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  1. #1
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    Default Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    Does anyone know how to make a vector shape appear distressed or cracked in a natural-looking way? The best example I can think of is the Chickenfoot logo. It is a simple 2-color logo and looks nicely aged. I've been thinking about this for a while, but can't decide on an effective approach to achieve it.

    http://www.chickenfoot.us/

    Thanks for your consideration.

    --Mike.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    I usually take a photo from the fill gallery, for example marble, make it gray scale and the adjust the contrast to get a nic ecracked texture. Then I make a bitmap copy which I trace (see my tracing tutorial for making clipart in the xaraxone, guest tutorial 62 or something - sorry, I'm a bit in a hurry and don't have time to check). Then I subtract the texture trace shape from the text.
    I'll post an example when I have time.
    Paul the Gnurfmeister!
    Home: http://www.gnurf.net/v3/ | My stuff for sale: http://www.zazzle.com/gnurf* | Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/pasoderholm



  3. #3
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    There was a thread here about grunge look. I think it is a similar process as what is being asked. I can't find the thread but the xar file and image looked like this: Perhaps someone recalls this one?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Things you should never say when pulled over by the police:
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  4. #4
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    The attached uses the Stone10 fill from the Fills Gallery.

    1. Import the image.
    2. Right click white on the color line and Set Contone Light color.
    3. Right click black on the color line and set Contone Dark color.
    4. Create bitmap copy.
    5. Select the text and open the Bitmap Gallery and apply the contone bitmap copy as Transparency.
    6. Clone the text and assign another color and change the transparency handles so the text looks finer grained. Move to the cloned text behind the original text.

    Optional: before making the Bitmap Copy select the Photo Tool and increase the contrast.
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  5. #5
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    A quick and easy way to do this is to use transparencies. In my examples below I used a fractal clouds transparency, and a bitmap transparency. You can adjust the transparency handles and the profile sliders for control over just how distressed your shape is, and this method can also be applied to text without having to convert to shapes so your text remains editable as text.

    I have also included the .xar file.
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    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    My current Xara software: Designer Pro 365 12.6

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  6. #6
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    Quote Originally Posted by gnurf View Post
    I usually take a photo from the fill gallery, for example marble, make it gray scale and the adjust the contrast to get a nic ecracked texture. Then I make a bitmap copy which I trace (see my tracing tutorial for making clipart in the xaraxone, guest tutorial 62 or something - sorry, I'm a bit in a hurry and don't have time to check). Then I subtract the texture trace shape from the text.
    I'll post an example when I have time.
    Bingo! That's is exactly the approach I was looking for. This allows the resulting shape to remain vector. I'll look up your tracing tutorial, as well. Thanks for your help!

    Thanks to everyone else, too. Very helpful on how to distress shapes and text in other ways. Great stuff.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    I was sure that I did a tutorial on the G but for the life of me I cannot find it.
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  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Harwich, Essex, England
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    If you look closely at the Chickenfoot logo it's distressed in 2 ways. Firstly an overall distressing and then a more subtle distressing to remove the letterings sharp edges. Here's an example of what I mean.

    1: I created a brush of radom shapes and then Coverted to Editable Shapes / Convert Line to Shape, then subtracted it from the lettering. The outcome is the top image, the lettering still has sharp linear edges.

    2: On the second attept I created a brush, cloned the lettering and applied this brush as a line to the text and then Coverted to Editable Shapes / Convert Line to Shape, then subtracted it from the lettering. This gave a distressed edging to all the letters. I then proceeded as in 1 above.
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    Egg

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  9. #9
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    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    Here's how I did it:

    1. Type text in a bold font.
    2. Import the Pine needles from the Fill gallery
    3. Apply black as dark contone color
    4. Change the contrast by adjusting the fill profile (forgot the screenshot)
    5. make a bitmap copy
    6. Trace the copy with shown settings
    7. Remove background of the trace and then join shapes
    8. place a couple of copies of the trace above the text and subtract shapes

    Also, what I did:

    1. Apply a slight Inline contour with round joins
    2. apply Inset Path
    3. subtract a slightly enlarged copy of the scratchy trace
    4. apply an Outline countour with same size as the Inline contour
    5. Apply Inset path
    6. subtract the rest of the scratchy traces.
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    Paul the Gnurfmeister!
    Home: http://www.gnurf.net/v3/ | My stuff for sale: http://www.zazzle.com/gnurf* | Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/pasoderholm



  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    223

    Default Re: Distressed or Cracked Effect on Vector Shapes

    Here is another way of doing it using a grunge brush I created, provided in the attached .xar file including a small 7-step tutorial.

    Egg: I just read your post after I posted this. You were first subbmitting the brush and subtract idea
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    Last edited by Xcellent; 03 September 2009 at 12:04 PM.

 

 

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