XTREME IT! - (Or) Can it be done without using Photoshop?

**HayTay** · 01 February 2009, 04:03 AM

While trying several online Photoshop tutorials using Xara Xtreme 4 I found that I was having a difficult time completing some of them. Not having access to Photoshop and being unfamiliar with its tools and terminology was both challenging and frustrating. I figured that with some help and a little determination I could figure out how to accomplish a large percentage of the tasks usually done in PS by using XX4.

While browsing through a local book store I came across a couple of older Photoshop books with a lot of tutorials explained in detail by step-by-step instructions. The first book, Classic Photoshop Effects by Scott Kelby provided a link to download low-res images so that the tutorials could be completed. The second book, Adobe Photoshop 7.0 - Classroom in a Book from Adobe Press, came with the material for all of the tutorials on a companion CD. It looked like I was in luck, so I bought both books.

Here's my attempt at PS7-CIB Chapter 3 tutorial. I think that by using XX4s rotate, clip, crop, shape editor, photo, transparency, feathering and fill tools I came up with an image that rivals the one that was done in Photoshop. Following through the tutorial it appears that some tasks would have been far easier in PS7 while other steps were completed with greater ease in Xara Xtreme 4. That's not a surprise given that PS7 is primarily a raster based editor while XX4 excels as a vector application.

In case anyone else is wondering what the PS dodge and burn tools are; The dodge tool is used to lighten areas of an image while the burn tool can be used to darken areas of a graphic, especially around the edges. Someone else can correct me or add to the explanation if I'm wrong. The same effects can be accomplished in XX by using vector shapes, color fills, various transparencies and or feathering techniques.

I hope this thread will help others to use Xara Xtreme for their graphic needs and/or help someone convert from Photoshop.

On to the next chapter,
HayTay
.
.
.

**Xhris** · 01 February 2009, 05:04 AM

Yes, there aren't many things that can be done in PS that can't be done in Xara really. I made a host of videos trying to emphasise this not too long ago (hair colour, teeth whitening, etc.). Two things that spring to mind tho are: various sophisticated global colour changes such as altering mids, lights and darks in certain ways (such as HDR) etc. and pixel warping tools (the mould tool envelopes don't work at the pixel level). There may be more.

Xara now does have a curves tool (which is the next step on from a levels tool) and really basic pixel warping and moulding with the liquid paint tool. These are LE plugins though that they acquired from Magix, and their own built-in tools would be better--like they did for Levels.

Xara needs some pixel editing I think, and I wouldn't be surprised if it made an appearance in the next Xara version or two.

I always found it interesting that Charles Moir mentioned somewhere there'd always be a place for Photoshop despite what Xara did. I'm not so convinced, unless there's something he was thinking that I'm missing. Perhaps you could elaborate if you're reading.

**handrawn** · 01 February 2009, 08:45 AM

brushes you can freehand draw and paint with, and the production of 'painterly' effects in general is a whole load easier in photoshop

very nice HayTay

**MarkMyWords** · 01 February 2009, 12:05 PM

Photoshop can be far more productive, easier and faster to use, for many types of illustration and, it seems, Xara are not going to directly challenge that, the design market looks like Xaras main target.

With Xtremes speed, it would seem possible to make a vector program that almost consigns bitmap programs to redundancy, or at least a distant second place. Unfortunately there are constraints on what Xara can do, probably more to do with finance than technicalities.

It is perfectly possible to emulate airbrush effects and, to an extent, textures, using xaras vector tools alone. With patience and planning these can be used to create stunning illustrations, as we have all seen, but in some aspects Xtreme, just cannot compete with Photoshop and many think it should not even try.

**behzad** · 01 February 2009, 01:09 PM

if you cant afford photoshop go with online

http://www.sumopaint.com/web/

http://www.pixlr.com/

**mg.architect** · 01 February 2009, 01:17 PM

Yes it can be done without using Photoshop for some of us.

It's a bit interesting that I just removed Photoshop 7 from my computers. I found that for all the tasks I used it for Extreme did the job faster and easier.
For example, I can take an Autocad drawing, print it to a pdf, import the pdf into Extreme and add color/fills very easily to the drawing, then plot it out.

Also with the new photo editing tool in Pro 4 I can take care of all my photo adjustment needs as well. The levels tool is great!

So, since I was no longer using Photoshop I removed it. It's Extreme Pro 4 for my graphic needs.

mg

**HayTay** · 01 February 2009, 01:19 PM

Photoshop 7.0 Classroom in a Book Chapter 4 was about 'Working with Selections and dealt with PSs rectangular marquee, magic wand, lasso and magnetic lasso tools. With Xara Xtreme 4 I just used the Shape Editor Tool (F4) to hand trace a vector shape around the objects I wanted then performed an Intersect Shapes (Ctrl+3) operation to cut the pictures from the original image (it works just like a cookie cutter). XX4s Freehand and Brush, Shape Editor and Pen Tools are powerful and everyone should take the time to master at least one of them.

After slicing out the shapes it was merely a matter of moving and/or scaling the objects to achieve the final placement. A 1-3pix feathering was added to each object to make the individual objects blend better with each other. The oval shape has a 20% mix transparency applied to match the other black areas on the journals cover. Everything went quickly and the only little snag was how to get the cut-out of the globe to look like the Photoshop manipulated one.

The instructions for PS7 were to perform an 'Image > Adjustment > Invert' operation on the globe 'so that it is now effectively a color negative of the original'. Color negative was the giveaway clue, and Xara Xtreme's Live Effect Tool (Ctrl+F5) 'New > Color Filter > Negative' quickly produced the same result.

You'd be hard pressed to tell a difference between the PS7 and XX4 results in this tutorial. Photoshop's magic wand and lasso tools appear to be quick and easy and look like they are used for other pixel manipulation procedures in later chapters. Xtreme's freehand, shape editor and pen tools may take a bit longer to master but result in a vector shape that can be filled, easily scaled and used in many other vector only applications.

This chapter was quick and XX4 handled it with ease. I recommended it for both novices and pros who want to expand their XX4 skills or need a refresher course on using the drawing tools.

I see chapter 5 on the horizon,
HayTay
.
.
.

**Soquili** · 01 February 2009, 01:28 PM

Photoshop and similar programs can do some tasks easier than a vector application.

Use of the smudge and blur tools to smooth or the dodge and burn tools for adjusting levels within a small area of photo are some examples I can think of off the top of my head.

I do use Xtreme Pro 4 for more than 99% of my graphics but there are times I still need Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or PhotoPaint.

**HayTay** · 01 February 2009, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by Xhris

Yes, there aren't many things that can be done in PS that can't be done in Xara really. I made a host of videos...

These are LE plugins though that they acquired from Magix, and their own built-in tools would be better--like they did for Levels.

Xara needs some pixel editing I think, and I wouldn't be surprised if it made an appearance in the next Xara version or two.

I always found it interesting that Charles Moir mentioned somewhere there'd always be a place for Photoshop despite what Xara did. I'm not so convinced, unless there's something he was thinking that I'm missing. Perhaps you could elaborate if you're reading.

Xhris,

Everyone always says to use the right tool for the job and that is usually correct. Unfortunately with software the right tool for the job may be the one you're using already. I was thinking that I needed to learn how to use the XX4 tools to my better advantage. All of the Xtreme tutorials, including your videos, ROCK!!! Unfortunately they show you 'exactly' how to achieve the end result. Trying to duplicate the Photoshop 7 tutorials using Xara Xtreme takes a bit more time, but it's forcing me to branch out and try to use the tools I'm familiar with in more creative ways. Additionally, I'm experimenting with lesser used tools and the many included plug-ins. Finding out what doesn't work can be even more enlightening than finding out what does when following a less certain path to achieve the final graphic.

I think we'll see some more plug-ins and better integration with Magix Xtreme Photo as Xara & Magix become more familiar with each others strengths and weaknesses. Magix Xtreme Photo appears to have some of the same features and raster editing capabilities of Photoshop but I'm trying not to use it and just sticking with the tools in Xtreme 4 (so far!).

Thanks for chiming in and all of your contributions,
HayTay

**HayTay** · 01 February 2009, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

brushes you can freehand draw and paint with, and the production of 'painterly' effects in general is a whole load easier in photoshop

very nice HayTay

From what I can tell by looking ahead to the 'Retouching and Repairing' chapter, Photoshop's pixel editing and brushes would be a definite time saver and plays to PSs strengths. We'll see how I can get XX4 to perform when I get to lesson 7.

And thanks

Originally Posted by MarkMyWords

Photoshop can be far more productive, easier and faster to use, for many types of illustration ...

It is perfectly possible to emulate airbrush effects and, to an extent, textures, using xaras vector tools alone. With patience and planning these can be used to create stunning illustrations, as we have all seen, but in some aspects Xtreme, just cannot compete with Photoshop and many think it should not even try.

Very true, I'm sure. What started all of this was trying to create a lens flare effect for a Photoshop glass Christmas ornament similar to one produced in the directions of an online tutorial. I finally produced an acceptable but, in my opinion, inferior result in XXP4. I'm working on another tutorial at the moment that relies on Photoshop's smudge tool and I've been unable to recreate a convincing, similar effect using Xtreme, so far. I'll wait and see what else I could use Photoshop more efficiently for before deciding if it is worth it for me to make the investment in another application.

Originally Posted by behzad

if you cant afford photoshop go with online

http://www.sumopaint.com/web/

http://www.pixlr.com/

It's not necessarily a question of whether I can afford it, but rather, can the cost, in both dollars and time, be justified. I have Corel Photo-Paint 5plus, CorelDraw 9, CorelDraw X3 Graphics Suite, and Corel Painter Essentials 3 and they sit on the shelf drawing more dust than anything else. I purchased them primarily for their ability to convert from various file formats into other ones. I find Xtreme very intuitive (most of the time) and I've used it more than any other application I've had, ever. I'm open to suggestions though and will definitely check out Sumo Paint. Thanks for the links, behzad.

Originally Posted by mg.architect

Yes it can be done without using Photoshop for some of us.

For example, I can take an Autocad drawing, print it to a pdf, import the pdf into Extreme and add color/fills very easily to the drawing, then plot it out.

Also with the new photo editing tool in Pro 4 I can take care of all my photo adjustment needs as well. The levels tool is great!

mg

I'm finding that out! You've got to love the drag and drop color fills. I don't think it could it be much easier. As a previous PS7 user, do you have any tips for certain tasks using XX?

I used XXP4 Photo Tool to adjust nearly 400 pictures my wife took at an event right before Christmas '08. The pictures were taken outside in a clearing surrounded by trees over about a 5 hour time period. When she brought them home and transferred them to her PC she was nearly reduced to tears because what looked good outside on a little 2" view panel looked totally cruddy inside on a 19" monitor. XXP4 Photo Tool to the rescue! A quick enhance or level adjustment, a tweak of the brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness and the photos were 'saved'. My wife received many compliments on the photos when she had them printed and handed them out. And, more importantly, XXP4 made me a hero for a couple of days.

Thanks all,
HayTay