Celtic Knot

[ken tompkins]

Wolfgang...

Thanks for that example; it is very helpful and does, of course, work.

The same technique doesn't seem to work on large lines -- say 8pt. The "handle" put on the line with the Shape Editor Tool seems too small for large lines. Is there a way to change the "handle size"?

What I mean to say is: What do I do when the line is much wider than the handle/break point (I am unsure of the terminology)?

ken tompkins

[gwpriester]

Ken (are you getting enough answers? :-)

Sometimes it is easier to convert the line to a shape (Arrange menu) and then use a line to cut it.

Convert your line to a shape, then draw a line where you want your line to be divided. Select both the shape and the trimming line and from the Arrange menu, select Combine Shapes > Slice Shapes. The trimming line thoughtfully disappears and even though it may not look like it, you now have two objects.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

Be It Rarely So Humble...

[ken tompkins]

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to post an answer to my queries. I have tried all of them and can now cut lines with almost no problems.

I appreciate the support.

ken tompkins [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[rheaton]

what you were after, but kinda cool. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ken tompkins]

Wow...That is really impressive.

I'd like to know how you did it. Thanks for sharing.

ken tompkins

[rheaton]

Note - First thing to do is send Gary Priester a thank you note, for he is responsible for most of the knowledge I used to accomplish this.

how to:
1 - Place the original bitmap on bottom uneditable layer
2 - Create a "knot" layer and trace the knot shapes and add them together
3 - Fill with gold color
4 - Make a clone
5 - Bevel the clone. I used a rounded bevel at about 10 pts. Send bevel to back.
6 - Create a background layer below the knot layer. Create your background shape. Fill it. Create a clone on top of the original. My background was a circle filled with green marble (on Xara disk) with a flat bevel applied.
7 - Cut (ctrl X) the cloned knot shape from the "knot" layer and paste in place (shift crtl V) on the "background" layer.
8 - Subtract the knot from the cloned background. This will become the embossing shape.
9 - Create a rectangle of white w/ no outline, apply 100% Mix transparency, and "Create Bitmap Copy". Delete the transparent white rectangle and the created bitmap. The bitmap is still in the Bitmap Gallery and can now be used as a fill.
10 - Fill the shape that resulted from step 8 with the transparent bitmap (in the Bitmap Gallery). Apply a flat 2 pt. bevel to the shape. Create an "emboss" layer, cut and paste in the same place the embossed shape to this layer. This shape creates the embossed effect over any background. (see the Gel threads for more on these and other cool techniques. Also, you will find a layer in the attached file where I filled this with a wood fill. Turned out pretty cool too.)
11 - Create a layer for the buttons above the knot layer. The buttons are a simple circle with red to black circular fill. For a highlite, I placed a white filled clone on top and applied circular transparency.

I think that's it.

Good luck. Let me know if I have been unclear on any of this.

Ric

[rheaton]

Ken,

I will be glad to send you the file, but it is too large (the marble & wood fills) to post here. Let me know and I will email it to you. (and anyone else who may want it)

Ric

[rheaton]

[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Egg Bramhill]

I've been doing jury duty the last week or so and it's amazing how many posts are added in just a short time. It took me 2 hours just to catch up with the XaraX forum!

I liked the challange of this one. I think that bevels are'nt the best tool for this effect, so I've done it using the contour tool, it gives more of a shadow effect. (As well as being quicker to re-render the screen)

Egg

[ken tompkins]

I've seen a good deal of 3d art but these are simply amazing. I like all of them. This final one would look spectacular with Gary's old copper fill or some other old metal.

My problem is that I can't keep up with all of you; probably a waste of my energy to try. I am struggling with celtic cats and, bam, there is something new in one of the other topics. Makes a fella think about other careers <g>.

Thanks again for all of the support and inspiration.

ken tompkins