Native paint bucket tool

When we see a native paint bucket tool, like Flash.

Currently, I make the drawing in some steps...

First, I make the 'ink' drawing with Black color stroke.
Second, I make the 'shadow' drawings over the inked image, with red color stroke.
Export to Adobe Illustrator, and read it with Adobe Flash. I use the paint bucket tool to paint the bounded areas.
I delete with the eraser tool, with the options 'Delete lines only', and export to Adobe Illustrator.
I read it on the Xara application, and delete the 'shadow' drawings.
Final, I have only the painted areas, and the inked drawing... like this

http://ageo.deviantart.com/art/Tutor...ash-D-32872090

This is a final work...

http://ageo.deviantart.com/art/Karen...lena-107738160

Xara could be perfect if is implemented a real and native paint bucket tool, that allow us jump some hard-worked steps.

This request has made made many times before by members. Most of the request made have mentioned either they way Inkscape works or the way Adobe Live paint works in Illustrator and here are a few links to rge requests:
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...t=26742&page=5
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...t=30830&page=5
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=30830
I could go on but as I said it has been requested many time. For any other members reading this thread before post use Google to do the search not the search here on the forum. Could type in you query followed by site:talkgraphics.com . To give you an example for this query it would be: paint bucket tool site:talkgraphics.com

I am not trying to be rude here but the way that you use your work flow seems that your are giving your self more work. You must be using Adobe AI CS3 for its improved flash handling export so why nor just import your work into Illy and use live trace and live paint there and then export it flash as you must want to animate your drawing and not just use the paint bucket there.

alternatively - why not make a second line drawing in xtreme with no gaps and break it into shapes - this is what I do - usually a lot quicker than moving to another program

sorry if I have mis-understood

that said a paint bucket tool would be very useful if it included automatic gap closing like inkscape does - as Peter says, a much requested feature

As far as deleting the lines only and the "shadows" only you can simply put these on their own layers in Xtreme.

A paintbucket, flood-fill would be great for me too, but it isn't a "must have" for most Xara users, so we are unlikely to get it. Still, no harm in asking.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MarkMyWords

A paintbucket, flood-fill would be great for me too, but it isn't a "must have" for most Xara users

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+1 from me too. Hope that helps the cause.

Are you sure it's not a "must have" for many Xara users? After watching Bob Hahn's Youtube video on drawing a cartoon dog head, I just kept asking myself, "why does this user have to spend so many minutes tweaking a fill shape to conform to the head, when he could just create one with a click of a mouse by using a flood fill?"

If you've worked on cartoons, you know that it involves shapes built out of multiple lines (overlapped shapes, protrusions, et al) - which are not always fully encasing an area, sometimes you want to leave a gap for stylization - yet fill this area with color. An Inkscape style paint bucket with gap tolerance would be just fab. Then you wouldn't have to draw again a shape you've already drawn, just to create the fill.

Okay, I know a trick: make a Clone of all those outlines, apply Convert Line to Shape on them, then, Add Shapes, Break Shapes, and you've got yourself a fill shape ("conveniently" hidden in the bottom of the other shapes you can delete). But this only works if the lines form a closed shape. You'll need to slice across the gaps with a pen if you want to fill an opened area. Also, the fill shape created with this trick is only barely touching the inner edges of the oulines, so you may need to expand it a wee bit with Contour (and then do another break shapes, delete excess shapes procedure). All this would be so much faster with a Paint Bucket. Oh yes. (Yes, I am aware of Inkscape. I am also aware of the frustration involved in having to switch between programs)

Don't enough people use Xara for cartooning to justify the development effort?

Actually... what new features are coming up in the future versions of Xara? Where do I need to look to find out, anyone?

it would save us an awful lot of time - yes

I vote for a fill tool, too, or at least the ability to fill unclosed shapes. It wouldn't necessarily have to be a "paint bucket" type tool, although I wouldn't mind that. Having options for gap closing would be nice as well.

If Xara would opt to have unfilled open shapes without creating a specific tool just for that, it might be implemented like:

1. An option in the Options dialog box (which can already stay open as you work)

or

2. A toggle button or checkbox on the Info Bar that appears when using the Shape Editor, Pencil, or Pen tools to let you choose to fill or not as you go. The fill/not fill option could even be assigned to a keystroke.

I do cartooning in Xara too, and I agree with Handrawn... this would be a real time saver.

This may help some people. Using a workaround, you can create static (non-dynamic) filling of open regions in Xara. The video below demonstrates this. A live fill tool would be nice though.

Related to the open, filled shapes trick, here's another trick: if you fill your open paths with white (black outlines), you can use the open filled paths to create protrusions and overlapped shapes. Then group the lines together, and switch their Transparency mode to "Stained Glass". Then create your fill shape and place it behind the grouped outline object.

This allows you to use a single color fill shape - combined with open filled paths to create overlapping shapes. But it only works with black outlines and white fill, as otherwise Stained Glass gives a translucent effect.

Here, this is what I mean:

Oh yeah, I have a video for that too if it helps people:

... yes, that's the one I linked to in my previous message. Yes, it has helped people. *pats Xhris on the back* My diagram continued on the subject, and explained how to use the Stained Glass transparency mode, if for some reason they want to use open & filled shapes to create the outlines, but traditional fill shapes for the color. If nothing else, changing the color of the character requires modifying the fil color of only one object.

The shape doesn't have to be behind the line nor doesn't it have to be near the line.

Hans

Oh yeah, well spotted. It didn't appear to work because the attributes aren't transferred when joining away from each other. But it does work. I'm updating all these videos at some point for HD viewing, so I'll add that.

Nice well explained mini tutorial there Skaven, explains the work around well. No it it's not really a workaround it is the way to do the drawing and if you change some of the lines to shapes and then quickly edit those it gives a far better look to the drawing.

Paint Bucket, yes please!