellipse. Now go to the shape editor tool, select the top point of the ellipse, right-click and choose 'delete points' to remove it. Next select the left point which will cause a red handle to appear above and below each of the left and right points. Grab one of the top handles and ctrl-drag it down to the horizontal. Grab the same top handle on the other side and repeat. You now have a perfect half-ellipse; push it to the back (ctrl+b) to see the full bowl opening again.

4) If desired, you could now clone the opening, then shift+select the bowl, and use Arrange -> Combine Shapes -> Subtract Shapes in order to cut away the (cloned) bowl-opening shape from the bowl body. (Separate the two shapes to see the result.)

5) You'll have to figure out something to make the bottom of the bowl flatter [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

6) Fill the shapes however you wish...

This makes simpler, more elliptical bowl shapes than you might be doing currently, but maybe it's useful to play with doing it this way...

So I thought of a decent way of making the bowl bottom after posting that [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

After step 2, clone the body, set the colour of the clone to transparent, and shift-drag the corners out so that the outline of the clone intersects the bottom of the filled ellipse along the path that you'd like the bottom of the bowl to be.

Now select both the filled bowl and the clone outline, and use Arrange -> Combine Shapes -> Intersect Shapes to make it happen.

You'll have some additional points to delete when you remove the top half of the shape... (just select all the points together (shift-click each additional point), and then 'delete points')

Thanks for your replies. I'm a woodturner building a new web site featuring my work on segmented & stave bowls. I have photos of my work and enjoy making a design from various drawing programs and then printing that design on 1/4" graph paper before I hit the woodshop. It is fast and easy to make open curves because then you can tinker with it and get it just right, but as I have discover getting fills is more difficult. A segmented bowl can easily have 150 pcs on up. Gary since you are from New Mexico you are probably familar with Southwest Art I do that also. Will try to post an attachment here to show you finished work. I also founded a club on Yahoo about segmented & stave turning we have over 450 members. http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/creativewoodturners

A bit oversized however. Could you substitute a smaller image, about 600 pixels wide?

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

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www.gwpriester.com </a>


XaraXone

The way I'd handle making a bowl in Xara is illustrated below. It is a coincidence that I've drawn a wooden bowl. Your pic of the bowl you turned wasn't yet posted when I started. Your's is very beautiful. Have you ever tried turning old apple wood discoloured by fungus growth? I've seen some examples and they are very beautiful.

In my minitutorial, steps 1 thru 4 represent the approach you suggest. If I understood you correctly, the question mark represents the next step you were inquiring about.

Step 5 shows what I'd do. Typically I don't fuss with trying to join all the lines together. Instead I would just draw a shape over the top using the 'shape editor tool'. The lines drawn earlier act as temporary guide lines that can be deleted after drawing the shape. I just roughly drew the top of the new shape because in the next step it gets put to back where you can't see it.

Step 6 - Guess what? I sent the yellow shape to back. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] I then gave it the same wood bitmap fill used earlier. I adjusted the fills handles untill its scale, repeat, and graining looked right for the bowl interior already drawn as step three.

Step 7 - I grouped all the objects that made up the step three objects so that when I would need to reorder object they would be a group acting as one. I cloned the bowl side and gave it black fill and transparency. Xara's interactive transparency handles were used to sculpt some three-dimensionality into the bowl. The shape was cloned again, filled white, and given eliptical transparency to create a highlight.

Step 8 - You can then proceed to go to town with adding additional elements/details as you see fit. Notably I added a rim to the top to give the wood some thickness. I used 'combine shapes>subtract shapes' to cut out a smaller oval from a larger one. The result was given the wood fill and was beveled. A touch of feathering helped make adding the rim very effective.

Bye for now.

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

Is this kind of what you were looking for? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]
If so tell me and I'll make a tutorial for it.

This was done really quick, so not as much detail and precision as it could have. Hope this helps

Steve Newport

Hey thanks guys we are getting there any lessions or how to do is appreciated. I will give you (ALL)one of my attaboy or attagirl awards. Your fills sure out do my simple outline drawings. Gary will try another photo here. I used XaraX to reduce the size down. I sure like the pixel review it gives you that is fantastic!!!!

Hi,
It's George Troy back again. Yes Steve Newport I would like a tutorial on your bowl you made. Thank you for taking your time to do this. Making a another attachment. Trying to get it all down just right. What program would you suggest Gary, to reduce your Jpeg down for posting. Chances are I have it. Thanks

Irfanview Download Page

Irfanview is my default viewer, can resize pics in just about any format and has plugins that will allow you to alter/improve your images. It's a split second for it too load an image, none of this 10 second loading stuff (photopaint and Xara both take a moment to load with the plugins added in, irfanview has it all figured out and loads instantly)

Use this to resize you pics, then sharpen them up a bit and you got it!!

Enjoy

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>What program would you suggest Gary, to reduce your Jpeg down for posting.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry if I'm not Gary, but I'd suggest Xara X! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]



Peter</p>



Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

but I agree with Peter, Xara X is all I use for resizing any bitmap image.

Soquili

I reduced the image in Xara for you.

Ross and Steve, great results.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://www.gwpriester.com">
www.gwpriester.com </a>


XaraXone

I just practiced making a bowl the shadowcat style. Lets see how it downloads.

After seeing what Ross and Steve came up with, I'm surprised that my tinkering was of any interest [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I'm glad if you find it helpful, though!!!

So I did a wooden planter and water catcher.

Hope it looks OK.

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Question:

How do I round those corners?? I used the mold tool to create the envelope shapes, cloned then flipped down and put together. but is there a way to round all the shapes to get the effect that geotroy posted. Love that vase, but can't figure out how to re-create it.

While I like my attempt well enough, I would like to learn how to create a rounded segmented effect.

Thanks

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

I could've sworn I had already posted this! Anyway, here ya go!

Steve Newport

Here's a closer view

Steve Newport

Hello Steve,
Thanks for your input. I will be making more bowls on the computer than in the shop. Look how close you came to this one with out even seeing it.

Thanks loads for the tutorial Steve, just made my birthday even better.

Yup, turned 41 today. Went to see A Beautiful Mind. Don't like Crow, he's such a pig in real life, but MAN O MAN was he good in this flic. And of course Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth, Dark City)was wonderful.

Thanks Again.

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Yea, I have 5 friends that have a b-day today!! (Jan 14) How crazy & weird is that??

Steve Newport

....my first completed project in XaraX. Didn't do much with the background. But the wooden bowl, the stand and the table are all mini works of art.

I know that shadows are subtle and sometimes many. I guess that's up to the artists imagination and trying to keep it as realistic as possible. I know it's probably off (shadow wise) if anyone can give me a tut on how to create multi shadowed effects, come one, come all. I imagine that it has to do with cloning the main object and applying various shadows from the shadow tool, or building your own and laying them down in the right areas. Like the mold tool, slowly and surely but sometimes it boggles my mind.

I loved doing this. I really am happy the geotroy started this post. I have learned allot. Some lessons harder than others but mostly all really fun.

I think I did pretty well. The JPG was the smallest in KB's. The PNG was huge and usually it can be smaller in size than JPG's...Weird!!

So comments are welcome and any info on multi shadowing and personal experience's with doing them are more than welcome.

Thanks gang

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Very inspirating. Steve I would like to ask you for permission to use your techinque in one of my upcoming tutorial for grafika.cz. It's so fantastic that I would like to show some non-believer photoshop/3d program users there that Xara rocks (again [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] Most of the readers use PS or 3d programs there and this is areally fantastic example of Xara's power. I get around 300-500,-CZK for tutorial on average (depends on number of displays.. which = $6-10 and I usually spend over 5 hours over one tutorial. I'm not doing it for money but as an indirect XaraX advertising.

Roman

Would you be using my Graphic or creating your own based on mine? I don't know the guidlines of the site for tutorials (If they have to be text or not) but if you did I'd prefer my graphic just so it could get some more use! If not, you can use it either way, fine by me! All I ask is if you happen to hit big bucks with this one, we split it 50-50 aight? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] Thanks for asking first, very rare on the net these days (Or so I here) [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Steve Newport

Stewe Newport wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Would you be using my Graphic or creating your own based on mine? I don't know the guidlines of the site for tutorials (If they have to be text or not) but if you did I'd prefer my graphic just so it could get some more use! If not, you can use it either way, fine by me! All I ask is if you happen to hit big bucks with this one, we split it 50-50 aight? Thanks for asking first, very rare on the net these days (Or so I here) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Own GFX using your tut, steb by step. Accompained by text and gfx. I don't know when, but for sure I feel like doing it soon. I'll let you know when it's published.

Thanx for permission.

I'll let you know how much hits/bucks this one got for sure. If I ever get some way to transfer those $$$ to you, I will.. Or, if you happen to fly around SK, just visit my place, you are always welcome. Or, maybe I'll visit US, or maybe not. We'll see. I wish the world travelling was easier.

Roman

Great job Ramwolff. Here's another you can play with if you wish. George Troy

That made my morning to get a nice compliment from you, the original poster. I worked, literally, all day on it. Finished when I posted it, I started around 10:30 AM. Little breaks to eat and stretch and ............ hmmmm, nope that's all I did. No wonder the house is a dusty mess, better do that today. Last day of vacation. At least the dishes and laundry are done ; )

I'll give it a go with the squirel plate. I don't know how to do a squirel in Xara. So I will have to play around with that one.

I've uploaded the final final. I worked on the shadows allot more, and the little stand that the plate is on is more in perspective with the table and I did finish out the background. Interesting and fun. Got up this morning after sending out a few for my friends to review and I got allot of WOW's!! in the subject line of responces from them. Made me feel good and I think I am really getting it. It's work, but so is art work by hand.


Have a good one

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by RAMWolff on January 15, 2002 at 10:54.]

Here is the finished plate. I couldn't figure out a squirel and so I did my own thing. I like the Celtic Knot thing so I did this one. Turned out pretty good.

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]