Extrude shapes in PNG, BMP files etc

[clipper]

Hello All,

I'm thinking of buying Xara Designer Pro.

I can't seem to find any info about extruding shapes that are in PNG format etc.

For example, if I have a star shape in a PNG file (or BMP etc) is it possible to extrude it in Designer Pro?
If the image file needs to be converted to another format, could someone please point me in the direction of a good tutorial or offer some guidance.

Thanks in advance

[gwpriester]

Welcome to TalkGraphics

The shaped to be extruded needs to be in vector, not bitmap.

You can apply a bitmap as a fill to a vector object, such as a star, and then apply a 3D Extrusion. But only the face will bit a bitmap.

You can also apply a Bevel as shown in my second example.

[clipper]

Thanks for your reply.

Your first example is what I'm really after.
I gave a star only as an example. My shapes would be more irregular and not one of the predefined shapes you would get with Xara Designer Pro.

Imagine a silhouette the shape of a violin body in a PNG or BMP file etc.
From what you said, I would need to convert it to vector format file and use that?
Are there any tutorials or info on how I would go about this?

Thanks again for your help.

[wizard509]

You would use the bitmap tracer. What settings to use you need to experiment with but I would start with at least 25 passes maybe less it it's not a photo or more if it is. You can get near photographic results with the right settings but most of the time I am not happy with the results.

[zaphodeist]

You could trace the shape you want with the shape tool or the pen tool, when complete select both the shape and the jpg and either use ctrl+4 if you just want the shape or ctrl+3 if you want to retain the image in the shape. Then apply extrude

[wizard509]

good point zaphodeist.

[gwpriester]

zaphodiest is correct. The best way to create a vector shape is to use the drawing tools to create an outline of the shape.

The is a web based application that can do a very credible job of tracing a bitmap image or logo and converting it into a vector object http://vectormagic.com/home You can have a small number of free traces but then it gets very expensive.

Here are two tutorials by Paul Soderholm that shows how to do a bitmap trace in Xara http://www.xaraxone.com/guest/guest49/ http://www.xaraxone.com/guest/guest62/

[clipper]

Thank you all very much for your help and advice.

You've all given me plenty of things to look at and think about!

I'll let you know later how I have got on.

Thanks again

[clipper]

Having looked at all the above suggestions, I think that Designer Pro might be overkill for for my needs.

This is the sort of image I want to extrude.
The lighter coloured end of the image is my starting point- a PNG or JPG image.
All I want to do is extrude the shape as shown below. I don't really need any extra features in the software.


Does anyone know of a reasonably priced application that will do this for me.




Thanks in advance

[gwpriester]

Look at Xara 3D Maker http://www.xara.com/us/products/xara3d/

I used it years ago to create this logo for a wood working company in northern California that made decorative moulding.

But you still need to start with a vector shape.