Merry Christmas and this took about 10 hours

[Gare]

I've seen on clipart places that the "flat,, curved paper, origami" look is trendy, and I've never attempted this, so with a guide of stock art, I took on our Christmas card for this year.

Don't feel left out if you didn't receive a print in the mail: first my driver went out, then I ran out of paper, then ink. It's times like these that try a man's soul. And pray you don't kick a piece of hardware into many disparate pieces.







Merry Christmas to all.

And to all: yesterday was Winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, so today's one second onger than yesterday, not shorter!

I can practically feel that tropical breeze here at 43.0481° N.

Happy Holidays from Barbara and Gary

[Rik]

Absolutely fantastic.

[Gare]

Thank you, friend.

After the holidays, if there is any interest, I'll post the Xara file so everyone can see how I achieved the effect. No shortcuts, just a lot of drawing and keeping the source of light consistent.

Cheers,

Gary

[mwenz]

I'm always interested, Gary...

[Gare]

Will do, then, after the Holidays.

Man, am I tempting fate. The drive didn't come today (snow did, though, which might explain the former) and I'm typing right now on borrowed ti

[mwenz]

And the sentence trails off in a dramatic and fatalistic pause...

Absolutely no worries, Gary! I'll ask the computer gods to smile upon you. No, wait. Don't they like to screw with us?

Best wishes to you and Barbara over the holidays.

Mike

[wizard509]

Merry Christmas my friend!

[Gare]

My mind is like a steel sieve these days. I'd mentioned that I'd post the actual Xara file of our 2107 Christmas card, and then haven't so far.

It's attached. I think I used two different trendy artifacts: the extreme drop-shadow blur (probably better to do as a blend than the Drop Shadow Tool), and an overall flat look plus a diorama effect.

This takes time, and that's about it—if you're reading this, you're talented enough already!—



Happy New Year, it's still new, keep the receipt in case you need an exchange later,

Gary



P.S. I live in a backward country that uses inches as a unit of measurement. The card and the template around it are 7" × 5". Adjust accordingly.

[Pommes]

My mind is like a steel sieve these days. I'd mentioned that I'd post the actual Xara file of our 2107 Christmas card, and then haven't so far.

It's attached. I think I used two different trendy artifacts: the extreme drop-shadow blur (probably better to do as a blend than the Drop Shadow Tool), and an overall flat look plus a diorama effect.

This takes time, and that's about it—if you're reading this, you're talented enough already!—



Happy New Year, it's still new, keep the receipt in case you need an exchange later,

Gary



P.S. I live in a backward country that uses inches as a unit of measurement. The card and the template around it are 7" × 5". Adjust accordingly.

Was waiting for this! I wonder when you will have tutorial and now even better, your actual file. thanks a ton!

[stygg2003]

Thanks for the file Gary, much appreciated.

Stygg