The possiblities of Xara's Mould

I've had health issues lately, but it seems no one has posted while I've been away, so I don't feel too badly :).

Just to rev up again, I'd like to offer a work-around from back when my machine didn't have the processing power to render a page of text. I think that was in October.

The attached Xara file has a poem set in Times Roman, set in a frame as paragraph text, and a rendered model of an open book, with curvy edges, almost cartoonish. Your assignment, Jim, is to take the text, and on a clean copy of the book image, wrap the text to conform to the curves of the right hand page.

Attachment 133029


Yeah. As a set of instructions go, it's pretty journeymsannish. So I'm soliciting that you take this "assignment" to a higher level, your own. Try to incorporate a vector illustration. Definitely use a better font than Times Roman! I used the Mould tool using the curved top and bottom option, but if you have a better way of doing this 2½ D composition, by all means do it, and then share it. There's also not a very good reason to run with my text. I don't know of a lot of people who don't like either of the Browning's prose, but if the ingredients to a stick of gum excites you, go with that, you Sodium Benzoate Lovers! :)

Oh, and to life the text off the page just slightly, to accentuate the suggestion that the text is embossed on the page, I duplicated the warped text, gave it a white fill, Ctrl+Shift+B to put it back in the stack order by one, and then nudged the white text down and to the left by one pixel. Ctrl+Shit+O will get you to Options, bottomish left of the General Options you can redefine the default nudge size.

Last note, promise. Upon reviewing my own work, it's hardly perfect. So please out-do me, okay? I thrive on being humbled.

Have a good weekend!

My Best,

Gary

Okay Gary, you've got me hooked. Here's my attempt:

Yeah, you just took a photo of a real book there, Egg. You can't fool me, I know the difference between a Koala and a Drop Bear.

Excellent job.

You've caught me out Chris! Here's my original source and my latest version with a drop Bear :D

from Grisham to Coleridge to Milligan nice one Mr B... and the dropbear is cute :D

I see a lot of effort and a good sense of imagination here! Thanks for participating!


Only one observation. You wouldn't use a drop-shadow on a surface that is off-axis and curved in three dimensions. The Shadow tool in Xara doesn't cut it. I'd say pose and light a book just to get the sense of the potential

shadow.





I think it's obvious your could out-do my attempt here

My Best,

GaryAttachment 133039

Cheers peeps.

The Drop Bear is not all mine, I used an illustration from the content catolgue "Koala" and just 'meaned' him up.

No use of Xara's drop shadow here Gary.

No room for Roger McGough unfortunately HD.

sadly no... or that other Liverpool Poet: Brian Patten: 'Gargling with Jelly' might have gone down well after Spike... so to speak...

@hd - I've just sent for a second-hand copy of that Brian Patten Poetry book. It's illustrated by Chris Riddell which is a great bonus.

I seem to be rediscovering the joy of poetry lately. If you're ever down Whitefriargate (Hull) there's a cafe/record/bookshop called Wrecking Ball which has good selection of poetry publications (and a decent coffee): https://wreckingballstore.co.uk/prod...rature/poetry/

(apologies Gare for going a bit off topic)

I haven't used the mould tool in that way, yet. About the only thing I've done is create a complex shape in Xara, then export it as an AI/EPS file, to import into Wings 3D to create a one-way extrusion of the shape, then export that to OBJ format, to import to Vue Creator to use for 3D illustrations...

The first image is an aerial view of a Japanese imperial capital within a distant star system. The shape of the city is the chrysanthemum kammon, or the imperial family crest. The second image, was a depiction of the Shogun's imperial flagship, the crest on it's back is the butterfly kammon of the Taira house of the Shogun.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonopen

@hd - I've just sent for a second-hand copy of that Brian Patten Poetry book. It's illustrated by Chris Riddell which is a great bonus.

I seem to be rediscovering the joy of poetry lately. If you're ever down Whitefriargate (Hull) there's a cafe/record/bookshop called Wrecking Ball which has good selection of poetry publications (and a decent coffee): https://wreckingballstore.co.uk/prod...rature/poetry/

(apologies Gare for going a bit off topic)

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yes we have been to the wrecking ball :)
hope you are getting on with gargling with jelly, my daughter loved it

@gare - yes sorry for the digression... have you tried the affinity 2 warp for vector ? - leaves xara's mould behind in the dust...