New challenge - vacuum-packed look

[Fuerza]

David, I ended up coming across the same procedure before I read your post. I am having alot of problems getting the color to match my background color. Plus, I can't see to get rid of the square lines around each JPEG after the bump effect is employed.

[David O'Neil]

Find out what the RGB value of the background color is, then use that as a custom color for the 'light' in the XPE bump map package.

You will have to write it down and re-enter it manually for each bitmap, as XPE does not remember custom colors. It is frustrating, but can be done, as the attached shows. I did nothing besides XPE's bump map and a background rectangle, and, as you can see, there are no squares around each individual bitmap.

Best wishes,
David

[Fuerza]

David,

I actually tried what you suggested with the "light" option and matching it to the background color but I ran into brick walls on that. The custom color editor that is available on the 3D Bump Map - Light option would not take the exact values of RGB that is my background color (RGB-82.4,7.5,27.8). Firstly, I will never be able to perfectly color match in order to get rid of the lines/boxes image around each landmark image. Secondly, when I did input RGB data to the Light color editor, it would constantly change the HSV levels as well. When I tried to put the HSV levels back to where they should be, it would change the RGB levels!! Arrgghhhh!!! Unless I am missing some elementary idea/concept/function/concept of the Light editor, I am at a loss!

Plus, where is the eraser in Xara? I'm trying to erase some items from the image but I can't find an eraser in XXP.

[Fuerza]

Ok, David, I tried to recreate your "Lavender Lincoln" but couldn't do it.

I downloaded the file you included. I imported a new Lincoln image. Went to bump map. Inverted it right away, then clicked on the white "color" box. I chose the nearest lavender, just to see what would happen, and the lavender that was imposed on the Lincoln image was WAY darker than the hue I had seen and picked from the palette. What am I missing here?

[David O'Neil]

...Secondly, when I did input RGB data to the Light color editor, it would constantly change the HSV levels as well. When I tried to put the HSV levels back to where they should be, it would change the RGB levels!!

Pick the color in HSV *OR* RGB, not both. You cannot change the color in both systems at the same time. (Keep reading below for more on what you are not understanding.)

Plus, where is the eraser in Xara? I'm trying to erase some items from the image but I can't find an eraser in XXP.

There isn't one. What you have to do is to draw over whatever you are trying to erase with whatever you want to replace it. Being a vector package, Xara does the bitmap stuff differently than you are used to--in fact, it doesn't really do much in the way of bitmap operations, such as erasing individual pixels.

Ok, David, I tried to recreate your "Lavender Lincoln" but couldn't do it.

I downloaded the file you included. I imported a new Lincoln image. Went to bump map. Inverted it right away, then clicked on the white "color" box. I chose the nearest lavender, just to see what would happen, and the lavender that was imposed on the Lincoln image was WAY darker than the hue I had seen and picked from the palette. What am I missing here?

Well, I cheated. What you are missing is that I changed the light intensity (under the 'color' box on the main 3D Bump map control window) to lighten the lavender, and I used the same values on all three bitmaps, and then I used the color picker to match the background rectangle's color to the bitmaps.

What I did in this one is I used the 3D Bump map with the basic white, about 124%. Then I used the 'levels' control in the 3.02 Pro, and selected 'Pick white' on a background area to make it white. Then I created a white rectangle over the text under the Lincoln bitmap, to hide it. Then I drew a somewhat black line under the Lincoln bitmap, to try to fix up the line the text left screwed up. Then I made a rectangle over everything, gave it a gradient fill, and a flat, stained-glass, 0% transparency. Of course, the last step you could eliminate the fill, and give it the exact color you wanted, but use the transparency. Then I touched up my make-up line, to make it look a little better. It could still be improved.

I hope this helps.

David

(Edited - removed attachment, as was the wrong file. Darn temporary folders anyway! See my next post.)

[Fuerza]

Ahhh, so you cheated and did a reverse color matching tecnique! Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of doing that. I must use my company's custom colors

R-82.4
G-7.5
B-27.8

Unless you know of another way to make the restrictive color editor in bump map behave like the main color editor in XXP, I'll have to let this project go. Why?, I convinced the marketing director I could come up with a nifty way to address an issue at work. He gave me some time and tomorrow I have to tell him if it is doable or not. At this point, I'm going to have to tell him not. Again, I just don't know all the tricks in XXP to make it do what "I" want it to do.

I want to thank you for your input. I did learn some new things based on what you showed me.

[David O'Neil]

Like the following? Sorry, I got screwed up on the attachment in the last post--the file is not the file I thought it was. The following is per the directions of my last post. But now it uses a solid fill of the color you specified.

David

[Fuerza]

David,

Luck must be on my side. The marketing director had to leave early today and told me we would discuss the project sometime next week. So, that gives me the weekend to try and perfect this.

I like your novel approach to the color matching issue. I would have never thought to do the stained glass transparency effect. Excellent idea! Now, my question, what did you do to get the color out of the JPEGs to make them 'clear'? I clicked on each image to see if the 'edit bump map' was available, but it wasn't. So, how did you do it?

I actually came up with a way to do an exact color match, well 99.5% exact. After studying the problem some more when I came home I kept staring at the RGB levels of the fixed red I had to reproduce and the levels were always in percentages. Then I looked at the color editor in the bump map option and noticed that the RGB levels were based on 255 as a maximum. So, I decided to take 82.4% of 255 to get a number. Then I used that number as my R value in the bump map color editor. I did this for each one. Again, the red is near perfect - 99.5% perfect, but not absolute perfect.

I like your idea and want to try it. Just tell me how you did it.

[David O'Neil]

...Now, my question, what did you do to get the color out of the JPEGs to make them 'clear'?

After doing the bump map, without closing the Picture Editor, select the 'Levels' tool. The 'Pick white' button is indicated in the following graphic. Click on it, then select an area you want to be white. (They are not technically 'clear', but the stained glass transparency handles white as transparent.)

Then I looked at the color editor in the bump map option and noticed that the RGB levels were based on 255 as a maximum.

Good logic - you will figure this thing out quite quickly. There is a much easier way, though. Simply go to the 'Utilities->Options' menu items, and select 'Percent' as the color units.

EDIT - For more on the levels tool, see Paul Soderholm's marvelous tutorials on http://www.xaraxone.com/html/guest_tutorials_2007.html. Back up that URL tree to visit Gary's wonderful Xara Xone, where you are guaranteed to learn much more about the wonderful uses this tool can be put to.

[Fuerza]

David,

It is done! I showed the final product to the marketing director and he really liked it.

I spent most of the weekend trying some of the new techniques and tips you gave, plus doing alot of reading at XaraXone from the links you posted.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU!! It is people like you that make coming to this website for assistance an easy experience. I truly appreciate the time and patience you showed me, not to mention your willingness to share your knowledge and tricks of XXP - without it, I'd probably still be fighting with the nuances of the program.


Thanks...