Xara Designer

[hseiken]

I'm heavily into so-called 'retro' computer art and I find Xara's tools and ease of work perfect for this. I do also use quite a lot of photo manipulation in the program as well as using it for hand drawn art using a tablet (I'm primarily a comics/cartoonist type artist though I have formal education in graphic design), and so when I can, I do use Xara for hand-drawn illustrations as well. I currently only have PD-G version, but will be buying full Designer soon as I have lots of missed opportunities in web-design due to the slowness with which I code HTML and being able to work on 1 file type I'm already adept in and translated it seamlessly to internet UX design would be a huge advantage, and am looking forward to playing with this aspect at some point.

Thanks for the wonderful engine/tools. Personally, I'm still shocked people put up with much of what is out there when Xara exists. It still feels like working with the future of software despite it's been around for ages and the competition still doesn't 'get it'. Let's hope they don't, I love having a 'secret weapon' since I'm frequently asked by colleagues how I do some of the things I do and I just tell them I don't stick to the industry standards because standard translates to 'lowest common denominator' in my book.

[Ron Duke]

Graphissste,
When I open your files that you've sited here in this thread, I get the following message:
I check my Updates regularly including today and it shows that I'm up to date, so why am I getting these messages?

Regards,
ron

Hi Angelise.

I had great fun creating the Effects Brushes and Filters. Some exciting stuff on the way.

In the beginning with Effects Brushes, I would draw a stroke and then change the attributes and effects. I would then save that file and then import it into my local designs gallery. I would put the effect on a secon page. The first page I would make look pretty as a thumbnail for my DG, then lock all layers on that page. Locked layers don't import. Then in a new work document if I need that effect, I would drag the effect on to my page and Ctrl C. Then click on the object I wanted to add the effect to and then Ctrl ALt A. Paste Attributes. Then take it from there. I know this is a long way round, but that is how effects brushes started and we manage to package then. This method, you can apply to many objects or styles from, images, vectors or text, that you can re-use from your local designs gallery. I hope that helps?

I Have been looking at Borders too ;-)

Do you have a website where you show examples of what you do.
... I am always curious ;-)Attachment 116157

[angelize]

Hi Graphisste, Like Ron I can't open the file you posted. In answer to your question I have some links in my signature that you can check out for now and I have something new in the works.

The photo presets and effects brushes are very interesting. I downloaded the files from the content catalogue and found where they are stored when you do so. I opened files for photo presets (and effects brushes too) and basically dissected them to see how you put them together I also took a look at how they were named and from there my experiments took off I learned a lot I discovered accidentally that you can include a text layer in a preset. I also figured out a way to do borders I'm still experimenting with this

I posted a texture preset at Christmas time https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...422#post566422 Once you have dropped this preset on to your photo you can either use the Page and Layer gallery or Ctrl +click to select the frost layer and resize it with the fill tool, or adjust the transparency with the transparency tool.


One big thing that is missing in the effects brushes is blur and sharpening brushes. I understand how they are based on the enhance transparency and that because of that making blur and sharpen brushes is not currently do-able (yes I tried ) Any chance of nudging a developer to work on making the blur/sharpen work with the enhance transparency?

I would love to be able to point the effects tool to different folders of brushes so I could create a folder of my own brushes and switch back and forth to my custom brushes and the set that comes with the program.

[Acorn]

Graphissste, I am not really sure what the purpose is for this.
Thanks Ray

+1 ?

Acorn

[angelize]

I suspect that Graphissste is using a newer in house build of the program which is perhaps still in development and this is why most of us can't open the files. I keep getting an error message that says there is no filter to open that file.

[dutchim]

Then what would be the purpose of posting the file?

[angelize]

If it is a newer in house build it could be a bug that Graphissste didn't know about or I could be wrong about the cause I'm just guessing here.

[ernie-f]

Wow thanks for your replies.

The aim of this thread was not to be a wish list. Gosh most forums for any software are filled with that kind of thing.
What I am interested in is how you use the program.

Hi Graphisste,

I'm a graphic designer from Germany.
My roots are in the classic book printing tradition. I studied graphic design and become my Master before I got an education as typesetter, book printer, offset printer and finally the master's degree in industrial print production.

Xara was for me an unknown territory. The industry standards for the prepress in these times where not realy named and so terrible and ineffective that I would try some new things.
The first new experience was a PC, because I had worked only on Macs. To the PC came CorelDraw. Good but not so exciting. Adobe stuck in his so called "industry standard" and the work with its software was awfull slow. At this time I see Xara the first time.

I was for consulting some printing houses in the Czech Republic and one of the typesetter worked on a design so complex and fast I'd see before. But poorly no industry standard to put out to, in these times, postscript.

After this time back in Germany and after a long sickness I had to re manage my income. What will I do in future? Where're my skills?… and so on.

I found my answers after I download my first trail of Xara Xtreme, meanwhile I sell my Mac and buy a (in the end of 1990ies) fast PC. I hate the OS but I loved and love the easiness of Xara.

My way was back to the roots, not a print shop but do some graphic design, sales promotion and advertising.
The way wasn't even more stones in it then make the needed money. PDF export from Xara – very tricky for professional printing. Colormanagement, until now, NOTHING. WISYWIG yes for RGB but not for CMYK workflow and many more problems.

O.K. the design process in Xara was fun and easy, but get these things to a professional offset printer – faulty.
The only thing helped was Acrobat and Distiller. I bought the hole CS from Adobe and was happy with the results. Vektordrawing in Xara and the rest with Photoshop, Indesign and finaly Acrobat Pro. That works.

Now are new situations. Xara has improved it's PDF Machine and Adobe made a leasing thing with its Suite – I do't do this. And Xara come now with a sell/price/license model what looks different too to me. In the time I bought XDP 365 I had two updates. No improving the vector things where will be needed. Where is a mesh fill tool? Inkscape has it in its new version. Affinity Designer work on it. Not to forget the awful Tracer and many, many others. This is a shame to Xara.

Apropos Affinity Designer: I bought it in November 2016 for 39,– €. Since this time until to day I got 3 updates to improve the program and its functinality. And what does Xara?

In the years I work with Xara I have found my workarounds and the results are very good. The missing things are all known but the last 10 years no implanted.

I like to design websites with Xara. It's easy and fun. Functions can be implanted by scripting or from ready php-scripts. This is a nice feature and I'm happy for this. But needed functions for drawing, DTP, Colormanagement, OpneType, the possibility to save work spaces and the stability of the software are still missing. Th community herein is begging for years for these features. But nothing. XARA where are You with answers?

And now came You from Xara and would know for what fun I use Xara?
I will tell You:
I need it for the most coming work I can use it as a graphic designer and print-profi. I love Xara and I hate Xara.

Xara is not the only software I use. For me is a software a tool to achieve the best results.

So you have an impression of my work only done with Xara I put a portfolio together on my web space. Here you can find a few projects I realized with XDP. Link: http://www.franta-net.de/portfolio_x..._xr_page_index

Sorry for my bad English it's not my native language.


Servus Ernie

[RKissane]

I suspect that Graphissste is using a newer in house build of the program which is perhaps still in development and this is why most of us can't open the files. I keep getting an error message that says there is no filter to open that file.

I am able to open both files without a problem once I acknowledge the new version box. Not sure why others would be having trouble?

Ray

[angelize]

I tried again after a couple of days and was able to open both files. Not sure why I was getting errors before.

Graphissste, I'd love to find out a few more things about the way presets work, Like the reason behind the blank:add enhancement layer and the name photoreset that is given to some layers in most presets.

I have been having a very interesting time creating presets and experimenting with what is possible