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  1. #21

    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    I played around the file you posted at the time and tried those different transparency settings but still could not really get hang of it. Maybe it is just because never really have used those for things like that. (Or most likely I just suck....) Artworks has mix, Stained glass and Bleach transparency types but never really did anything with those.

    The car model I used is nice but I can not take any credit for it as I only rendered it with alpha channel because it suited for the purpose. People are free to use it to play around as the model can be downloaded and used freely.

    Software I used for the image is not actually for bitmap editing but more like combining and manipulating images that already exist. User interface is very simple but effective and even a child would not have any difficulties using it. There are no layers, just images you drop into canvas and those images can be manipulated with different masks and tools. Best of all it will also directly render Draw/Artworks vector images including automasking etc so will work great as suppporting application. Too bad there is nothing similar on PC as it actually is excellent and I still use it regularly, even if people have lot more poweful mobile phones than the system it runs on.

  2. #22
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Blending operations, theoninen, are not the most intuitive things to use in Xara or any other program. They are actually math operations, and here's some of what I wrote in a Photoshop book :

    Okay, first we need to accept the fact that these blending modes or whatever we care to call them are all based on the Transparency tool because you're getting an effect of blending when one shape of the overlaying shape is partially transparent, which includes the integer 0% transparent, which is especially obvious in Multiply mode. For convention, so I can attempt to explain this kah-kah, pleas accept the following:

    • The base color is the original color in the image.


    • The blend color is the color being applied with the painting or editing tool.

    • The result color is the color resulting from the blend.

    This is the way I've distinguished modes and effects in The Xara Offricial Guide, the CorelDRAW Official Guide, and in the Inside Adobe Photoshop series. These operations all use the same math, regardless of the software.

    We further need to go by a brightness convention, because the degree of transparency has an effect on the result color. So let's assume that all colors in the HSV domain of color components goes from 0 (black) to 255 (white).

    Mix mode
    ("normal mode")

    Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. This is the default mode.

    Stained Glass mode ("multiply mode")

    Looks at the color information and multiplies the base color by the blend color. The result color is always a darker color. Multiplying any color with black produces black. Multiplying any color with white leaves the color unchanged. When you're painting with a color other than black or white, successive strokes with a painting tool produce progressively darker colors. The effect is similar to drawing on the image with multiple magic markers.

    Bleach mode
    ("screen mode")

    Looks at each channel's color information and multiplies the inverse of the blend and base colors. The result color is always a lighter color. Screening with black leaves the color unchanged. Screening with white produces white. The effect is similar to projecting multiple photographic slides on top of each other.

    Contrast
    mode:

    Frankly, I've not seen a mode in other programs that compares to this Xara mode. In areas with little or no saturation, it appears to sharpen the underlying pixels. In lighter areas, it creates contrast by dumping a lot of saturation on the base color. This is conceivable Xara's version of a combination of color dodge and color burn.

    Saturation Mode

    Creates a result color with the luminance and hue of the base color and the saturation of the blend color. Painting with this mode in an area with no (0) saturation (gray) causes no change.

    Darken
    Looks at the color information and selects the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change. This is a less intense effect than Stained glass mode.

    Lighten Mode


    Sort of a mild version of the Bleach mode. Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color—whichever is lighter—as the result color. Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend color do not change.

    Brightness mode

    Now here is an interesting effect when you remember that Xara colors have brightness values from 0 to 255; 256 discrete quantized amounts in total. Brightness: if an underlying color is brighter than 128, the brightness is increased by the amount in the overlying color. If the base color is less than 128 on a scale of 0 to 255, the result color is darker, which means this is equivalent to an Overlay mode in other programs, not exactly a "Brightness" mode.

    Luminosity

    I tend not to use this mode because it doesn't produce anything attractive in my work. If you use a grey overlay on a photo of Xara Shape, the brighter the shade of grey on the overlying piece, the brighter the base color becomes. I guess you can use small pieces in isolated areas to brighten up a part of a photo that is too dull, however I feel the Levels command does a much better job of doing this sort of thing.

    Hue Mode

    This mode replaces the primary distinguishable color in the base layer but does not change the Brightness or Saturation. Instand recoloring.

    By the way, I'm not a big subscriber to any different between HSV, HSB, or HSL. Lightness, Brightness, and Value all pertain to the amount of brightness is applied to the Hue and Saturation components, Alvy Smith invented the HSV color space, which is a heck of a lot easier than using RGB color mode to define a color, and RGB and HSV occupy the identical color spaces, so there's really no diff' in the terms.

    Another note: aside form Stained Glass and Bleach, do not expect miracles with the shapes you draw in Xara—the rest of the blending modes are intended for photos on top of other photos....pixels in other words, not vectors. Which leads us to a very interesting final entry, which Xara should make more about:

    Enhance mode


    What you do is select a bitmap over a bitmap and then assign it the Enhance blend mode. Presto...the photo disappears! Okay, we're not done yet. With the transparent bitmap still selected, choose the Photo Enhance tool, and you can control the brightness, the contrast of the base underlying photo, and even the focus. Try feathering the object to make the changes in your overall photo more subtle.


    Do I have to do an October Tips and Tricks section now?



    Gary

  3. #23
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Quote Originally Posted by stygg2003 View Post
    No chance me ever waking up and being brighter than you Gary. Reading your comments @ theoninen, I downloaded his Png image, hope you don't mind theoninen, just to try the a few things. I agree with you Gary that you could redo this image in Xara pretty quick. Uploaded the colour change thats all, it took all of two mins. to change colour. Off to try Rik's excellent tips and tricks.

    Stygg
    It just occured to me that this is a Smart Car, isn't it? I did an illustration of one about a year ago for my portfolio. The same guy who started the Swarch watch company started Smart Cars. Same philosophy: a short run one design, it's almost not mass production. There must be tens of thousands of different Swatches out there. By doing this, the buyer can emotionally "bond" with their purchase, and apparently this works, because Consumer Reports blasts the Smart Car for engineering and safety.

    Tough darts. It's a cool, distinctive looking little buggy! A lot cooler than the new Volkswagen which they totally destroyed as an icon to make it more attractive to young men, they say.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    -g

  4. #24
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Just how smart is that car? Do you get in and tell it where you want to go?

    EDIT: Or would it tell me where to go?
    Larry a.k.a wizard509

    Never give up. You will never fail, but you may find a lot of ways that don't work.

  5. #25
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    I think it's called a Smart Car because it looks smart. I love the way it looks and I'm a sucker for the gen 2 Volkswagen, but they get the lowest ratings in Consumer Reports. Eveything from Death Traps in the event of a collision to "they can just leave you in it and bury you".

    I got a Prius last year, and its front end collapse in a head-on is remarkably rated. Easy on gas mileage, no one seems to be able to fault it, which makes up for years and years of complaints about the Camry!


    -g

  6. #26
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    If I had one would I look smart too? Sorry I hijacked your thread with my nonsense.
    Larry a.k.a wizard509

    Never give up. You will never fail, but you may find a lot of ways that don't work.

  7. #27
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Larry, look at my avatar or here.

    .

    Do you really think I care that you're drifting my boat?


    -g

  8. #28
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    In reply to your closing line in #22 Gary, yes please, if your not busy doing your shopping in your smart car

    Stygg
    Last edited by stygg2003; 09 October 2014 at 08:22 AM.

  9. #29
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Being a little bit latecomer with this tutorial but has been completed, thanks Gare nice techniques and really was worth to pick the mask topic

    Click image for larger version. 

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  10. #30
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    Default Re: September 2014 Video Tutorial -- Xara Photo Compositions Part 2

    Yes Gare I noticed your avatar, and thought of putting glasses on mine just for a joke. I cannot see the video however all I get is a black rectangle, I'll have to see what I did to cause that.
    Larry a.k.a wizard509

    Never give up. You will never fail, but you may find a lot of ways that don't work.

 

 

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