Never tried Green Screen ie;Chroma Key

[Egg Bramhill]

Thanks for sharing your work Sam. Great to see you using Xara so freely.

[Spectra13]

Hi all, apologies for my absence, it was one thing after another with issues on my PC and I haven't been able to get around to working with Xara. I recently finished editing a video for my dad and we needed a thumbnail so I kinda threw this video together to show our process for editing a photo and creating the thumbnail. This really isn't to ask for help, but as always, tips are greatly appreciated, I just thought that it might be nice to see my progression and how I've benefitted from everyone's tips.

https://youtu.be/_D0Ci9r44IU

[Chris M]

An alternative, and easier, way to make the text follow a curve is to:
Create a curve using the Shape Tool
Type your text anywhere in your project
Select both the curve and the text (Shift click), then
Arrange > Fit Text To Curve



You can then make the line width None to just leave the text.

[Chris M]

Looking at the design itself, I question whether the text suits the picture. The train is weight and power. The weather is inclement and visibility is poor. The picture, as a whole, is dark, moody and menacing.

In the first pic I made the Q249 prominent as it's short, mysterious and punchy, as in, the train IS Q249!
The second pic simply moves the text slightly behind the train, making the power and force of the train the most prominent feature.
#1 is the one I'd go with. #2 is a bit 'fussy'.

[handrawn]

only time to give video a quick watch - like the way you enhanced the picture

if you put text along the track you will need to give it perspective [taper it to the distance] same as the tracks, and the train, otherwise it will look clumsy

agree with chris re text - first pic the brain sees what is there immediately, second pic it needs a split second to seperate out the text from the train....

[Egg Bramhill]

Hi Sam, here's a video covering Chris M's & Handrawns points:

VIDEO

[Spectra13]

Apologies for the delay, all. Important family matters came up and I had to tend to them. I greatly appreciate all the tips and information everyone has provided. I will most definitely give the shape tool with the text a try. As far as the images created by Chris M, I would love to know how you did that! It looks amazing! And Egg, unfortunately, I am unable to see the XAR file as we aren't using the same version of Xara, I had an error pop up stating that some assets cannot be loaded due to that issue. I have yet to watch the video provided but I will as soon as I get the chance. Again, thank you all for the help and information.


This was what I ended up using, I neglected to upload it. If anyone wants to see what it looks like or change anything feel free. I removed the name of the game from the image so as to not advertise it here. So if it looks a bit empty or barren that's why.
Q249 Baltimore - Connellsville Autorack-v2.xar