Spooked by Xara X

[pduggan]

Already posted a smaller version of this image in Joroho's 'Photo Album' thread (Xara X forum), but thought I'd try it again here in the hope of encouraging some comment from someone!


<br clear="all">


Why it ended up like this was quite spooky, really: I was playing around with XX, trying to get a blend between my younger and older selves, when up popped this message I'd never seen before: This operation may take a long time to complete. (Think about it...) But I decided to run with it!

BTW, the initial 5 step blend took no time at all (unlike some things that never seem to prompt the same little window), but the 100 step blend and the JPEG export were not exactly quick. Don't know exactly how old I was in the black &amp; white photo, but the 'real' time required for that 'blend' must have been about 35 years!

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[This message was edited by Peter Duggan on April 15, 2001 at 09:59 PM.]

[pduggan]

Already posted a smaller version of this image in Joroho's 'Photo Album' thread (Xara X forum), but thought I'd try it again here in the hope of encouraging some comment from someone!


<br clear="all">


Why it ended up like this was quite spooky, really: I was playing around with XX, trying to get a blend between my younger and older selves, when up popped this message I'd never seen before: This operation may take a long time to complete. (Think about it...) But I decided to run with it!

BTW, the initial 5 step blend took no time at all (unlike some things that never seem to prompt the same little window), but the 100 step blend and the JPEG export were not exactly quick. Don't know exactly how old I was in the black &amp; white photo, but the 'real' time required for that 'blend' must have been about 35 years!

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[This message was edited by Peter Duggan on April 15, 2001 at 09:59 PM.]

[RTK]

It's a neat looking effect. The Xara help files for the blend tool also describe a method for creating a morphing type effect. I don't know how well it works for complicated things like faces.

I get that window when using the blend tool on a great number of objects and I always wonder how long of a time a "long time" is...

Risto

[This message was edited by Risto Klint on April 15, 2001 at 11:08 PM.]

[Ross Macintosh]

I've never tried it but - What would happen if you did a bitmap trace of each face before blending?

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[pduggan]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I've never tried it but - What would happen if you did a bitmap trace of each face before blending?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As far as I can see, you have to (see new attachment) - my blended shapes were always tracings (about 20 passes and no tolerance for noise, area, colour, accuracy or smoothing) because the bitmaps (GIFs) didn't exactly blend!

But I don't know why the blending process left me with those rectangular grey boxes (which I so craftily hid with transparency in the original)...

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[This message was edited by Peter Duggan on April 16, 2001 at 11:54 AM.]

[RTK]

This is a 5 step blend between two bitmaps.

You can blend bitmaps but it looks more like a gradual transparency thing.

Risto

[This message was edited by Risto Klint on April 16, 2001 at 12:34 PM.]

[pduggan]

Can see the end result there, Risto, but I've checked the help files and I can't make this work! Must still be doing something wrong... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

But what lower shape are they talking about in step 7? When I follow these instructions, my shapes end up side by side, not on top of each other. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]


Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

[This message was edited by Peter Duggan on April 16, 2001 at 01:14 PM.]

[RTK]

The two groups that you have created:

- make the top most image transparent in one of them and the bottom one transparent in the other.

Are you doing this?

Risto

[RTK]

(1) The two images you have should be stacked on top of each other (and grouped)

(2) Make an excact duplicate of these two stacked and grouped images.

Then do the transpareny thing that I mentioned.

You are actually using 4 bitmaps...

Does it make any sense?

Risto

[pduggan]

Just been trying this again (successfully!), but by superimposing the shapes for the groups on one another before grouping. It doesn't actually tell you to do that, but step 7 doesn't make sense if you don't!

So did everyone else just assume that extra step or what?

Peter</p>

Peat Stack or Pete's Tack?</p>

PS Yes, Risto, it makes sense - there's a missing step 2a in the instructions! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]