Feather edges

[Grafixman]

Exactly, Peter. And you don't really need the convert to bitmap step in Draw. Just copy it directly to the clipboard, it will paste as a bitmap in Photopaint. The previous tip I gave also had an extra unnecessary powerclip to a bigger transparent rectangle. It is redundant, as the feathering in Photopaint goes inside, not outside the mask, so you don't need the extra empty space. The final step should also be to copy the feathered layer to the clipboard and paste it back in Draw. It would save you the trouble of having to find it and import it back to Draw.
This topic has been very helpful to me, at least. It forced me to learn Photopaint, and find a better way of doing something.
Now if they would just introduce vector feathering in Draw, life would really be simpler http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif.

[tacksie]

Hi peter thanks for that you make it sound so simple i'm embarrassed that I can't seem to grasp it. I did exactly what you said and power clipped the image into a heart shape, I then converted into a bitmap...no problem. Right click to edit in photopaint and ?????? where is photopaint ? unless it is inside the coreldraw 11 somewhere I don't have it. Is photopaint a separate software package or do I have it in corel and don't even know it. I am sorry guys I know it sounds pathetic......but thats learners for you

Peter from one englishman to another my apologies i'm letting the side down

thanks again guys

David

[Sark]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Now if they would just introduce vector feathering in Draw, life would really be simpler <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's staggering that Xara X has had this since version 9 of Draw was around, Illustrator too, yet they still refuse to add it three Draw versions later.
This is one of the reasons I'm still using version 9.

One point worth making however, this is not a vector effect. Feathering basically creates a bitmap, controlled by a transparent path. If you could apply drop shadows to objects without any fill or outline color you would have a feathering tool. Which means most of the code is already there.
Of course, as a bitmap, powerclipping into the feathered object wouldn't be possible.

Sark

[Peter Clifton]

Ah, now it starts to become clear

What version of CorelDRAW are you using?

Photopaint is the companion bitmap editor to CorelDRAW it has been in the full suite since V3, though only started to get interesting to me in V7 when full layer support was added.

The only versions of Draw not to have Photopaint are

CorelDRAW 8 Classic edition
CorelDRAW 11 stand alone edition - the Corel Graphics Suite 11 included it
CorelDRAW Essentials V2

Don't know about CorelDRAW 9 Office Edition, I have never seen that in operation.

As Sark has said, without a bitmap editor it is nigh on impossible to feather and object in Draw.

You can do it only with vectors similar to graphixman's technique he posted. But I think it is more trouble than it is worth and too limited in functionality.


Download the attached CDR file

Import a bitmap into Draw
Select the interactive transparency tool
Select texture transparency from the context sensitive toolbar
Then select full color pattern transparency from the same roll down list
Click on the edit transparency button (first in the toolbar) and load up my CDR file

You can slide the heart around a bit by editing the transparency but eventually the tiling effect will appear. But you could powerclip the bitmap inside a smaller rectangle to mask the effects

Note: a bitmap with this vector transparency effect really slows draw down so it may be worth converting the finished image to a bitmap when you are happy.

Personally I would start using my previous technique and when you have a heart shaped bitmap in Draw, export it as a PSD photoshop file and feather the object in Photoshop which I am sure must have such a command, then reimport it back into Draw.

HTH

Peter

P.S. Sorry for not realising you did not have PhotoPaint only it is quite rare for a Draw user not to have access to it.

[tacksie]

Hi Peter...
Since my last post I have spoken to my systems man and he informs he deliberately didn't load photopaint on my system because I have adobe photoshop which he says knocks photopaint for six.....great !. When I explained what I was trying to do & that I was talking to guys on the corel forum he still insists I should be doing all my image editing in photoshop and export to corel.He says nothing beats adobe photoshop its the best out there.

Anyway, I have downloaded the heart shape you sent and its absolutely perfect..just what i was trying to do.......Thank you I really appreciate your help.

Regards, David

[Peter Clifton]

tacksie

Is photoshop better than photopaint, well maybe, but we are talking of an integrated whole here, that and the fact that despite operational differences there are very few things in most day to day bitmap operations Photoshop can do that Photopaint cannot.

There are several tricks that can only be done (or more commonly done more quickly) when both packages are working together side by side.

I'll be honest here, my Draw Suite usage is probably 90% Draw, 9% Paint and 1% Rave. There are others in the main Corel newsgroups who work the otherway around Draw as a supplemental program to Photopaint

I will be extremely vocal should Corel even think about dropping PhotoPaint.

You really should talk to your systems guy, by all means continue to use Photoshop but IMHO you are being hamstrung by not having PhotoPaint on the computer as well.

HTH

Peter

[Peter Clifton]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Peter Clifton:
You can do it only with vectors similar to graphixman's technique he posted. But I think it is more trouble than it is worth and too limited in functionality.
QUOTE]

ouch!!! that reads back in a way I did not intend.

I meant my vector technique was more trouble than it is worth, I have used bitmap transparencies in the past as a non destructive edit.

Peter

[Grafixman]

No offence taken here. It is the hard and wrong way of doing it. I'm ashamed now that I even suggested it. Bouncing the file from Draw to Photopaint is the best solution. But as I said before, I'm still learning the programs myself. The use of layer mask in Photopaint was something I never could figure out until you pointed it out to me, Peter. It is a superior method to simply deleting the unwanted portions because it remains editable afterwards. But deleting is faster if you have your main image powerclipped in Draw. Just depends on what app you're mainly working on.

[tacksie]

To peter & Grafixman.....Thanks for all your help, I have been in contact with my systems man and I will have photopaint installed on my box sometime this week. Hopefully, I will then be able to try out some of your suggestions. Thanks again for all your help I will let you know how I go on.

Regards, David

[tacksie]

To peter....what can I say ! I now have photopaint installed and its great. I did the six step exercise that you said to feather the heart image and it worked beautifully. Thanks for all your help....until next time take care and my very best regards.

David