Creating GEL Text

By Gary W. Priester
The Mac® OS X GEL look is still hot even though it was introduced quite some time ago. Creating GEL buttons has already been covered here and covered very well so I thought it would be fun to see if we could create the GEL look in text. Before we get started, however, we need to set a few common parameters. I will be using CorelDRAW® 11 and so some features may be different or may have migrated to different menus, as they often do between versions of CorelDRAW.
As I am creating this tutorial to be seen on the Web, I am going to use Corel's RGB palette, which many of you will remember was the default palette before version 7. The colors are brighter and will produce a better looking effect.

(Figure 1) In the Tools drop down menu, select Color Management… From the Style drop down list, select Optimized for the Web. This sets the color space to RGB.

(Figure 2) From the Layout menu, select Page Setup… In the Page Setup dialog, change the Resolution to 96 dpi (Windows®) or 72 dpi (Macintosh®). These two settings are screen resolution and are the proper 1:1 resolution for viewing on the Web. Even if you plan to output your image for commercial printing, use these two settings to avoid confusion. You can change the resolution before you output your files.

For this tutorial we shall create a GEL symbol for the at character (@). As CorelDRAWing this symbol is a lot harder than it looks, we'll use an Avant Garde @ symbol for a guide.

(Figure 3) Using the Text Tool, click on the page and key in @ in Avant Garde (the CorelDRAW default font). On the Property Bar, change the size to 130 and press Enter to apply the change.

(Figure 4) Press and hold the Freehand Tool to open the Curve Flyout menu. Select the Pen Tool (the fourth from the right). Click and add a series of connected lines as shown here in red. The idea is to place each anchor point in-between the outlines of the @ and to place the control points on logical points from which to create curved line segments. When you have clicked the last control point, double click to let CorelDRAW know you are finished.

(Figure 5) Select the Shape Tool. Click on the outline to select it. Marquee select all the control points by dragging a rectangle around all the points with the Shape Tool. On the Property Bar (the context-sensitive menu at the top of the screen) press the Convert Line to Curve icon. Drag a line segment and pull it like a rubber band until it more or less conforms to the shape of the @ symbol.

(Figure 6) Continue until all the line segments are now gently curves and more or less follow the shape of the @.

(Figure 7) We can fine tune the control points by adjusting the Bezier control handles. Select the outline with the Shape Tool. Click on a control point. Note that two lines with small boxes on the ends appear coming out of each side of the point. These are Bezier control handles with which we can adjust the segments of the outline. You can drag these in or out to make the curve segment longer or shorter and you can rotate them to adjust the angle of the curve segment. Experiment until you get the curve as smooth as possible. The smoothest curves will have both Bezier handles in a straight line. The angle of the handles will also be more or less parallel to the curve.

TIP: Moving the handles can be tricky and inexact if you are not real comfortable using the mouse. Zoom in close. Select a point and then use the arrow keys on your key pad to move the handles. You may also need to set the nudge amount on the Property Bar to 1px. (CorelDRAW's default idea of a nudge is sometimes closer to a shove)!

(Figure 8) You might need an extra control point at the top of the "a" shape. Double click with the Shape Tool to add the point. Continue to fine tune the shape until you have gotten it as close to the shape of the @ symbol as possible. Name and save your CorelDRAWing and take a short eye break.

(Figure 9) Delete the Avant Garde @ symbol. Select the outline. Click and hold on the Outline Tool to open the Outline Flyout. Select the Outline Pen options (the first icon). Change the line width to 16 points. Click the two middle Corner and Line Caps radio buttons to round the ends and the corners. Press OK.

With the outline still selected, select Convert Outline to Object from the Arrange menu.

(Figure 10). From the View menu, select Wireframe or Simple Wireframe. You will notice the original outline has been left behind. As we don't need it anymore, delete it. Return to the View menu and select Enhanced to return to the anti-aliased display mode.

(Figure 11) Select the Interactive Fill Tool icon. From the drop down list of Fill Types on the Property Bar, select Conical. The Interactive Conical Fill controls will appear on the screen. You can drag the ends of the fill path to rotate the fill. You can also double click on the circular portion of the fill path to add more colors. For what we are going to do, just leave everything as is. Click the white box at the end of the fill path, then click the red color on the screen palette. Repeat this for the other end so you now have a red to red conical fill. To the left of the Fill Type drop down list is the Edit Fill icon. Click it to open the Fountain Fill dialog. Select the counter clockwise fill option (indicated with the red ellipse) and press OK to apply the change.

(Figure 12) Make two copies of the rainbow filled shape and set them to one side. We'll need them later on. Change the fill of the original @ to black by selecting the shape then pressing the black color on the screen palette. You can also drag and drop colors from the screen palette onto the object.

Press and hold the Interactive Tool icon to open the Interactive Tools Flyout menu. Select the Contour Tool (the nested squares). If the shape is not selected, select it with the Contour Tool. On the Property Bar press the To Center icon. Change the Contour Offset amount to 1pix.

NOTE: Your shape may have an unfortunate wedge going though it. Mine did. If yours does not then skip this part. Select the shape and from the Arrange menu, select Break Curve Apart. Now marquee select the entire shape. The status bar at the bottom of the screen will tell you how many shapes are selected. You should only have 2. If it shows more, cut the counter (the inside of the "a" shape) to the clipboard (Edit > Cut). Marquee select most of but not all of the shape. If you see a small portion selected, delete it. Paste the shape from the clipboard back onto the shape, select both and from the Arrange menu, select Combine. Your contour should now be successful.

(Figure 13) Select the contour with the Pick Tool (the arrow). Open the Bitmaps menu and select Convert to Bitmap. Use the settings shown above. Press OK to create the bitmap.

(Figure 14) Center the bitmap over the rainbow-filled @ shape. Open the Interactive Tools Flyout menu and select the Transparency Tool (the wineglass icon). From the Property Bar, select Uniform (the default) and from the Transparency Operation drop down list, select Subtract. Change the slider setting to 30%.

(Figure 15) Select both the rainbow-filled shape and the transparent bitmap. Convert these two items to bitmap (Bitmaps menu) using the settings shown).

(Figure 16) Locate one of the duplicate @ shapes which I asked you to set aside. Change the fill to white and apply a black outline. Apply a 1-step, To Inside contour with a 4pix offset amount.

From the Arrange menu, select Break Contour Group Apart. Open the Arrange menu again and select Ungroup. Delete the wider shape (shown in dashed blue line).

(Figure 17) With the shape selected, press the + key to make an in-place duplicate. Move the duplicate 12 pixels to the right and 12 pixels down.

TIP: With nothing selected, change the Nudge amount on the Property bar to 1px. Now use the arrow keys on your computer keypad to move the duplicate shape the precise amount. (You could also set the nudge amount to 12px. Just remember to set it back to a lower amount when you are done).

(Figure 18) Select both shapes and then press the Trim icon on the Property Bar. The cutter shape remains and while nothing seems to have changed, if you drag the underneath shape away, you'll see the top shape has been trimmed out of the bottom shape as shown in blue.

(Figure 19) Duplicate the whole shape by pressing the + key. Move the duplicate shape up and to the left 12 pixels in each direction.

(Figure 20) Select the trimmed out shape and cut it to the clipboard (Edit > Cut). Select the two shapes. On the Property Bar, press Back Minus Front. This is a new path command that does the same function as Trim except it removes the top, or trimmer shape. Paste the shape we just cut to the clipboard back onto the page (Edit > Paste). Save your work and take a short eye break.

(Figure 21) Position the two cutout shapes as shown. Select the top shape and then select the Interactive Fill Tool. From the drop down menu on the Property Bar, select Conical. Make the starting and ending colors Baby Blue. Click the Edit Fill icon which is just to the left of the drop down list of Fill Types, to open the Fountain Fill dialog. Click the Clockwise Fill icon and press OK to close the dialog.

TIP: If you let the cursor rest for a moment over the color squares on the screen palette (or any of the buttons and icons), the color name, or tool or button name, will appear in a balloon under the cursor.

Select the bottom shape and repeat this step except use Spring Green for the start and end colors. The idea here is to create two rainbow gradients, one lighter and one slightly darker which we will use for highlights and reflections.

(Figure 22) Position the top highlight shape over the bitmap as shown. With the highlight shape selected, select Break Curve Apart from the Arrange menu. You will now have a series of separate shapes.

(Figure 23) Using the Freehand or the Pen Tool, CorelDRAW a single diagonal line through the bitmap image as shown. Select the top left most shape. Select the Interactive Transparency Tool and from the drop down list of Transparency Types, pick Circular. Select Add from the Transparency Operations drop down list. Drag the dashed arrow portion of the fill until the center of the circle is over the area where the diagonal line passes though the top of the @ shape. Click on the outside color, which is now white and change this to black by clicking the black square on the screen palette. Click on the inside color square and change the black to white. We have just made the center opaque and the outside transparent which is the opposite of the default setting.

NOTE: Black represents 100% transparency and white represents 0% or no transparency. You can also click the start or ending square and move the slider on the Property Bar to adjust the amount of transparency. Shades of gray represent various amounts of transparency.

(Figure 24) Select the next shape (directly over the "a"). From the Effects menu, select Copy Effect… Lens From… A large black arrow cursor will appear. Click the first highlight shape to which you applied transparency. Adjust the transparency so the lightest portion is centered on the red diagonal line and the diameter is similar in size to the first circular transparency.

(Figure 25) Repeat this last step and copy the lens effect to the other shapes. When you are finished, select all the highlight elements and group them.

(Figure 26) Position the bottom shape, which we will call the reflection, as shown. Break the Curve Apart. Apply a Circular, Multiply transparency reversing the starting and ending transparency percentages and centering the darkest portion of the circular transparency on the red diagonal line.

(Figure 27) Copy the lens effect to the other shapes and adjust the center and diameter of the transparency. Group all the reflection elements. Save your work and take a short eye break. We're almost done.

(Figure 28) Locate the other duplicate you made of the vector @ shape. CorelDRAW a rectangle around the @ to the size shown. Set the fill and outline to none.

Select both the rectangle and the rainbow-filled @. Convert these to Bitmap but do not select the Transparent Background option.

(Figure 29) With the bitmap selected, select Bitmaps > Blur > Gaussian. Apply a 7 pixel Gaussian Blur.

(Figure 30) Position the blurred bitmap over the other elements. Apply a Uniform, Subtract 50% Transparency. Move the blurred bitmap until the shape appears to the right and down from the shapes beneath it.

If the @ were indeed filled with rainbow-colored GEL and we placed the @ on a white sheet of paper and let light shine though it, we would get the same diffused color effect as we have achieved by placing the transparent blurred bitmap on top.

And that's all there is too it. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to drop me a line at Gary W. Priester

Blossoming Ideas for Cool Distortion Effects

By Steve Bain
CorelDRAW 11's distortion effects are superb for applying controlled changes to an objects' shape-all the while allowing the object to remain in the vector world. There are several different types of distortion effects you can apply in CorelDRAW 11 - ranging from subtle to downright vicious - thanks to the complex mathematical algorithms on which each type of distortion is based.
Understanding Distortion Effects
Before we get too far along, let's gain an understanding of how these effects work with a little background information. As with other effects in CorelDRAW 11, distortions are applied using the Interactive Distortion Tool. You'll find it in the Toolbox grouped with other interactive tools. The effects you apply using this tool are dynamic, so they can be applied without losing the original object properties and may be edited at any time, saved as custom distortion presets, copied between objects, or cleared altogether.
A few other facts will help you in your distortion adventures. First, you may apply multiple distortion effects to a single object, meaning each distortion builds on the last. Once a distortion exists on your page, you may clear it in incremental steps, or copy it between objects. The condition of the object path - including the number of nodes it's comprised of - determines the basic shape of the resulting distortion. Also, there are three basic modes of distortion you can choose from using Property Bar options, each of which features overlapping variables.
The sheer number of variables and the wild results they create can make distortion effects tricky to use. In fact, you can easily while away more than a few hours creating practical drawing applications. To experience the power of this undervalued effect, let's explore a few relatively simple projects you can try to create some of the objects in this project.
Distortions Naturally
The Interactive Distortion Tool is great for quickly emulating natural or organic-style path effects which would otherwise be next to impossible to create manually, making it perfect for the objects shown next.
Let's start by creating the flower objects to represent, and follow up with variations of the same idea.

1. Begin by drawing a circular ellipse roughly three inches in diameter using the Ellipse Tool. Holding your Ctrl key as you draw will constrain its shape. With the circle complete and still selected, press the Convert to Curves button in the Property Bar to delete the ellipse properties. Drag a copy of this object aside by right-clicking as you drag it using the Pick Tool. The copy will serve as a template for a later step.
   
   
2. Apply color to your original circle using a customized Radial Fountain Fill. You could use the Interactive Fill Tool, but to do it quickly and precisely, press F11 to open the Fountain Fill dialog. Choose Radial as the type, and click Custom under Color Blend. Using the Custom Fountain options, set the position 0 color marker to white and the position 100 marker to 100 percent magenta. Add a new position marker at 65 and color it 100 percent magenta also (as shown next). Remove any outline properties.
   
   
   
   
3. Choose the Interactive Distortion Tool. Using Property Bar options choose Zipper as the distortion mode. Enter 17 as the Amplitude, 4 as the Frequency, click the Smooth button and press Enter to apply the effect. This will add a slight wave to the circle path (shown next).
   
   
   
   
4. For the concentric flower petals, create copies of the object in a centered arrangement. To create the first copy quickly, choose the Pick Tool, hold Shift while dragging any corner object handle slightly toward the center of the object, and click your right mouse button to make the copy. Repeat this action to create enough copies to nearly fill the area (roughly 13 in our example). Then randomly rotate each of the object copies slightly to offset them (as shown next with black outlines). To quickly rotate any object using the Pick Tool, you can click any selected object a second time to enter rotation/skew mode and drag any of the corner rotation handles.
   
   
   
   
5. Next, we'll apply a series of distortions in sequence to the template circle created earlier. Using the Interactive Distortion Tool, choose Zipper mode, click the Random button and enter an Amplitude value of 30 and a Frequency value of 5 and press Enter. Then, choose Push and Pull mode, enter 20 as the Amplitude value and press Enter to complete the distortion. Your template circle now has the distortion you need (shown next).
   
   
   
   
6. Switch to the Pick Tool momentarily and marquee-select all the objects in your flower petal arrangement. Choose the Interactive Distortion Tool again, click the Copy Distortion Properties button and click your circle copy after the targeting cursor appears. The distortion is copied to your petal objects (as shown next) and your arrangement is now a flowering shape.
   
   

Impressive Variations
By varying the distortion values in your arrangement of objects, you can quickly create a wide variety of flower styles. Follow this next example using the same objects to create a dramatically intricate effect and experience the real power of this effect.

1. Using the Interactive Distortion Tool, choose your template circle and clear the current distortion effects by clicking the Clear Distortion button two times. Apply a Push and Pull mode distortion with an Amplitude of 5. Then apply a Zipper distortion with the Random and Smooth buttons clicked, set the Amplitude to 100, and the Frequency to 20. Your template circle now features a slightly wavier path (as shown next).
   
   
   
   
   
2. Use the Pick Tool to marquee-select all flower petal objects. Press F11 to open the Fountain Fill dialog and change the custom fountain fill options as follows: Position 0=Red, position 40=Yellow, position 100=Yellow and click OK to close the dialog (shown next).
   
   
   
   
3. With the objects still selected, choose the Interactive Distortion Tool. Click the Clear Distortion button once to return the flower petals to their earlier wavy path shape. Use the Copy Distortion Properties button and target your template circle. This time a warning dialog (shown next) will appear to let you know the effect you are applying is complex-click OK to proceed.
   
   
   
   
4. Remove any outline properties applied to your objects and the effect is complete. In the example shown next, the distortion is applied and resembles a flower with intricately spiked petals and a complex path structure.
   
   

Combining Distortions with Blends
You can create yet another variation on the flower illustration by combining a distortion effect with a blend effect. The steps may be shorter, but the effect is no less impressive. The procedure involves first distorting an ellipse and blending with a scaled copy. Here's how it's done:

1. Start by drawing a circle roughly 3 inches in diameter using the Ellipse Tool (hold Ctrl to constrain its shape). Using the Pick Tool, convert the circle to curves (Ctrl+Q). Choose the Shape Tool and hold Shift+Ctrl while clicking any of the four path nodes to select all the nodes. Then, press the "+" key on your numeric key pad two times to automatically add 12 more evenly spaced nodes to the path (as shown next).
   
   
   
   
2. Choose the Interactive Distortion Tool and choose Push and Pull mode and apply an Amplitude to -50 (a negative value). Fill the object with 100 percent Yellow. Using the Pick Tool, create a centered copy roughly 10 percent of the original by dragging any corner handle inwards while holding the Shift key and clicking your right mouse button. Fill the copy with Red (as shown next).
   
   
   
   
3. Switch to the Interactive Blend Tool and drag between the two objects to create a default blend effect. Using Property Bar options, set the Blend Steps to 20, click the Apply button, and the effect is complete as shown next.
   
   

Creating Mixed Greens
What would a flower garden be without some greenery? The intricate detail on leaves is another ideal candidate for CorelDRAW's distortion effect. To simulate the serrated edges found on leaf shapes, follow these quick steps:

1. Using the Ellipse Tool, create a tall, thin ellipse roughly 3 inches tall and half an inch wide and convert it to curves (Ctrl+Q). Using the Shape Tool, change the top two curves to straight lines by clicking each line and clicking the Convert Curve to Line button in the Property Bar. The result will be a teardrop-shaped object (as shown next).
   
   
   
   
2. With the object still selected, fill the object with a dark green color. Then, choose the Interactive Fill Tool and drag upwards from bottom to top to apply a default Linear fountain fill. Click to select the top fill marker and apply a light green color. Remove any outline colors applied to the shape.
   
   
3. Choose the Interactive Distortion Tool and choose Zipper mode. Apply an Amplitude of 50 and a Frequency of 30 to create the initial distortion. To control the direction of the serrated edges, drag the diamond-shaped interactive marker to the top of the object. Notice the serrated points are now angled upwards (shown next).
   
   

These steps will create one variation on the leaf shape. But, you can quickly create more by varying the Amplitude and Frequency values as well as adjusting the width or height of the object (as shown next). As a finishing touch, stems are easily created using a series of blended paths. To do this, create a path and apply a thick line width (such as 8 points) colored dark green. Press the "+" key on your numeric key pad to create a copy and change this path's outline to a thin width (such as hairline) colored light green. Using the Pick Tool, select both paths and open the Blend docker (choose Window, Dockers, Blend). Enter 5 as the Number of Steps and click Apply to create the blend effect (as shown next).
Steve Bain is an award-winning illustrator and designer, and author of nearly a dozen books including CorelDRAW The Official Guide.

CorelDRAW Tutorials Create Classic Masterpieces in Corel PHOTO-PAINT

By Steve Bain
Looking to add a little magic to your digital images? For some time now, Corel PHOTO-PAINT® has provided many different ways to apply weird and wonderful creative effects to ordinary digital photos. One effects filter in particular has always stood out as an excellent creative tool. This long-time Corel PHOTO-PAINT feature is named Alchemy, and it enables you to integrate some organic qualities into your images. If you haven't yet explored what this powerful pixel-altering tool can do, keep reading - you're in for a treat. By definition, alchemy is a magical process that changes ordinary metal into gold. With the Alchemy filter, which uses more math than magic, you can convert an ordinary photo into an artistic masterpiece worthy of the living room mantle. This filter enables you to create effects that mimic those achieved with traditional art tools and media. Examples of the classic-looking effects you can create are shown below.

Step 1: Pick a Good Picture and Change Your Zoom View
The Alchemy filter uses the inherent color, contrast, resolution, and size properties of your image to create the brush effects. Therefore, your first step is to choose a suitable image and finalize any needed adjustments. As with any artistic endeavor, consider your image's overall composition, balance, cropping, and so on, and pay close attention to the general level of sharpness and detail. Before starting, be sure to save any adjustments or changes you make. If you intend to preview your filter effects by using the full-screen preview rather than the dialog preview, increase your view magnification so that you can see the results of the effects you apply. More often than not, users abandon an effect because their current view magnification distorts the previewed results.
Step 2: Browse the Maze of Options
When you're ready to enter the world of Alchemy, click Effects menu > Custom > Alchemy to open the Alchemy dialog (see below).

If you click on the tabs in the Alchemy dialog and look around each page, you'll see a complex set of options that enable you to adjust and manipulate all kinds of bells and whistles. In fact, there are so many controls to choose from that just knowing where to start can be a challenge in itself. The quickest, easiest way to grasp what's available is to make sure that the automatic preview is activated (click Preview to toggle it on, if necessary), and test-drive the presets in the Style list.
The Style list (see below) includes more than 70 saved preset styles. Presets are essentially saved collections of filter settings. The main advantage of selecting a preset to start your creative filter process is that many of the settings you need are set automatically, so that you can quickly preview potential effects.

The saved presets include settings that can mimic drawing and painting media - such as oil paint, charcoal, pencil, crayon, pastel, and markers - or imitate the markings of a spatula, sponge, or certain brush type, as shown in the examples below.

Presets can also simulate certain surface effects, such as water, woven paper, or canvas (see below). As you browse the list, note that not all of the abbreviated names precisely describe the effects applied, so it helps to do a little exploring.

Step 3: Adjust the Options
After you browse the presets, choose the one that most closely suits your needs. You'll likely need to customize the options to create the exact effect you're looking for. Although the options are organized into areas by property, choosing suitable settings can be a daunting task. Here's a quick run-through of what you can control through each option area.
Brush Controls
On the Brush page of the dialog, you'll see options to control brush shape, layering, density, and other variables. You'll find that changing the brush selection, changing Layering options, and moving the Density slider provide the most profound control. Use the brush selector to choose from more than 70 different brush varieties, a handful of which are shown below.

Use the Layering options to control how overlapping brush colors are mixed. Use the Density slider to control how closely the vertical and horizontal brush strokes are spaced (see below). The higher the density value, the closer the brush strokes appear. Click the Randomize button to preview random versions of the current settings. The Horizontal and Vertical sliders enable you to apply positional shifts to the center origins of the brush strokes - up, down, left, or right - using pixels as the unit measure.

Color Applications
The two most significant options on the Color page (see below) appear in the Brush Color and Background areas. These options enable you to use either the image colors or any colors you want for the brush and background. You can use the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness sliders to change the brush and background colors.

Size, Angle, and Transparency
Adjusting these next brush properties is where the filter chemistry gets a little stormy, so hang on to your hat. On the Size, Angle, and Transparency pages of the Alchemy dialog, you'll see a set of sliders and menu options that have interconnected functions. The properties of the sliders in the Adjust area change according to the Variation setting in the Control area (see below).

When No Variation is selected on each page of the dialog, you can adjust the settings of the current property by using the single slider named for it. The adjustments you make to each property are applied uniformly across the brush strokes. Here is how each property controls the effect:
Size - The Size slider sets the physical size of your brush pattern based on a percentage of the size of the original brush pattern. The original brush strokes are 128, 64, or 32 pixels square. A Size setting of 100 renders the brush strokes at full size.
Angle - The Angle slider applies circular rotation of 180 degrees (clockwise) and -180 degrees (counterclockwise), with 0 applying no rotation.
Transparency - The Transparency slider sets transparency for your brush between 0 (fully opaque) and 99 (fully transparent), enabling you to control how the brush stroke colors mix and whether the image colors are visible.
Step 4: Apply Variations to the Brush Effect
The variations you can apply to the Size, Angle, and Transparency of your brush stroke give the Alchemy filter effects their organic appeal. Variations can be applied in different ways to the Size, Angle, and Transparency properties. The Variation slider on the Size, Angle, and Transparency pages of the Alchemy dialog applies random variation within a specified range that is higher or lower than the size, angle, or transparency value you've specified. The larger you make this value, the more variety you'll see. The method you choose from the Vary Brush Size list in the Control area (see below) enables you to apply even more variation.

In each of the seven methods, described below, the Variation slider applies random variations to the values set. Below is a rough guide to how each of them works.

• Randomly - This control method applies the random variation based on values specified by the two sliders named This and That.

The next three methods use image positions to apply variation, which means you can apply property variations based on the relative position of brush strokes in relation to a specific point. These variations are useful for simulating sketch or stroke angle and direction in natural media.

• By Radial Distance - Variation is applied concentrically around a given point. To specify the point manually, click the button to the right of the Style list, and click any point on the image preview (see below). The Center and Edge sliders enable you to set the distance between the center and edge of your image. This control method is useful for creating vignette-shaped effects.

• By Vertical Position - Variations are applied according to values specified by the Top and Bottom sliders, which correspond to the top and bottom of your image.
  
  
• By Horizontal Position - Variations are applied according to values specified by the Left and Right sliders, which correspond to the left and right sides of your image.

The last three methods apply property variation based on the color properties of the image below the brush strokes. You can control variations in brush stroke properties based on the original color of your image. Incorporating color in your brush variation enables you to simulate the hardness and intensity of certain types of drawing tools.

• By Hue - Brush strokes are varied according to the hue values set with the Warm and Cool sliders, which correspond to the hue values of your image.
  
  
• By Saturation - The Saturated and Unsaturated sliders enable you to apply brush property variations based on the saturation properties of your image.
  
  
• By Brightness - Brush strokes are varied according to the values set with the Dark and Bright sliders, which correspond to the brightness values of your image.

You can easily fritter away hours evaluating the options and variations. The best advice is not to get bogged down if it all seems too complex. Instead, try experimenting until you're familiar with how changes to the options influence the final effect.
Step 5: Save Your Settings as Presets
If you've made the effort to choose the perfect settings for an effect, you'll appreciate that saving your settings is a wise habit to adopt. Using the tools offered by the preset feature, you can instantly name, save and reapply the settings to other images. To name and save your current settings for an effect, follow these steps:

1. In the Alchemy dialog, click the plus (+) button to the right of the Style list. The Save Preset dialog opens (see below).

2. Enter a descriptive name for your new preset. The name you choose can be up to 33 characters in length.
   
   
3. Click OK to close the dialog. Your preset is added to the Style list, so that you can instantly apply the settings to other images.

To delete a preset from the Style list, click to select it, click the minus (-) button, and answer Yes to the prompt that appears.
Creating Your Own Brush Stroke Patterns
If none of the brush stroke patterns available in the brush selector quite fit an effect you're creating, you can create your own. You can use nearly any image shape you wish, so long as it's saved in the correct format. To be compatible, your brush must be saved as grayscale (8-bit), at 300 dpi, and as an uncompressed Windows Bitmap (BMP) image. If you're creating a new brush image from scratch, choose File menu > New, and use the settings shown below.

Small and simple brush shapes work best. Feathered white images on a black background often yield the best results when applied with the Alchemy filter. Once your custom brush is finished, save and store it for easy access with the other Alchemy brushes in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. In version 12, the default folder path is \Program Files\Corel\Corel Graphics 12\Custom Data\Brushes.
To apply your new brush to an image, follow these steps:

1. Open the Alchemy filter dialog to the Brush tab, and click the brush selector.
   
   
2. Click the Other button at the bottom of the selector (see below) to open the Load Brush Files dialog, and browse to the folder in which you saved your new brush.

3. Click to select the brush file, and click Open. Your new brush is now selected. Apply any other settings, and click OK to apply the effect.

Steve Bain is an award-winning illustrator and designer, and the author of nearly a dozen books, including CorelDRAW: The Official Guide.