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can anyone help with drop shadow with a gap please?
Hay guys..
in coral, how do i create a drop shadow that has a gap between the letters and the shaddow?
whan i do a shadow, it buts up against the letters, but i want a gap between…
a good example is here… https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=14350
on Bryans sign
Cheers
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36 Replies
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Press F1, Lookup “To Duplicate an object”.
Section “Trimming Objects” and “To nudge an object”Use a combinations of those features and you should figure it out.
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cheers, i will indeed have a peep 😀
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Or you could give the object a white thick outline then weld/trim
Peter -
what pete said !!
if you’re not sure what that meant tho, write your text, scale it up, then add a contour of a few mm, click on ‘arrange’ and click ‘break contour layers apart’, mve the original text away for now, then add another contour to the contour for the amount of shadow you want, again… break them apart, click on the first contour, select ‘arrange’… ‘shaping’… weld. then highlight both contours and click arange, shaping, trim, then just move the original contour and you’ll be left with the second contour, replace your original text and you’ll have an outline,
to add a further shadow effect you can use the extrude section on the contour, the extrude is a bit hit and miss until you get used to how it works, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll do the above operation in just a couple of minutes !
i have recently found out the the coel help pages are actually worth reading, and am slowly working my way through them now ! if the obove makes no sense then feel free to pm me a contact email and i’ll try to explain better !
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yea, i got the jist of that Hugh, thanx alot,great help!…i think its about time i read the helps 😀
thanx
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This is one way that I do it . I can post a pic of the steps if needed.
Seems like a lot of steps but it only takes a minute to do.Steps Apply to CorelDraw 12 but similar in other programs.
Step 1.
Set the type and fill it with the drop shadow color, lets say black.Step 2
Copy and paste text on top of the original(tip: you can use the large “+” key on the number pad to duplicate in place instead).Step 3
Fill with the final text color Red for this Example and Copy text to the clipboard (ctrl c). (you will need this later)Step 4
Move the Red type up and to the left. You can use the arrows to nudge or just eye it.Step 4
Give the type an Outline. Change the color of the outline to the white or the background color so you can see the gap created. Adjust the thickness of the outline until you are happy with the space created. Don’t worry how the type looks at this point.Step 5
Convert the Red Type with the outline to Curves (Ctrl+Q)Step 6
Convert the Outline to an Object (Ctrl+Shift+ Q)Step 7
Select the Red Type and the Outline object and Weld (Object>Shaping>Weld)
You should be left with 2 Objects now the Welded Type and the Drop ShadowStep 8
Make sure the drop shadow is in the back (it should be already)
Select both objects and Trim (Object>Shaping>Trim)
Delete the top objectStep 9
Paste the Original Text Back in place (Ctrl>V) -
Thanx Bryan,thats a good way of doing it, hughs way is also a good work around 😀
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Get SignTools 3. It does exactly that in 1 click in Corel Draw. Try the demo. Best £160 I spent, already having Corel Draw.
Does all text shades and decorations, outline, shade, relief drop shade, you name it.
Then it plots direct from Corel Draw![/i] -
only 2 clicks in signlab, including the shadow,
https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … 643#107643
Peter -
We use ProCut XP which also does this automatically but I am so used to using Illustrator or CorelDraw, so I tend to design in those apps and bring it in to ProCut to cut. I suppose if we upgrade to one of the big sign apps I will design directly in the app.
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Frankly, I am amazed that Corel Corp. haven’t caught on and implemented some signmaker-friendly tools in CorelDraw. Surely there are enough sign people using it – and improving certain tools would make it even more popular with those of us who refuse to pay thousands for ‘sign software’.
I’m prepared to start an argument over this. Coreldraw is better value for money than any sign package I have seen, faults and all.
So there. 😛
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Andy, I don’t want to start an argument but I don’t think this is something you can really argue about!! Its really all down to opinion, in your opinion Corel is better value for money. Some people find certain software easy to learn others don’t. I had a play around with corel and didn’t get on with it very well, I found other software easier to learn. Maybe if I had kept at it I would have got the hang of it and been singing corels praises like some others but now I will never know. So IMHO its not the best value software for any money.
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I do all my design work in Corel Draw (occasionally use illustrator but find corel more user friendly) then export to as an AI file into sign cut and that does me fine.
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quote Lee Ballard:I do all my design work in Corel Draw (occasionally use illustrator but find corel more user friendly) then export to as an AI file into sign cut and that does me fine.
I used to think so as well (I started out using CorelDraw 2) and I found that CorelDraw was packed with features ahead of everyone else. But the more I used Illustrator the better I liked it. I think the interface is more intuitive, maybe it is because I used other Adobe Products and was used to it. Also, Illustrator has caught up with many of the features.
I also like the Beizer drawing better in Illustrator. Much easier to change node directions while drawing.
I find simple things like zooming and panning cumbersome in CorelDraw. The type handling in the lastest version of Illustrator I find better as well.
The thing I do like about Corel, is that you can apply most of the effects without converting it to curves plus I can transfer directly from CorelDraw into my cut program without exporting.
Right now I find myself bouncing between the two programs, but I lean more towards illustrator.
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The easiest way I find for an example is:
1) Type your word in blue.
2) Duplicate it, make it red and place behind (“arrange”- “order”- “to back”) the first word in the right place where you want it as a shadow.
3) Select the first word again and Add a contour to it using the “interactive contour tool” (Left toolbar). Say maybe 2.5mm in Black.
4) While contour is still selected go to “Arrange” – “Break contour group apart”
5) Select All and “Arrange” – “Convert to Curves”.
6) Zoom in and select the second and last layers. (The red word and the black contour) – (Not the blue layer)
7)Now click the “Back minus Front” tool in the Weld Toolbar.
8) Voila!
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I find the Outline tool in Corel causes problems sometimes, especially when using Flexisign and Coreldraw together, so I prefer to use the contour tool instead of the outline tool. I only use the outline tool when doing a visual proof for a customer to outline a box or something etc.
Anyone else find this?
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i admittedly started with corel, but along the way i bought several demo or full versions (ya know… the type on ebay !) but didnt really get on with any, in fact, i’ve just deleted them all as i never use them !
i think corel, value for money, is unbeatable, just compare what it can do, ie. it’s as good as any other you’ll buy, even if not quite so signmaker friendly in places, but when you compare the price, about £200 as apposed to £1k+, then ya can’t beat it in that sense, imho !
re outlines, never use em, always use contour, havent explored about 99% of what corel can do, i can do almost everything i’ll need to do for cutting vinyl in that 1% !!
quote :I find simple things like zooming and panning cumbersome in CorelDraw. The type handling in the lastest version of Illustrator I find better as well.don’t have any prob at all really, hovver the pointer where ya want it, and wind the wheel on the mouse in or out, it can be a pain if you aint got a wheel mouse, which i didnt have initially for the laptop, but now i have i can whizz in and out of zoom in an instant !
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Martin, yes it is! 😉
The outline tool is poor in Coreldraw. It has improved in ver 12 but creates an awful lot of nodes which results in larger file sizes.
It is all down to personal preference, of course. I have tried to become proficient with Illustrator, but I find it just too awkward to use. -
Andy Oh no it’s not!! 😛
Having read how to apply a shadow in corel I would be even less likely to buy it, in flexi things like that are so easy and as peter says just a couple of clicks.
OK I agree that they are expensive compared to corel but I personally can produce artwork a lot quicker in flexi than anything else so I have more time for other things and that to me is worth the additional money. -
Fair point. Sign software is generally much more production friendly and caters for many of the common effects, such as shadows etc. I think I just like the more ‘manual’ methods of Coreldraw. It is certainly a big bonus to be able to buy Corel 9, for example, for about 50 squids, especially when you are just starting out. I wouldn’t recommend it to a complete beginner though.
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Corel is the greatest package written for all round branding!
Illustrator is also a top package also, infact I wish I had time to learn and swap to that package, the Illustrator package complemnet PDF/Postscript definitions and doesnt ‘convert’ to suit the package.Most of the time we design a logo THEN place it on a Van etc., the logo then can be used for Brochures, Business cards etc. If our staff are familar with one package it makes the whole process a lot easier.
Ok, you have to do more things to a logo to prepare it for cutting as per peters outline demo but not too much of a problem, the designers learn how to draw in vectors and think about things like that as they draw. CoCut is a great Corel/Illustrator plugin, from memory it will do what is required with outlines and fills to turn them into a multilayered cut file, haven’t played with it for a few years.
I would like to Spend more time with SignLab, I have tinkered with it few years back which was connected to a router.
I also would like to see more onnline demos of packages, most packages I know detect a dongle and turn into a demo when the dongle isn’t present.
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quote Hugh Potter:quote :I find simple things like zooming and panning cumbersome in CorelDraw. The type handling in the lastest version of Illustrator I find better as well.
don’t have any prob at all really, hovver the pointer where ya want it, and wind the wheel on the mouse in or out, it can be a pain if you aint got a wheel mouse, which i didnt have initially for the laptop, but now i have i can whizz in and out of zoom in an instant !
Yeah I know about the wheel and use it but I still find it awkward. In Illustrator you can do Ctrl>Spacebar and marquee and area and zoom exactly where you want. Press the Space bar and you get the Hand tool so you can pan where you want.
I agree that using the Outline is not always the best solution but sometimes it just quick. I use contours a lot but I find that event then CorelDraw sometimes creates unnecessary nodes. Illustrator does a better job with both Strokes and Contours.
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quote Bryan Cabrera:quote Lee Ballard:(I started out using CorelDraw 2) .
Oh you beat me… I started at Corel 3 and it did feel basic. I also was using Picture Publisher for photo editing then I discovered Photoshop.
Corel PhotoPaint stinks in my view. -
quote Dave Rowland:quote Bryan Cabrera:(I started out using CorelDraw 2) .
Oh you beat me… I started at Corel 3 and it did feel basic. I also was using Picture Publisher for photo editing then I discovered Photoshop.
Corel PhotoPaint stinks in my view.I remember that in Corel 2 you had to draw in outline mode in one Window and Preview in a different window. It sure has come a long way!
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the only reason im sticking with coral is how the fonts look… ill try to explain:
when using coral the fonts ‘look real’ when superimposed ontop of a pic of a van, so when i print it out to show someone it looks real whereas the fonts ive seen in the demo software i have, look ‘cartoon-ish’ and look terrible.
kind of gives it a naf look on printing…probably a sad winge but seems to make a diferance to me
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The screen preview on Coreldraw is very good. Are the current versions of Signlab etc still all blocky and nasty looking?
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a mate of mine uses SL 7.1 and it looks terrible! when he doing text and zooms out so the text is small, it looks all cartoonish and blockie, it doesent give a good representation of how it will finaly look 😮
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I use Casmate Pro – Signlab and Corel Draw 9
I began with Casmate and because I have become more proficient at it I have stuck with it. I also use Signlab mainly for it’s superior outlining, weld and shadow features. Also for vectorising bitmaps. For vinyl work I would say you can’t beat Signlab.
However I find Corel to be superior in many ways to both Casmate and Signlab. Corel may not be a dedicated vinyl design/cutting package but it has many features that surpass Casmate and Signlab. I use Corel a lot for its ability to open a wide variety of file formats and it’s ability to apply a huge range of text effects not available in the other packages. It also allows a combination of vector drawn and bitmap images to be worked on for printing and cutting. With the advent of print and cut I would say Corel is one of the best value for many drawing packages available
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I have to agree with you Phill about SL, corel is superb on screen and I use it for my laser engraving and cutting, but SL7.1 is great with the vinyl. The print and cut is very good too, the biggest complaint is the screen image which is lousy – as Andy says – blocky and all that. Maybe one day they will sort it out – no need! 😀
Mark. -
Not quite sure what you guys mean about signlabs screen display?
Zoom in zoom out when cut you get exactly what you see.
Peter -
quote Peter Normington:Not quite sure what you guys mean about signlabs screen display?
Zoom in zoom out when cut you get exactly what you see.
Peterpeter what their trying to explain is….signlabs fonts on the screen have very jaggy edges..where as corel draw and anything adobe..the fonts are sharp on the screen 😉 but dels explanation of printing it out from signlab is not really true…as it does print spot on..just looks horrible on screen before you do so 😀 (hope that made sense)
nik
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Nik,
I cant agree my display with signlab is wysiwyg. can someone do a screenshot to explain, Perhaps one of the same with coral and signlab?
Peter -
peter you may be right on this one….because i use 4.95 everyday for layouts and cutting, maybe why i see it as having really ragged edges for viewing 😀
just tried a screenshot with signlab 6 and illustrator to show you…. but not much difference to me but dont know if thats down to me being on another machine with a different type of monitor 😮
nik
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Think they are right Peter, some things do look much better in Corel than they do in Signlab (And the other Vinyl Packages too)
Have emailed you a screenshot as I can’t attach a file here.
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Think the main difference is that both Corel (in the enhanced view) and Illustrator anti alias their output on screen by having two or more lighter shades of the colour on the same horizontal screen line so it looks better/smoother. Draw a circle in either and look closely at the screen.
For corel then look at it in draft mode or outline mode in Illustrator – this has the anti alias turned off and gives a similar display to Flexi, namely a bit blocky (and perhaps Signlab by what has been said but don’t know Signlab).
Martin
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It’s a nice feature to have when you are typing a lot of text, as it remains more readable on screen at lower magnification. I was amazed when I first used Corel as I had been used to using Advantage software, which displays all screen graphics as though they have been scrawled by a blind monkey, even at close zoom.
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