January 2013 Video Tutorial - Working With Live Effects

[stygg2003]

Thanks for the feedback Gary, it's a fascinating subject reflections and shadows and I expect get lost, in but it's good to know what's needed for a particular image one might create instead of the usual black blob we(I) settle for. Hope there's more mini tuts. like this one, they are great for concentrating on and learning, better than evening classes at the local College. I have a couple of friends who attend at the college doing such a course for graphics. I was showing them some of my work and Zone videos, particular what I had learned from the Zone, they were blown away by the standard of the work and expertise given and extremely impressed by Xara, I think I might have converted a couple of guys over from you know who!

Stygg.

[angelize]

Two very handy live effects for adding texture to your drawings are the add noise and embossing filters. I'm sure most of you have probably noticed I often use embossing in my tutorials. Xara has a very good embossing filter and when combined with noise you can create some interesting surfaces.

[Gare]

That's nice "break-up" for a solid colour, Frances.

Oh, um...with all these neat effects at your disposal, please keep in mind that the concept drives the composition and not the other way around.

That is, don't go to the bother of making an elegant effect if there's no logical reason for it in your drawings. Embellishments without an underlying idea is called "eye candy", and contains nothing of nutrition for the audience's soul.

If you go back to post #36 and download my crude render of the sphere over water, in the file is my version of a spring sky, and I created this by using about 6 shapes with different transparency and fill modes, all fractals. In addition to Frances' tip here, I encourage you to use layers of shapes at different transparency levels and modes to create "grunge".

It's a visually complex world, and the more appropriate detail you put into a drawing, the more closely you mirror the real world.

My Best,

Gary

[wizard509]

Well said Gare.
@ Frances: I quite like that effect.

One can do some amazing things with noise.

[wizard509]

@ Frances, I was looking closely at your example above and it looks a lot like dryvit. I used to render that material a lot.

[stygg2003]

Gary uploaded same sphere but did as you suggested in an earlier post and made some Fractal fills of various transparency to make up sky and base for gaussian blur sphere, not fantastic but I like it, looks like an alien world I reduced the gaussian blur down to 28 from 39.

Stygg

[Karateed]

I really like this one Stygg. You've been improving in leaps and bounds....nice job!!!

[Gare]

That is surreal and totally wonderful, Stygg.

Good show!

-g

[angelize]

Very nice Stygg! I really like that one.

[Gare]

Stygg, I'll just betcha that some members would love to know how you created the wonderful sky and ground plane in that illustration.

If you'd like to write a tutorial, I'll help you and we'll publish it as a Guest Tips and Tricks on the Xara Xone.

I'm dead serious.

Okay, I'm not dead; I only have arthritic pain in my shoulder, but I am serious about the offer, big guy.

-g