Creating a Painted Effect From a Photograph

After finding the tutorial for today's discussion, I feel like I must have stepped into the Hot Tub Time Machine. OK, this tutorial doesn't go all the way back to 1986 as that was before CorelDRAW existed. This tutorial is from 1999 and the techniques can still be used in the current versions of PHOTO-PAINT. In fact, I'll suggest you try not only the techniques in Creating a Painted Effect from a Photograph, but also experiment with some other effects.

For example, try some of the things in the Effects | Art Strokes menu. After you've tried that, go to Effects | Custom | Alchemy and you'll find a seemingly endless supply of painterly effects. Corel also has even more ways to get the painted look in their Painter Essentials and Corel Painter applications. If that is the effect you need, it might be worth investing in one of those products.

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CorelDRAW Gold Factory Redux

Jeff Harrison got a really nice e-mail from a fan of his CorelDRAW Gold Factory tutorial. I'll include a small portion of it below.

I was able to create this using your techniques with a little twist of my own! Thanks Jeff, Your tutorial on Unleash, GoldFactory has taken my work to another level! Im just going to knuckle down and buy everything you have on Unleashed! Your tutorials are second to none! Perfect!

Along with the note was a sample image the user had created using the techniques Jeff teaches in the tutorial. I agree, Jeff teaches not only some really cool effects but also some of the best productivity tips available. For those who haven't checked out this great tutorial, give it a look now.

I've been trying to twist Jeff's arm to take some time out of his insanely busy schedule to create some new tutorials. Post a comment below and give Jeff some extra encouragement or even a suggestion for what he should cover. I'll make sure he gets all the feedback and will continue to pressure him for a new tutorial.

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Don't Lose Custom Content

CorelDRAW allows users to save all sorts of custom content. Examples include pattern fills, artistic media brushes, object sprayers, scripts and more. When you save any of these types of contents, they will default to the AppData folder on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows XP users will find them in Documents and Settings. The problem with this is that the AppData folder is a hidden folder.

If you save any of these types of content to AppData, you may never be able to access the files outside of CorelDRAW. There are two ways to avoid this problem. First is to navigate to another folder before clicking the Save button. Unfortunately this could mean that the content won't be automatically recognized by CorelDRAW. Second is to make hidden folders visible. While this is possible, it isn't always a great idea since it also allows you to see more dangerous files like system files.

Supposedly this is done to follow Microsoft's requirements for certification. Let's use an object sprayer as an example. It is saved by users as a CDR file and it must be in a hidden folder based on these requirements. Yet if you save or export any other kind of graphic to CDR format, it can be wherever you like. What's the difference? A user created the file and it is in CDR format.

For now, I can only suggest you save your files to a safe location or make hidden folders visible. We can only hope that Corel addresses this in the future so that you can easily access the content you create.

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Simulate Parallel Lines in CorelDRAW

This tutorial goes back a few years, but the information presented is still very relevant. Jeff Harrison has a free video tutorials showing An Easy Way to Simulate Parallel Lines in CoreDRAW. Even better, you can easily edit the lines after they have been created. Give it a look and I bet you'll learn a new technique that will be quite useful.

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Creating Murals with Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4

I know there are a good number of users who create tile murals with the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. Today's tutorial, Creating Murals with Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4, is a video made of static screen shots explaining the process. There is no sound so I admit the video might be a little tough to watch.

Jeff Harrison and I have discussed the process and we think there is a way to significantly improve both the quality of the output and the time it takes to go through the steps. Once we have fully developed our "improved" solution, we'll post it for you.

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The Last Word in Font Management

One of those questions that seems to come up over and over again is how to easily use all of the fonts that come with CorelDRAW as well as all of the other software we have. Today's tutorial is an oldie, but a goodie. It gives you the information you need to properly manage your fonts. Information from The Last Word in Font Management can also be found in CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed with even more details.

Of course one of the biggest pieces of the font management puzzle is to utilize Bitstream Font Navigator, one of the utilities supplied with CorelDRAW. Unfortunately it hasn't been properly maintained over the years and doesn't work as well with Vista and Windows 7. I'm on a search for a replacement font management program and have identified one that may just do the trick. I'm still doing some research and will share my results once I have had time to test this new software. If you have a font management program that you prefer to use, post a comment and let me know about it.

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Fitting a Blend to a Path

By placing a blend on a path, you can create some really cool effects in CorelDRAW. Yet learning how to do this can be a bit tricky. Jeff Harrison has put together two free video tutorials showing you the techniques you need to get the most out of putting blends on a path.

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Finding Clip Art with ROMCat

I've certainly written a lot about ROMCat before as it is the best way to search the clip art supplied with CorelDRAW. Yet I still see messages from time to time from users who claim it isn't working with certain versions of the clip art. It does work with the clip art supplied with CorelDRAW 5 and later. Clip art from CorelDRAW 11-X3 does have to be treated differently as Corel did not include keywords inside of the clip art files.

Information on how to use ROMCat is found in today's tutorial as well as a download form to get a free copy. Even if you are already using ROMCat, you might want to take the time to read over the tutorial and download the latest version. Maybe you simply need to download more catalogs for each version of the clip art you need to search.

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CorelDRAW Powertips II

Last week I told you about the first of Jeff Harrison's Powertips tutorials. If that wasn't enough, he has another series of tips in his CorelDRAW Powertips II tutorial. If you aren't sure if this tutorial is for you, he has even put together a movie showing many of the tips included. Even if only a few of the tips provide you with time saving, the results will be worth it!

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CorelDRAW Powertips I

As CorelDRAW users, we always want to be able to get as many projects done in the least amount of time possible. Of course we also want to be amazingly creative. Jeff Harrison has mastered the techniques for productivity and creativity and today's tutorial shares some of his best tips for you. Yes, there is a small cost for this 22-page PDF and accompanying workfile. Don't worry, CorelDRAW Powertips I will pay for itself in no time with all the new techniques you'll learn.

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Corel has put out their December DealAlert full of deals just in time for Christmas. If your order is over $99, you'll even get free shipping. Check out the deals and see if there is something just right for your stocking.

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How to Create Diamond Plate Patterns in CorelDRAW

There are really two learning components to today's tutorial. The first part is that you will learn to create and use a full-color pattern in CorelDRAW. And the second part is that you will learn how to create the look of diamond plate. How to Create Diamond Plate Patterns in CorelDRAW delivers both of those parts. It also includes sample files in both CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator format. Plus, it includes a finished pattern file for use in CorelDRAW. The CorelDRAW samples do require CorelDRAW X3 or higher.

I've always felt that full-color patterns were one of the most underutilized functions in CorelDRAW simply because the samples provided from CorelDRAW weren't usable in the real world. Once you learn how to create the diamond plate, I'm sure a number of other ideas will pop into your head!

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Working with Barcodes

I don't think the average user realizes the value of CorelDRAW. I got an e-mail yesterday that reminded me of just one of the very valuable features included with CorelDRAW that costs users living in mud huts a lot of money. To first understand, visit the Barcode Producer Web site. It is a very nice product that walks you through the process of creating a barcode. When finished, you can export as EPS, PDF or TIFF. Or the product will directly place your barcode into Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. It all sounds great and I really like the interface. Then we get to the price of $199. That's the same price as an upgrade to CorelDRAW!

Now that you've seen the financially painful side of being an Adobe user, let's go over how we create barcodes in CorelDRAW. Simply select Edit | Insert Barcode. This brings up the barcode wizard which has many similarities to the $199 Barcode Producer. The interface isn't quite as slick, but the results are more or less the same. Oh, did I mention it is included (even in older versions of CorelDRAW) and won't cost you a thing? Once you've selected the type of barcode you want and entered the data, click Next to get to the next screen of the wizard. There you can input all kinds of details about the barcode. Typically I don't make any changes on the second page. Click Next one more time and there are yet more changes you can make. Once again, I typically don't change anything. Click Finish the the barcode is placed in CorelDRAW. That's it!

Now what is inserted is an "OLE Object". So I highly recommend you copy it to the clipboard and then select Edit | Paste Special. In the dialog box that appears, choose Metafile. Now you have a group of graphic objects that make up the barcode. If necessary, you can modify the color of the objects in that group. Just be careful about the modifications you make.

Now that I've saved you from using the Adobe products and saved $199, how about purchasing something from Graphics Unleashed Media Marketplace?

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Pick Your Poizin

Rather than a plain tutorial today, I thought I'd show you how some artwork created in CorelDRAW is used to make some wine extra special. I know that many of you in the United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week and that often includes a little bit of wine. In this case, the wine is Poizin. Yes, I spelled that right.

CorelDRAW user and awards shop owner Dennis Wilkerson is featured in today's video. No matter where the artwork originates, it goes into CorelDRAW. He then outputs the artwork via a laser engraver or creates a Rayzist mask for sandblasting. The mask you see in the video was done using the Rayzist film.

In the video, you'll see Dennis apply the mask to the bottle and prep it for sandblasting. Then he'll sandblast a logo onto each bottle by hand. Once the bottles are etched, he paints them "blood red". The last step is to add wax to the top of the bottle. This is just one of the many "niche" markets where CorelDRAW is used. And in this industry, CorelDRAW is the standard!

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Using OpenType Features: Figure Styles

Today we're going to return to a tutorial teaching you more about fonts. Using OpenType Features: Figure Styles gives you a wonderful description of the different types of figures and ways to use them in Adobe InDesign.

To use special characters like this in CorelDRAW, open the Insert Symbol Character Docker (Ctrl + F11) and navigate to the font of your choice. The bad news is that CorelDRAW just flat out can't access every character in an OpenType font. That means you may not be able to use all of the cool characters described in this tutorial. While I can't give you magic access to these characters, I do encourage you to let Corel know you want the ability to access all characters in an OpenType font. The more they hear about it, the more likely we'll get this problem rectified in the future.

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Urban Myths, CorelDRAW Users and a Tutorial

Today I have a few short messages to go along with the tutorial of the day.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone I don't know. I can't only guess it was a loyal reader. Yet it is the type of e-mail that all of us get too often. This particular message was talking about the worst virus ever and suggesting that it be sent to everyone you know to minimize the damage done by the virus. Yet it was nothing but a hoax just like almost every message you get that says "please forward to everyone you know". It took me all of fifteen seconds to do a search on Google and to find numerous Web sites which dispelled the message.

Why am I telling you this story? Because the only way messages like this get stopped is if users stop forwarding them to everyone they know. If you get a message that sounds too good and/or too bad to be true and it is asking you to forward it, please do some research first! If you don't want to do the research, don't forward it!

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I think there are times that we as CorelDRAW users feel bad because we don't use the "industry standard". I'll save my speech on industry standards for another day, because the people who spread that label are misinformed. Anyways, I was as a party hosted by my printer the other day. I was chatting with someone that I knew was one of his customers and it came out that she used CorelDRAW. She was thrilled that she had met someone who knew all about CorelDRAW and could appreciate the smart decision she made to use it.

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Today's tutorial comes from Roy Brewer, an engraving equipment supplier, and it covers some great ways to use the Print Merge facility in CorelDRAW. It is a free video, so enjoy!

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The Evils of Using JPEG Files

Not a day goes by without seeing a situation where someone has used a JPEG file in a situation where another format should have been used instead. Today's tutorial, The Evils of Using JPEG Files, goes over many of the reasons why you shouldn't use JPG files. Even if you feel you understand JPEG files, I encourage you to read this tutorial at least once. Yes, JPEG files have their place and I use them regularly. The key is knowing when JPEG is the right choice and when it should be avoided.

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Two Ways to Create a Split Front Design

In only a few days the World Series will start. The New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Phillies. Many of you probably have had to design artwork for the front of baseball jerseys that requires a split front. For those who aren't familiar, a split front has to have a small amount of overlap where the jersey buttons.

Today's tutorial will show you two different ways to create a split front in CorelDRAW. While this tutorial is several years old, the techniques still work great today. Give it a try and you'll have artwork ready for a jersey in no time.

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How to Make a Hi-Tech Interface Using CorelDRAW

Maybe you need a cool looking interface for a Web design project or maybe you just want it to include in a design to be printed. No matter what reason you have, Jeff Harrison has a great tutorial for showing you how to do it. How to Make a Hi-Tech Interface in CorelDRAW will show users of CorelDRAW 9-X4 a number of cool features and techniques for achieving the interface of their dreams. Of course that also includes tips for getting it done quickly. Jeff has also thrown in a copy of the CorelDRAW file for the interface and some background textures that may come in handy when creating your own interface.

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Draw to Paint in the Style of Seurat

One of the best known painters of the late 1800s was George Seurat. His painting career was over one hundred years before CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT came on the scene. He would be absolutely amazed at what could be done these days with a computer.

Ruth Huking creates an image in her Draw to Paint in the Style of Seurat tutorial very similar to Seurat's The Lighthouse at Honfleur by drawing the basic shapes in CorelDRAW and then adding the pointillism in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Give it a read and then see what well-known paintings you can re-create using the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite.

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Quick Color Palette

Finding colors that work well together can sometimes be tough. Hunter Elliott shows you in his Quick Color Palette tutorial that the answer may be looking you in the face. He'll show you a quick way to take an image and break it down into a palette of colors. In just a minute or two you can have a palette of colors. There is no guarantee that it will always get you a palette of colors that always work together, but it does work quite well and is better than guessing.

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More Insight Into Sans Serif Fonts

In some previous posts I gave you links to two tutorials on sans serif fonts. There are actually four parts to the series and today I'm going to provide the other two links. Part 3 and Part 4 will teach you about some different styles of sans serif fonts. This post is short and sweet with those two links. I'm working on a much longer post for tomorrow.

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Using Seamless Textures in CorelDRAW

I think one of the most underutilized features in CorelDRAW is the pattern fills. Part is this is probably because users are unsure of how to use the feature or even unaware that it exists. Another part could be because the fills supplied with CorelDRAW are not something that users want to incorporate into their projects.

Today's tutorial comes in two parts, both a downloadable PDF and a video tutorial about Using Seamless Textures in CorelDRAW. You can download the PDF, an EXE of the video tutorial or both for free. You can also watch an embedded version of the video on YouTube. After learning how these fills work, I think you'll want to use them more in your projects.

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An Intro to Sans Serif Fonts

A loyal reader sent me a link to some wonderful tutorials on fonts and I wanted to pass them along to all of you. The folks at AscenderFonts have created a very informative article on Sans Serif fonts. Early in my career, I worked for a font foundry and got a good education on the many types of fonts available. This article will explain to you the meaning of sans serif and describe some of the styles that are available. If you've never paid much attention to fonts, you'll definitely want to check this out.

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SVG--From CorelDRAW to Your Browser

There are two major formats that allow you to work with vectors on the Web. One of those is the Flash (SWF) format. It is not an open standard as it is controlled by Adobe. The other is Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and it is an open standard. In theory, it is a great format for putting vector graphics on the Web as well as exchanging files between graphics software. There are some things you need to know to get the most out of SVG and David Troidl has provided a wonderful introduction in today's tutorial, SVG--From CorelDRAW to Your Browser. You'll learn how to create SVG files from CorelDRAW as well as some of the techniques for understanding the SVG file format and what it can do.

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Learn How to Draw with CorelDRAW

At some point we all started with CorelDRAW and we were faced with the task of actually drawing something. I don't know about you, but it didn't come easy to me. Jeff Harrison had the same struggles until he learned the technique for drawing things quickly and accurately.

Jeff has just added his Learn How to Draw with CorelDRAW tutorial and he poses a little test for you. He has a graphic for you to re-create. If you can do it in five minutes, you're all set. If it takes you longer than five minutes, you probably need to read his tutorial and learn the technique that will speed things up greatly for you. Go ahead and take the test. When you're done, post your time here. I'm really curious who can do it the fastest.

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The Easy Way to Create Calendars in CorelDRAW

Think about everything involved in creating a calendar from scratch in CorelDRAW. How many rectangles do you need to draw? What about creating all of that text and placing it just right in each square? What about putting moon phases on the calendar? Did you know that all of this can be done automatically in CorelDRAW?

Today's tutorial, The Easy Way to Create Calendars in CorelDRAW will show you just how quickly you can create a calendar in CorelDRAW. For those of you in promotional products, this could be a real money-maker for you if you customize the calendar with photos and other information relative to the client.

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Imposition and Print Merge

I think the most powerful feature in CorelDRAW is the ability to impose pages. It's a feature you won't find in the competitor's product. Combining the imposition features with print merge allows users to easily create hundreds, if not thousands, or name badges or tickets or anything else.

Today's tutorial covers imposition, print merge and much more. Not only do you get the written instructions in a detailed 12-page PDF file, you also get tutorial movies showing the process in action. All of the information was created for CorelDRAW X4, though all but one feature will work with CorelDRAW X3 as well. Those of you who already have the CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed book already have this information as part of the book.

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Resizing, Resampling, Cropping and Rotating

How many times have you gotten an e-mail with an extremely large photo attached? Not only does it take forever to download, it also doesn't fit in the e-mail window. Or have you imported a photo from your digital camera into CorelDRAW only to find it measures an absolutely huge amount?

Today's tutorial covers those topics and much more. You'll learn the ins and outs of resampling, resizing, cropping, rotating and much more. Not only does the information come in written form via a printable PDF file, you also get tutorial movies showing each of the features in action. Want to automate the resizing of images? Scripts for Corel PHOTO-PAINT 11-X4 are included. You also get a VBA macro to resize images with the click of a button. All in all, a huge value for everything that is included.

Those of you who already have CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed Premium Bonus Content Edition already have this in the included Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4 Unleashed book. So there is two ways to get this valuable information.

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Blemish Be Gone

I think I've mentioned in some previous posts that I'm taking some photography classes this summer. My final class is in two days and I have a very tough assignment. I have to take self-portrait images that include a camera in the picture. Now some of you might think this involves a mirror or holding the camera in front of yourself. No, we have to set the camera on a tripod and use the timer. The camera in the picture is not the camera taking the picture.

That leads to today's tutorial. What happens if I find some blemishes on my photos? What if my teeth aren't as white as I like? I'll turn to Jeff Harrison's Blemish Be Gone tutorial and he'll show me exactly how to fix it in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Luckily I have a pretty good complexion so any fixes won't be too major!

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Marquee Selecting: A New Technique

This post has two sources and one amazing technique for selecting objects. It all started when Brian posted a technique in the forums at coreldraw.com and then Jeff Harrison created a short movie to show the technique in action. So rather than having me rewrite it all, I'll simply pass you along to Jeff's Rarely Used Selection Tip blog post for all the details.

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Have a Virtual Beer on Me!

There are some tools in CorelDRAW that are very tough for me to master. The Mesh Fill is one of those. Luckily there is an amazing tutorial that shows you how to create a beer mug full of beer that is so realistic that you will try to grab it off your screen to take a drink. Unfortunately the original tutorial is in Russian and therefore hard for anglophiles to understand.

Thanks to automatic translation tools, we can read the tutorial in English. It may sound a little strange due to the computer translation, but you should be able to follow along and download the finished mug to explore.

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Getting Reliable Output

Not a day goes by that I don't see a user having problems getting their CorelDRAW file to output properly. Some of these users are so upset that they threaten to give up on CorelDRAW and move to Adobe Illustrator. While their frustration is understandable, the problem won't go away by switching to alternative software.

The key is to properly prepare your files for output! Some effects are always going to cause problems so they must be simplified. Fonts can sometimes get lost in the transfer resulting in bad substitution. Of course there can also be color shifts.

Jeff Harrison covered the steps for getting reliable output in a recent blog post. This will take a little bit more of your time up front. But how much time do you waste if the file causes problems? How much money is wasted on materials if the file doesn't output properly? Getting it right the first time will save you time and money and Jeff has it all covered for you.

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Contrast Masking with Corel PHOTO-PAINT

Hunter Elliott has a really interesting tutorial for Corel PHOTO-PAINT. It in he takes a cool picture and makes it even better by boosting the contrast in only part of an image. The process is called Contrast Masking and is a great way to make good images into great ones. Even better, it is a fairly simply process as long as you have a picture that lends itself well to this type of adjustment.

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Removing the White Box Revisited

This is a tutorial topic that we've already visited before. Yet it remains the question I hear over and over again. How do I remove the white box around my images? So today we have two tutorials that address the issue. First is my Getting Rid of That Darned White Box tutorial. Jeff Harrison has a similar tutorial showing how to cut out a cow and to even recolor the cow. He even throws in the cow for free. Oh, and there is a movie that goes with it. These tutorials show you the basic technique, but it is this same technique that is used for even the most complex situations where you need to cut something out.

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Tutorial Tuesday: T-Shirt Artwork Simplified

Great Dane has always been known for creating some fantastic images for the garment industry. Now Dane Clements has put together a book, T-Shirt Artwork Simplified for CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, showing techniques that users can follow to create great work in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. You'll get a full-color printed book with over 200 highly illustrated pages and a disc with over 30 minutes of tutorial movies and some of Great Dane's artwork. If you are creating art for t-shirts, this book is a great addition to your training library.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Including Variable Data with Print Merge

Users are often looking for ways to produce a lot more in a lot less time. That's an area where CorelDRAW's Print Merge function comes in really handy.

You have a list of data that you need to merge with a graphic. Name badges are a perfect example. Design one badge, merge the data with that badge and then throw in the imposition engine to get a bunch of badges on a single sheet of material.

Today's tutorial shows you how to use Print Merge in CorelDRAW 12 and higher. You'll find updated versions of this information in my CorelDRAW X3 Unleashed and CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed books complete with videos showing the feature in action. For those who think this features doesn't apply to you, I can bet there is a way it could dramatically increase your productivity!

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Tuesday Tutorial: Vectorizing Bitmap Logos in CorelDRAW

It seems every CorelDRAW user I've met has one task that they have to perform on a regular basis. They need to take a bitmap logo and convert it to vector. Today I'm going to give you links to two different tutorials on the subject.

Before I give you the links, you need to understand that using an "automated" tool will fail in almost all cases unless you have a really good bitmap. Even then it may still fail because of the way the logo is designed. I know you want to push a button and get a perfect logo. That just isn't reality and don't let anyone try to tell you differently. Sure, they can do a demo using a logo that works and you'll be impressed. Unfortunately you won't get that perfect artwork very often. There is even a company offering a "free" video on the subject that use the most inefficient method I've ever seen. Don't waste your time learning the wrong way to do it!

In order to get a good vectorization, you must re-create the logo using the drawing tools in CorelDRAW. A very simple (and free) example shows how to convert a text-only logo from bitmap to vector. Even the example in that tutorial is more basic than most logos you will need to convert. I have a much more detailed tutorial showing different techniques on different logos. It does have a small cost. Those of you who have my CorelDRAW X3 Unleashed or CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed books will find the same information included so there is no need to purchase the tutorial.

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Tuesday Tutorial: Using Corel PHOTO-PAINT's Image Sprayer

One of the advantages Corel PHOTO-PAINT has over Adobe Photoshop is the inclusion of the Image Sprayer. In today's tutorial, Mike Bresciani shows you the many ways you can use this tool. He also covers how to create your own sprayers. If you create some good sprayers, send them my way!

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Tuesday Tutorial: Chrome

Creating the effect of chrome in vector graphics is a popular effect. Cory Sarafinchan has written a tutorial that shows you all the steps to get various types of chrome effects.



Once you learn the techniques in this tutorial, you'll be able to apply the steps in a number of different ways. Not only does it give you a flat chrome look, but also shows you how to make it look 3D.

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Tutorial Tuesday: CorelDRAW Unleashed Magazine

I still get a question every now and then asking me when the next issue of CorelDRAW Unleashed Magazine is going to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you that we have no plans to produce new issues. The time and cost to produce each issue was very high and we simply did not get enough support to justify producing new issues.

I'm sure you wanted to hear something better, unfortunately that's the reality of the situation. But I don't want to simply pass along bad news. We have just released a collection of all six issues of the magazine along with some bonus content on a DVD-ROM. No, it isn't free, but it is a steal at only $39.95 for all of the content that is included.

If you only want one or two issues, you can purchase any of the downloadable issues separately for only $15. This is still an amazing deal for all of the content packed into each issue.

While we have no plans to produce future magazines, we are still working with the authors to produce more high-quality content on getting the most from your favorite graphics tools!

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Tutorial Tuesday: CorelDRAW Powertips III

Today's tutorial is actually the third in a series of tutorials Jeff Harrison did containing Powertip for CorelDRAW. CorelDRAW Powertips III will provide you with a series of short tips for being more creative and/or more productive in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Every user will find something to help them out.

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Tuesday Tutorial: CorelDRAW 0-60 Training

This new training DVD from Art4Screen gives you 7.5 hours of video training and all of the supporting art files used in the lessons.

Thomas Trimingham is the instructor behind these videos and he walks you through a series of twenty lessons that will allow you to improve your skills in CorelDRAW.

To get a full list of the topics covered, go to the product detail page. As the title says, this training will get you from 0-60 in a very short amount of time.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Shorten Your Design Time with Templates

I don't think there is any user out there that wouldn't like to get their projects done in less time. One answer to that is using templates. For some projects, they can cut the time to complete a project in half. Heck, they might save you even more time than that.

Shorten Your Design Time with Templates will show you how you can easily create your own templates so that you can save time. If you end up creating a cool template, leave a comment and let me know about it.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Creating Distressed Text in CorelDRAW

Users are always wondering how to create unique looking text effects. One example of that is distressed text and the Creating Distressed Text in CorelDRAW tutorial shows you various ways to accomplish the task. After trying each of the methods discussed, I'm sure you'll think of some other techniques to create even more effects.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Creating a Painted Effect from a Photograph

In this oldie but goodie tutorial, Mike Bresciani will show you a variety of filters in Corel PHOTO-PAINT that you can use to make a photo look like a painted effect. Because of the tutorial's age, it was written using Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8. While some of the features may have moved around, everything described still works just fine in newer versions.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Making Stuff in CorelDRAW

OK, so you read the title Making Stuff in CorelDRAW and you probably want to know just what kind of stuff. The best thing I can tell you is to look at the sample images on the page. Each of them was created with the techniques in this tutorial. The tutorial was written to work with all versions of CorelDRAW from 9-X4 so there is something that nearly every user can put to use. If you want to create stuff like you see on the page, then you'll love this tutorial.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Parallel Lines

I remember attending a presentation done by someone at Corel many years ago. In it, they described how a feature goes from a request to the drawing board to part of CorelDRAW. The feature used as an example was drawing parallel lines. Yet no such feature exists in the program to this day. Note that I didn't say it couldn't be done. Jeff Harrison put together a quick video tutorial that shows you how it is done. Even better, you can edit the lines after drawing them.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Adding Color to Black and White Photos with Corel PHOTO-PAINT

Today we're going to roll back the clock a bit. The tutorial is ten years old and it can show you how to liven up photos that are even older. Adding Color to Black and White Photos with Corel PHOTO-PAINT gives you techniques for colorizing those old photos.

Yes, it is an older tutorial using Corel PHOTO-PAINT 9 to show you the steps. The good news is that the techniques are nearly identical in newer versions so it should be easy for everyone to follow along. You'll also see how to create sepia tone images. Check it out!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Using CorelDRAW to Make Quilting Blocks

It is always amazing to see the vast array of physical products that can be created with CorelDRAW. A product that is one of my favorites is quilting simply because the first person I ever trained to use CorelDRAW was going to be creating quilt patterns with it. Since then I've learned that there is a very active community of quilters using CorelDRAW to create patterns.

We have a great tutorial, Using CorelDRAW to Make Quilting Blocks, that shows you the basics of creating your own patterns. Once you learn these basic techniques, there is no limit to the cool patterns you can make. And if you aren't a quilter, I'll bet that you might just want a way to utilize these techniques in your workflow in some other way.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Five Rules of Effective Website Navigation

One week at sea. Another week of trade shows and conferences. Then a few days of fun at the FBR Open and watching the Super Bowl with friends. Now it is time for me to spend more time at my desk to finish up the projects at hand.

Since I'm getting back to the nuts and bolts of the daily grindstone, I thought I'd highlight a tutorial about a basic element of Web design. Five Rules of Effective Website Navigation will help you to design a navigation scheme that works for your site. This can be the area that will make or break a site. It is a short tutorial packed with a lot of useful information.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Whiten Teeth in Corel PHOTO-PAINT

If you go to the local drug store, you'll find a number of products geared towards whitening teeth. My dentist also offers services for whitening teeth. Those take time and/or money to get your teeth white.

Today I'm directing you to a tutorial that shows you how you can whiten anyone's teeth in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Best of all, it only takes about five minutes. While it is easy to make teeth in most any photo look better, don't overdo it. If the teeth are too white, the picture will look fake!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Custom Nibs in Corel PHOTO-PAINT

Everyone on the CorelDRAW Unleashed Boot Camp Cruise really enjoyed our day in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico yesterday. In a few hours we will dock in Mazatlan for a day of fun followed by some Corel PHOTO-PAINT Secrets in the late afternoon. While we will cover a number of great tools in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, we won't be talking about custom nibs.

That's where today's tutorial comes into play. Shawn Olson has put together a great video showing you how to create Custom Nibs in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Nibs are the tip of the brushes you use for painting and there are infinite possibilities for the shapes you can create.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Rip Torn

A quick glance at that title and you may not have any idea what the tutorial is all about. That's OK, I'll explain it to you. The idea is that you'll learn how to create the appearance of ripped and torn edges in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. This tutorial was originally written for Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8, so you'll probably notice a few differences if you are using a newer version. But it should be pretty easy to follow the steps in the new versions. If you use this tutorial and create some cool effects with it, post the URL where we can all see your graphic for inspiration.

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Tutorial Tuesday: How to Draw Interlocked Rings

One of the most exciting television events of the past year was the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Which also leads to a question about how to draw interlocking rings. Today's tutorial is short and sweet, but it gives you the steps you need to draw interlocking rings. Once you understand the technique, you can apply it to other tasks which involve the optical illusion of overlapping objects.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Changing Colors with Color Styles

Users are always looking for a way to quickly change the colors in their drawing. Maybe the drawing has RGB colors when Pantone colors are needed. Or a quick way to convert color to grayscale is needed. Today's tutorial will show you how to use the Color Styles Docker to accomplish the described tasks and a lot more. How to Change Colors Quickly Using the Color Styles Docker in CorelDRAW is a free PDF file you can download that will walk though using the Color Styles Docker.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Drive Traffic to Your Blog

Today we're going to talk about a great resource for those of you who are blogging, those who may want to start a blog or anyone who deals with the creation of a blog. The tutorial in question is actually an e-book written by Dennis Gaskill. Dennis also goes by the nickname of Boogie Jack and he has written a number of excellent guides on HTML and other Web creation tips and tricks. And for those who may ask, no the e-book isn't free.

The e-book is titled Drive Traffic to Your Blog and it packs 50 pages with a variety of information that will help you to increase the traffic coming to your blog. You can easily read the book in a couple of hours, but it will definitely take longer to digest and implement the information included. I read through the book myself, made note of a few things I want to implement right away and I know I'll go back and read it again to glean more information.

One area discussed in the book is article marketing. This is where you write an article on a specific topic. While you may find it fun to write such an article, most people would find it even more fun if the article generated revenue. We all like to make money, right? One tool he recommended was Micro Niche Finder. This cool little utility helps you find niche topics to cover and ways to make money on that niche. Even better, there are five free videos that show how it works. All you have to do is provide your name and e-mail address.

Of course, that is just one small recommendation out of many. Most of the tips can be implemented for little or no cost. Some may take a little bit of time, but it is surprising at how little time it will take to add a number of the tips to your blog marketing arsenal.

Overall, you'll find Drive Traffic to Your Blog provides you with much more than your money's worth. Heck, Dennis is also throwing in another e-book, Writing Effective Blog Titles. You'll find the full listing of what is included on the e-books site.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Easy Way to Create Calendars

Sometimes I wonder why Corel doesn't mention some of the great features that exist in CorelDRAW. Probably the most powerful feature getting little attention is the Calendar Wizard. Today's tutorial will tell you not only where to find this powerful tool, but also how to use it. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to create calendars in CorelDRAW. Now only can this be powerful, it can also be profitable for those of you who use it to create custom calendars for clients.

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Tutorial Tuesday: CorelDRAW's Find and Replace Wizard

Users are always asking about easy ways to change all of the colors in the their artwork in CorelDRAW. There are a number of different tools that approach this common problem. One of them is the Find and Replace Wizard. Today's tutorial shows you how to use the Find and Replace Wizard in all of its different variations.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Digital Graphics Magazine

Today we're going to look at a free magazine, Digital Graphics, for those in working with large format graphics. According to the description of the magazine; they provide printer and software reviews, file management, ink and media selection, tips on workflow enhancement and more. I've been receiving the magazine for several years now and I've always found something useful in each issue. The subscription is completely free, you'll just have to provide some information on yourself.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Make a Key

Today's tutorial covers a number of features in CorelDRAW put together in a project that shows you a way to draw a key. Rather than reading all the steps, it is a free video that you can download. Even if you never have the need to draw a key, you'll certainly see ways you can be more creative and improve your workflow.

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Tutorial Tuesday: 3D Web Buttons

As I was looking for today's tutorial, I ran across one that is over ten years old. Some of the interface has changed in Corel PHOTO-PAINT since it was first written, but the information is still quite valuable. For those of you wanting to create 3D buttons, it is a great starting point. Even if you aren't going to be creating buttons for the Web, you can pick up some useful PHOTO-PAINT tips for other types of projects.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Play Ball

With the World Series in full swing, let's look at a tutorial that shows you techniques for drawing a baseball. Fluid's Play Ball: How to Create a Custom Baseball in CorelDRAW will show you all of the steps to not only draw a ball, but to customize it. While the steps may be specifically for creating a baseball, you'll definitely learn things that can be easily applied to other projects. Play ball!

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Tutorial Tuesday: The Evils of Using JPEG Files

So often I see users choosing to save files in JPEG format simply because it creates small files. Often it is the wrong choice. Today's tutorial, The Evils of Using JPEG Files, will help you to understand the problems with JPEG files and alternative formats that would be a better choice.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Exporting PNG File From CorelDRAW

PNG files are fast becoming a very popular choice on Web sites because they support a full alpha-channel for transparency. They also provide a great way to load transparent bitmaps into Microsoft Office.

In today's tutorial, Jeff Harrison shows you how to export transparent PNG files directly from CorelDRAW. You don't have to do any ready as Jeff has prepared a short movie that shows you all of the steps for free.

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Tutorial Tuesday: CorelDRAW Unleashed User Conference Handout and Disc

The staff of experts at the CorelDRAW Unleashed User Conference put together some amazing sessions for those in attendance. If you weren't able to join us at the conference, we are now making available the Conference Guide and the Conference Disc.

This isn't just a single tutorial, it is a collection of information that took three days to present. The Conference Guide is 152 printed pages of full color information. On the Conference Disc, you'll find the Conference Guide as a PDF file complete with links to tutorial movies on many of the subjects covered. We then loaded the disc with clip art, plug-ins and other content of value.

You can get just the Conference Disc or a package with both the printed Conference Guide and the Conference Disc. Note that if you order the printed Conference Guide that your package will not ship until October 30th. Orders for only the Conference Disc will ship right away.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Halftone Effect

Whether you need halftones for printing or you just want the look of halftones, there is a way to create the effect that you want. Richard Reilly, aka Fluid, gives you all the details in today's tutorial.

The Halftone Effect is especially important for screen printers. In order to create their screens, they need to utilize halftones to get various shades of a color. Yet they are also useful for cool special effects. Richard will even show you a way to convert them back to vectors using Corel PowerTRACE.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Transparent PNG Files

Has it really been 12 years since work began on the PNG file format? I believe it has. Back then it seemed like PNG would become mainstream before we partied like it was 1999. It took long than we expected, but PNG has finally become a format in use all over the Web.

PNG can be paletted like GIF. It can also be a full-color 24-bit file or even a 48-bit file. But the killer feature for using PNG on a Web site is that it can support a full alpha channel for transparency. This brings us to today's tutorial. Jeff Harrison has a free movie that explains how to create a transparency PNG file directly from CorelDRAW.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Best Web Graphics

CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT are very popular tools for creating Web graphics. Notice I said graphics, not the HTML code for the page. If you don't have a good handle on how to best utilize the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite to create graphics for the Web, it is very easy to make mistakes.

Hunter Elliott has written an excellent tutorial on creating Web graphics. While the description says it is for CorelDRAW 9-12, it works equally well for X3 and X4. You'll learn when it is best to use a GIF or JPEG and how to properly create them. You'll also learn about PNG files and using PNG transparency. What about Web safe colors? Yes, those are covered and you'll see they aren't really that safe or that necessary. These and many more topics are covered in the tutorial.

That tutorial will have you well on the way to creating graphics for a Web site. But many users are confused about the best way to use those graphics as part of a Web site. For that, you need another tool that is designed for creating Web pages and sites. Probably the most popular tool is Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. It comes with a lot of power and a fairly hefty price. For just over half the price, Microsoft's Expression Web 2 gives you a very powerful tool for building Web sites. Unlike FrontPage, the new product creates much cleaner code and is worth a look. For those looking for a product under $100, check out Namo WebEditor. There are some free tools such as Nvu and Alleycode that might get the job done for you.

Personally I'm a big fan of hand coding my pages. Everyone creating Web content should have a good grasp of HTML code no matter what tool you use. If you understand HTML, a code editor simply makes writing the code a lot easier. Unlike the WYSIWYG tools, it doesn't introduce extra bloated code making your pages much more efficient. I've been using HomeSite for years now. It has been absorbed by Dreamweaver so we'll look elsewhere for solutions. One product I've used is TopStyle. It was created by the same person who created the original HomeSite and has some great features for creating pages and CSS stylesheets. I use it occasionally but still turn to HomeSite for most of my coding. Other users have highly recommended I switch to WeBuilder 2008. It certainly looks promising and I will give it a test drive when I have time to explore further.

The key here is to use the best tools for the job. CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT create great graphics and the others tools mentioned can help you use those graphics for a Web page or Web site. Do you have a favorite tool I haven't mentioned? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

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Tutorial Tuesday: 50+ Body Enhancement Tutorials

No matter the subject of the photograph, there is always something that someone feels needs to be fixed. This can include fixing red eyes, weight loss, a virtual boob or nose job, teeth whitening and much more. In total, there are over 50 separate tutorials on body enhancement techniques.

For those of you who use Photoshop, these tutorials will be very straightforward. That doesn't mean that we Corel PHOTO-PAINT users can't follow the tutorials as well. Features in the two programs are nearly identical with the main difference being the name of the feature. You can download The Terms of Adobe Photoshop and Corel PHOTO-PAINT to get a cheat sheet on translating the tutorials.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Fire and Ice

For today's tutorial I'm going to go down under to the Visionary Voyager site. David Mutch has created some great tutorials for Corel PHOTO-PAINT. For me, the Fire and Ice tutorials create the most stunning effects.

While the tutorials are a few years old, they work in Corel PHOTO-PAINT 9 and up. I'm sure there are a few commands that have slight differences, but you should be able to easily adjust for the newer versions. With a few variations on the steps provided, you should be able to create all kinds of cool effects with fire and ice!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Glossy Lettering

I got an e-mail from someone today wanting to learn a number of different things in CorelDRAW. One of the desired techniques was "enhanced lettering". Certainly that can take a number of different forms depending on a user's needs.

Today's tutorial will teach you how to create Glossy Lettering and it definitely qualifies as "enhanced" to me. Below is an example of what you can create.

Just so no one is confused, this tutorial does have a cost of $10. For that price, you get a 21 page PDF file with all the details of creating this cool effect. You also get a CorelDRAW workfile with sample graphics to examine. While the tutorial mentions it works in CorelDRAW 9 through X3, it works just fine in CorelDRAW X4 as well. Enjoy the tutorial and I look forward to seeing examples of the cool things you've created.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Website Magazine

Instead of telling you about a single tutorial today, I'm going to tell you about a magazine that you can get for free that will provide you a regular source of information.

Website Magazine caters to those in the business of running a Web site. I've been receiving it since its inception and there are always a few articles of interest to me. Many of you have probably created a graphic for a Web site and it is quite possible that you run the site for your business. Now you have a free resource that can help you get the most out of your site.

The free subscriptions offered are what is called a "qualified subscription". This means you'll need to answer a few questions about your business and your involvement in purchasing. Basically they want to be able to tell their advertisers that the readers are interested in what the advertisers are selling. Go ahead and request your free subscription today!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Dancing in the Dark in the Park

A common question I see users ask is how to access the "clip art" in the symbols section of the CorelDRAW content manual. The first thing you need to know is that it isn't clip art. They are symbol fonts and the individual graphics are characters in the font. Once you install them as fonts, you can access the "symbols" in the Insert Character Docker (Ctrl + F11 to access it).

Hmm, that sounds like a tip and it is only Tuesday. That means I'm supposed to tell you all about a tutorial. So let's build on the theme of using symbol fonts and look at Ruth Huking's Dancing in the Dark in the Park tutorial. While this is an older tutorial, you can still do the same things in newer versions of CorelDRAW. Ruth really likes to use the characters in symbol fonts, dress them up a bit and use them in her graphics. This tutorial uses a number of different symbol characters. While the graphic you need to create may be drastically different, quite likely you can use the same techniques. Another idea is to use some of the symbol fonts I've discussed in my Font Friday blogs.

I would also like to include a brief comment. I got a very upsetting e-mail in response to last week's tutorial. The author of the e-mail was absolutely furious that the tutorial cost money. When you do a design for clients, do you give away your work? Most likely not. Our authors work very hard to create a tutorial and some of these tutorials do have a small cost. I will certainly link to free tutorials, but I will also link to some that have a cost.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Athletic Tails

In the world of sports apparel, there are a handful of effects that are used quite often. One of those techniques is the use of an athletic tail. That's where the last letter in the word makes a huge swooshing tail underlining the entire word. Typically another word appears in that tail.

Richard Reilly, aka Fluid, tackled the subject of creating Athletic Tails in this weeks tutorial. Not only does he show you how to create and use them, he supplies you ten tails in a CorelDRAW file so you can get started. If you are creating sports apparel and you aren't already using athletic tails, you'll want to read this tutorial so you can incorporate them into your workflow. You're clients will love it and that will bring you more projects!

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Tutorial Tuesday: Custom Buttons and Toolbars

If you want to take your productivity in CorelDRAW to a new level, one of the best ways is to customize the program to work exactly as you want. You can do this by customizing the buttons, shortcut keys, menus and much more. Combine this with macros and you can really unleash the power of the program.

Tom Knight has just made available a new video tutorial explaining how to create custom buttons and toolbars in CorelDRAW X4. He'll walk you through the process of customization. This is just one of Tom's many video tutorials on CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. You can find a complete list of his tutorials and his training products on our site.

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Tutorial Tuesday: Getting Rid of the White Box

This is definitely an older tutorial and yet it answers a question that gets asked constantly. How do I get rid of that darned white box around my image?

The answer is using the masking tools in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. If you aren't using Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you are really missing out on a valuable part of the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. Things certainly get more complicated if the image is not surrounded by a solid color. But you first must understand getting rid of the white box before you can move on to masking out a more complex background.

Sure, there are ways to do this directly in CorelDRAW. None of them are as easy and quick as using Corel PHOTO-PAINT. And once you save your file with a transparent background, you'll never have to worry about removing the box on that image again.

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