Painting with the Shapebuilder tool - Video tutorial

[ber61]

Hi Ber First let's tackle the colours, go into your options panel (utilities > Options) and go to the view tab. Down at the bottom clear the check mark from delete unused colors and styles when saving. You should see the named colours on the colourline.

Thanks Frances. I did this the colors still do not show. The folder is in the color palette but has a small * beside it and appears empty.

Both the shapebuilder and the eraser tool are on the flyout menu with the rest of the drawing tools. Shift toggles between them and H toggles whether or not you can see all the nodes.

I have a shape erase, a shape builder tool, The shape tool, line tool and freehand tool. I guess it got lost in the install.
Still a great tut and I enjoyed it.

I exited the tut file and reopened it I now have the colors. Thanks again for all your help.

[angelize]

@ Ber: The shape eraser is the only one there is. That's what I was using in the tutorial

@Dcahall: I'm glad that you learned from the tutorial

[handrawn]

I've taken Phil's point on board, I'll try and put something together but video tutorials are not my speciality ...

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...ons-some-notes

[dcahall]

@Frances: I downloaded your .xar file but I do not see the color swatches. Should I see them? If not, how can I get them?

I am thinking about trying to create the watermelon even though I do not have the shape builder tool. I think the hardest part will be creating the shadow portions but I have an idea in the back of my mind of how I will do that as well. Yes, I know it will not work quite like you did but I still thinking about trying.

Creating the basic shape will not be that bad since I can use the other drawing tools (freehand & brush, shape, eraser and even the straight line tool) but the shadowing portions will be a bit trickier. I will probably have to watch the tut several times to get it all.

I really like the tutorials you and Gary create. I am not an artist but the two of you have encouraged me to try some things (with Xara and other tools as well). It is a fun way to spend some of my retirement time.

[stygg2003]

Great tut. Francis. I did the tut. and uploaded it in the Xone, I've just added a more appropriate background to this one Tropical Island, fresh melons, what more would be better? To be there

Stygg

[dcahall]

OK - I do not have the SB/E tool because I only have the PGD version of the software but I had to give the tutorial a try. Definitely not as smooth and polished as Frances' or Stygg's versions but here it is.



Do not laugh too hard

If you happened to look at it earlier, this is a slightly adjusted version.

Someone tell my how to delete the original version that still shows below

[dcahall]

Here is trial #3. I think I am getting a little closer with each try but it sure would be easier if I had the Shape Builder tool



Please Xara add the Shape Builder tool to the PGD product

OK - Now you all can have a laugh on me

Frances, you can see that I have enjoyed your tut

[stygg2003]

Here is trial #3. I think I am getting a little closer with each try but it sure would be easier if I had the Shape Builder tool



Please Xara add the Shape Builder tool to the PGD product

OK - Now you all can have a laugh on me

Frances, you can see that I have enjoyed your tut

Good effort dcahall, I'm not laughing at all. I did my drawing in Pro8 trial version so I try'd to recreate a few steps of the tut. in D.P.7 which I have and you'd be surprised at what you can do without the shape builder and eraser, not saying I don't need them, but there is always another way. I recreated the seeds and flesh just to see how it would turn out in DP7. So I will try the full tut. now in DP7.

Stygg

[dcahall]

Yep - it just would have been easier with the Shape Builder (plus I have seen other uses for the SB). I used the tool to do most of the areas like between the rind and the meat and for the shadows. It involved drawing areas, adding and dragging control points and lines, and then feathering them as well as making them transparent. Most of the ideas came from Frances' video then just trying to figure out how to accomplishing the things she did with the SB/E. I also drew some of this from some of Gare's tutorials that I had watched before.

Yesterday I went an looked at the product comparison chart again, and the only feature that I would use from DP that I do not have in PGD is the SB/E (and yes we have - and I used - the eraser in PGD). As a hobbyist I just could not justify the huge price difference to upgrade. Have to keep finding work arounds and that was challenged me in this exercise.

I did have some problems and had to try several times with the eraser. Primarily, when I tried to combine transparency and erasing to the same object (or group of objects) one of those steps would sometimes wipe out the other step (in particular if I used the erase on grouped objects (the seed and the background for the seed) the transparency would override the erased portion and return it to its original state plus the transparency. But perhaps I was doing something wrong. I do not use these tools every day like many of you people do so I just assume it was me.

Anyway, one again I think Frances did a great job with the tutorial and I appreciate your feedback. The way people like me learn is to make many mistakes and try to remember from one session to another what we did wrong so the next time we will get it right.

[angelize]

It's great to see the creative methods you guys are coming up with to work around the lack of the Shape builder in P&GD.

@ dcahall: your images look good keep up the good work. We all learn from our mistakes, I also learned a lot from these forums.