first try with the contour tool

[molucca]

I was trying to shade the edges. Rich

[a4hire]

Hi Rich
You are off to a good start. Looks like you are working on the frame. Are you using the contour tool or the bevel tool? You seem to have different shapes for the corners of your frame. It might look better f it was one shape. ?

[molucca]

I didn't see this working too well on the frame. I think your correct, it would be better as one object. I shifted to the shell, and contoured the plate edges. It is more evident in the working file. In the image, they look like fuzzy lines. I read the help file, and tried several of the features. I wasn't able to do all the plates at the same time, and kept track of the settings. This worked nicely by entering the values. I will redraw the frame, and try again.

I added a file with a few working color images from the shell series.

Rich

[molucca]

I really think I am missing something. I had thought the contour tool would add edges to an object containing a bitmap fill. I tried cloning the shapes, and using the contour tool on them. It looked like I got several layers of objects with each object slightly smaller. It didn't seem possible to overlay onto a bitmap fill. I set the contoured object to the back, and overlayed to image fill. Rich

[RAMWolff44]

with all your experimenting Rich [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I wish I had an engineers mind sometimes, you really disect each tool to fully understand it's strenths and weaknesses and come up with some really wonderful stuff as a result [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Keep on keeping on man [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

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

[molucca]

Looks like there is a difference between contours for objects, and objects filled with bitmaps. For objects themselves, the contour makes layers of objects at the defined size. The single contour appears very useful. It would make a good highlight object, and whatever else...

The bitmap filled object appears to contour the border of the object. I think that was the case with the shell image. I tried this with the frame, and got a contoured set of lines.

I have had a problem with the fill gallery not appearing, and haven't gotten back to see if this is really the case.

I have just finished reloading the application, and it seems to be back to normal.

The contour tool looks like it has great potiential. Rich

[molucca]

I had a chance to look at the bitmap filled object. Once it was converted to editable shapes and ungrouped, I could see the multiple layers of smaller objects. This was the same as the plain object. The fill location was the same for the objects, and the area looked like the fill with contour lines.

Another expirment looking at shapes. Rich

[molucca]

When transparency was applied to the contour group, I got a glow effect around an irregular shaped object. As a group, it appeared that the transparency was uniform across the objects. I will look at converting the group to editable objects, and ungroup. My expectation is that each object can have the same transparency value, and that the transparency of the set will decrease as the number of objects increase. Since the objects are different sizes, this should create a transition in transparency, and be continuous around an object. Ric

[molucca]

A bitmap filled object with a four step contour was conveted to editable shaped and ungrouped. The objects were all selected and transparency applied. As the layers stack over each other, the transparency changes. Depending on the profile, you would be able to adjust the effect. Rich

[molucca]

The glow effect. At least that is what I called it. Rich