Is it possible to feather just the outside of a bevel?

[Ampa]

Moderation note: These posts split from member futureproof's original question shown in this thread.

Hi all
Is it possible to feather just the outside of a bevel?

An interesting question...

Short answer: Not easily (ie just with the feathering slider)

Long answer: Yes! With a bit of a work around...

1. Draw a shape - I used a star.
2. Add a bevel - I used an internal chiseled style.
3. Select the bevel and convert to editable shapes.
4. Ungroup the result and you will have 2 objects.
5. Delete the inner shape - in my case the original star.
6. Use the shape editor to delete the inside nodes of the bevel, to reveal the inner filled area again.
7. Now you can use the feathering slider to feather just the outside edge.

However... the resulting shape is a clipped bitmap, NOT a fully vector object. This means the bevel can no longer be edited (style change or size change) without repeating the whole process.

Ampa

[Ampa]

Alternative answer: There is another work around that may be better than the first...

1. Create your shape - I used a pentagon
2. Add an outer bevel - this method will not work for inner bevels (I think)
3. Add feathering to the bevel - ensure you click the bevel NOT the inner shape.
4. Clone the bevel, remove the feathering on the clone, and shrink the bevel to expose the outer feathering.

Thoughts: You end up with 2 objects, but they could be grouped, BUT they are true vector objects, though you would have to repeat the process if major alterations to the underlying shape were made.

Anyone else have a third / better method?

Ampa

[futureproof]

Hi Ampa

Thanks for the suggestions and the .xar it makes it crystal clear. I think the 2nd one is best for what I needed, It needs to stay editable to be useful and your method is also a quick one.
It would be good if xara could have feathering on only the outer edge of a bevel as an option, or the default option. I was hoping that it was an option I had not found yet.

Jamie

[akubbeng]

Hi Jamie,

you might also be interested in Charles Moir's (CEO Xara Group Ltd) contribution in this thread: http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=36372 (posting #8).

Regards, Albert

[Su Lawrence]

Hi Jamie

Try grouping the bevelled shape, then add feathering to the group. This should feather just the outside of the group (ie the bevelled outside edge only). It should work the same for inner and outer bevels. (Although if you change this inner/outer setting you might have to reapply the feathering).

This has reminded me of an additional thing about grouping and feathering:

Grouping shapes and then feathering the group, can be useful if you want to just feather a certain part of a shape's edge. If for example you draw a square, clone it and increase the size of the clone by dragging a corner selection bound handle, make the larger square 100% flat transparent (I usually then send this to the back - although it isn't necessary), group both squares and feather the group; you get feathering on only two sides of the original square. You can control what parts of a visible shape's edge are feathered and what are not by adjusting any outer transparent object in the group etc. A group can work a little bit like clipview in this respect.

Note: I don't have Xtreme, so I'm not sure if this all still works in the same way for that version of Xara.

Regards

Su

[salaam]

Thanks Sue,
That's an invaluable tip. (works well on XX4)

[Penny O'Rorke]

Su, that's a great tip - thanks...

[futureproof]

Hi Su

Thanks that is great, I felt sure there had to be a simple solution somewhere. Group then feather. simple.

thanks again

Jamie

[gwpriester]

Here's two more approaches.

[Attached]

1. Create star
2. Add a one-step Outer Contour.
3. Convert to Editable Shapes
4. Ungroup
5. Change fill color for contour star
6. Apply Bevel and Contour

Another approach

1. Create beveled star
2. Apply Glow Shadow
3. Drag and drop same fill color onto glow shadow

Best Approach

Su's suggestion