Designing Information Material

Designing Information Material 4(1+3)

Lesson 12 : Photoshop and Corel Draw

The Components of a Curve

You can also change the direction of a segment by reversing the position of its start and end nodes. The effect is transparent only when the ends of a segment are different. We complete this function typically when setting files for laser cutting and DXF files used in sign engraving etc. You can also shape objects by stretching, scaling, rotating, and skewing their nodes. For example, you can scale the corner nodes of a curve object to enlarge the curve object proportionally. Stretching, on the other hand, elongates a curve object so that its shape is distorted. All or parts of a curve object can be rotated in a counter clockwise or clockwise direction. You can also skew nodes to shape a curve object.

Tools you should learn to use often

• The Pick tool lets you select and size, skew, and rotate objects.
• The Shape tool lets you edit the shape of objects.
• The Freehand tool lets you draw single line segments and curves.
• The Bezier tool lets you draw curves one segment at a time.
• The Dimension tool lets you draw vertical, horizontal, slanted, or angular dimension lines.
• The Rectangle tool lets you draw rectangles and squares.
• The Ellipse tool lets you draw ellipses and circles.
• The Text tool lets you type words directly on the screen as artistic or paragraph text.
• The Fill tool lets you set the fill properties.
• The Outline tool lets you set the outline properties.
• The Contour Outline Tool lets you create key lines in vector formats. This is the most useful tool in CorelDraw for making 'scalable' logos, fonts and drawings with a Key Line. Learn to use this tool, it is very handy and will allow you 'scalable' drawings and files.
• The Page up, Page down Buttons on your Keyboard. Select your object, then use the Page up or Page down buttons, this will make the object layer above or below the other items on your screen. In this manner you can draw without requiring individual layers as used in Photoshop etc. You can also use Ctrl/Page Up, Ctrl Page Down, to move above or below one item at a time.

Instructions

1. Check out Corel Power Trace to use the bitmap-to-vector tracing tool. Gain control and obtain flexibility for editing vector images. Also use color merging and interactive color mode selection.
2. Use the Photo-Paint Image Adjustment Lab to adjust photo colors and tones. Also maintain the ability to create snapshots of your edited photos. This tool makes comparisons easy and quick.
3. Test the Interactive Fit Text to Path tool. This tool now makes it easier to attach text to a path. This tool is commonly used to create logos and signs and lets you control the text placement for desired results.
4. Check out the updated PANTONE® color palette. It now includes transparent white which can be used for a soft white effect or an overlay.
5. Preview the new Overprints Preview tool. This new tool allows you to prepare objects for print and allows you to view overlap areas.
6. Experiment with the "Crop" tool. This tools significantly saves you time and allows you to remove areas in objects, photos and vector images.
7. View the selection of images, fonts and photos. There are now over 10,000 professional clip art images, 35 new fonts and 1,000 photos royalty free.
8. Seek insight from the professionals. Check out the CorelDraw Handbook for examples and best practices to accomplish what you are trying to do.