shape transparency

**jvila** · 15 February 2009, 04:13 PM

I answered this in other thread, I copy the answer:

THAT IS ONE OF THE POINTS WHAT I WANTED TO EXPLAIN, multiple step transparency, you catched it Charles, the other point is shape transparency, I know you can get it with actual tools but I think that shape transparency would be easier and interactive, the same request I've made to fill tool in other thread.

I'm attaching a drawing about what I mean with shape transparency obviously the edges would be manage with profiles to get more sharpness o feathering.
I hope I have been clear enough.
anyway step transprency is much more than good news.
Best regards

**steve.ledger** · 15 February 2009, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by Charles Moir

Javier, you deserve better answers than those first few replies, and I apologise on behalf of the moderators.

Thanks but not required on my behalf Charles. My answer was perfectly legit, potentially useful and polite. Unless you read something into to I didn't?

**jvila** · 15 February 2009, 05:47 PM

Steve,
I received your answer in a good way, polite as ussual, the problem was the answer of the other moderator

**Albacore** · 17 February 2009, 10:37 AM

Sorry Jvila it was me being rude and I do apologise for me being rude and abrupt I am not normally like that if you have read any of my posts.

It was me that brought the idea of "Dear Xara" to this board and with the help of Steve and Egg it came to fruition basically for the reason to gather up all the requests into one area making it easier for members to report and read. Another reason was that the main board was getting filled up with the Wish List Requests leaving little room for the main purpose of the XPro & Xara board that was to help members and give info. When I saw your post the other day, I just saw another request for the Mesh Tool which I still think it is and that this tool has been requested so, so many times. Charles also chose this time to give info on progress being made on the next release of XPro and how the feathering tool can be used and stating that Xara would not appear or unlikely to appear with a Mesh Tool and stating how rude I was. Again I will apologise how I responded to your request.

If you read any of the posts on the mesh tool in this forum you will read that my work has dictated for the last 5 years to use Illustrator and that I have a bit of knowledge on the mesh tool. I have stated that I would only use it for simple shapes as to use this tool correctly takes planing and that transparencies with feather in portraits of people is much faster in XPro and I showed one wireframe example of a young Chinese person done in Illustrator and its complexity. Here is the link for the drawing and it is post 43: http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...t=15540&page=5

**jvila** · 17 February 2009, 11:38 AM

Thank you Albacore,
I accept you apologies, We are here to draw, be happy and share our work with other people and the last thing I want is to argue with somebody.
The incident is finished, everything is ok.
Cheers.

**alexbozhenov** · 27 February 2009, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by Charles Moir

And it turns out that the Feather control, combined with Transparency control, especially graduated transparency gives a faster, easier method than any Mesh tool for creating complex shading and highlighting. And this is why Xara has not, and is very unlikely ever to implement a Mesh tool. In the hands of those artists that understand the power of the feather control it can produce outstanding results, with fewer edits.

See this. The last example takes a few seconds in Xara by using feather and transparency controls (clone a few times and adjust each), and would be very difficult in all other drawing programs I know.

Charles,
Too sad to hear you won't implement any kind of Mesh tool.
Your example is looking good, but it just some abstract shape.
Is there any chance to see couple fruits or something (made with Xtreme) from the real world? Not like some green apple... somewhat a bit more complex? I still can't imagine acceptable quality...

Albacore,
I found Mesh very very useful...

**Christine Farrelly** · 27 February 2009, 04:32 PM

In fact you can do this with Xara. Create your shape - any shape - draw a second shape inside that you want to be opaque. Set the outer shape to no line and no colour, inner shape to colour and no line. blend from outer to inner increase steps to get quality required - easier if you set view quality to draft so you can see the outer shape.

You can even still edit the shapes by control selecting them.

Christine

**jvila** · 27 February 2009, 05:22 PM

Christine,
I'm not being clear enough, let me see if I can explain me better.
If you make a circle you have the ability to apply a circular transparency and to move the center of the transparency, if you also have stepped transparency you could have diferent grades of transparencie over the transparency circle.
The use of a transparency tool is the same as circular one but instead of being a circle it has the shape as the original shape.
I know that you can get similar results using blend tool, but takes much more steps, on the other hand if I can get that result with blend tool I would not need the circular, eliptical, etc transparencies, I think that they are there because they are easier and faster that other methodes.
Imagine that you have the tool proposed by me and think if it could make your work easier, that is my intention,
I tackled many times this dificulty and think how well if I had a shape transparency or a shape fill tool
I'm attaching an image to compare how many steps take using blend and the tool proposed.
I draw a black rectangle and draw a white rectangle over it, next I applied a shape transparency and move the center of the transparency tool to anywhere, next adjusted the handlers to give the size of transparency I want.
Please try to do this with blend and count how many steps it takes.
I put a S to show the diferents spercentages of transparency
May be exist other easier ways to get the same, I don't know
Obviously it is a suggestion that's all, I'm going to use xara anyway

Best regards.

**jvila** · 27 February 2009, 05:29 PM

I had a mistake in preview picture.
Here it comes again
Sorry

**Christine Farrelly** · 27 February 2009, 05:42 PM

You could still do this using several shapes with different transparencies and blending between each one - I agree it is more steps and a shape transparency and fill would be nice but doesn't look as though it's on the list.

Christine