October 2013 Xara Xone Tute: Stepping Into High Gear

[csehz]

Stygg never mind, moreover thanks that you asked, I would neither think to the double blend. So good idea to continue its variations.

I am playing actually too, for example at trying to creating an "airy gear" so which has more space inside than material, just trying to change the line gallery stroke shapes and such nowhere existing monsters came up



Gears_from_lines.xar

[Gare]

Hey, csehz! That is one gear (yes, it really does exist, I think it's an automobile part)that I didn't include in the collection this month, thanks!

Just my 2 cents here: if you want to divide the interior into three equal angles, set your Angle Constraint in Options (on the General tab) to 120 degrees to right-click/drop a copy while the centre of the shape is in the center of the gear.

-g

[Scotty]

Hi csehz,
Can that clock be used in conjunction with window time I need a clock for desktop like that so I can knock some years off? Maybe I could go back to my 30's with it running LOL
Jim

[stygg2003]

Stygg never mind, moreover thanks that you asked, I would neither think to the double blend. So good idea to continue its variations.

I am playing actually too, for example at trying to creating an "airy gear" so which has more space inside than material, just trying to change the line gallery stroke shapes and such nowhere existing monsters came up



Gears_from_lines.xar

Hi Csehz, I have no problem with asking if I don't know something, don't ask- you won't learn Thanks for posting the attachment, using different line strokes never occurred to me, I must be having a mental block this week, perhaps the fog will clear next week

Stygg

[csehz]

Hi Jim, feel free to use the crazy clock in any target, and if that works so magical please let me know and I will set it too

[theinonen]

Accurate gear shape is actually pretty hard to draw and much easier to do with help of some CAD software than using only traditional vector drawing programs.

Here is another variation of the gear theme that is little easier to draw than the involute gear shape. This would not probably work either in real life, but who cares as Illusion of something working is good enough. Nothing fancy, only lines and no colour as everything done manually including breaking lines and hidden line removal.

[Gare]

Hi theinonen—

Your vector renders are very nice, very attractive, and let me just state perhaps the obvious: this month's tutorial had very little to do (if anything at all) with creating a gear that could actually be handed off to Manufacturing to produce a working product.

Xara isn't a CAD program—the 64x version 9 offers phenomenal accuracy—but it's accuracy intended for artists.

I think if the subject of this month's tutorial was making a CAD-accurate machine part, I would not have dreamed it up at all, because I always try to reinforce the truth that an idea is best expressed as artwork using the best tools, so you evaluate what you own on your PC before either shopping for new software to complete an idea you have...or giving up on the idea at the moment. To be fair, Xara can animate a drawing of a gear quite easily, and I'm not sure how easy doing this would be in AutoCAD, for example.

I also understand the profound difference between CAD and modeling software. I use modeling/rendering/animation software all the time, and AutoDesk stuff is expensive, but you'd be unwise to try to design an object with CAD accuracy and output in a 3D art program.

All I taught this month were three ways to design something that has visual complexity. Because vector artwork can look a little cold and sparse sometimes (unless you're Ron Duke!).

I'm either going to show off a bunch of novel general things to do in Xara next month (like creating a pie wedge that is precisely 38°, or how to trace images so they look their best in a minimum of time), or how to design a page of elements, an introduction to the artistic part of desktop publishing.

I've seen your work on other threads and clearly you are an artistically gifted person, theinonen.

Why don't you meet me halfway next month? I'll deliver a tutorial that shows how to accomplish something artistic that no everyone already knows, and you download a trial version of Xara so you can follow along?

Fair exchange?

My Best,

Gary

[Gare]

Okay, interest has waned—fair enough for a monthly tutorial—but I'd just like to add here that the second and third techniques covered in the video can use any shape, not just a gear tooth, to produce almost anything that has radial symmetry: a flower, a cartoon explosion, and a stylized illustration of the sun, just for beginners.



The XAR file attached has the shape I used, you can see part of it in the JPEG above. All you do it create a circle and then blend a series of shapes to the circle and then use a multi-value Circular gradient.

My Best,

Gary

[csehz]

Yes and just watching around there are so lot of objects with that radial symmetry. I was trying yet at gears or finally yes flowers or anything with this simple play
- drawing a simple circle, creating brush from it
- copy that circle, adding an outline, and setting the brush to that outline
- after in brush properties the Spacing slider controls the number of the circles around the circle, and changing the line width of the circle, that will make the around objects bigger



And so that was just a simple circle on circle, interesting sure also QuickShape on QuickShape lines combinations