Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
you have your rounded corners and everything a QuickShape
can transform into before using this command; after simplifying
the object, you've let the magic out.
Open the file, QuickShape editing.xar. In the Object gallery,
the bottom layer is active and the cartoon “Thwack!” is locked
on the upper layer. The following simple tutorial shows how
to make an irregularly shaped burst behind the cartoon sound
effect, which is also useful to put behind “Sale” and “Now New
20% More Free.”
1.
With the QuickShape Tool, click the Create Polygons
and Starred Shapes buttons on the Infobar. Then type
15
in the Number Of Sides field and press
ENTER
. Fill it
with red by clicking the color swatch on the color line.
Then press
SHIFT
and click on the Set 'no color' icon
to the left of the color line to remove the outline of the
shape. Click the Bounds Creation button.
Drag on top of the word “Thwak!” until the starry
2.
polygon is a little larger than the phrase, so you can see
the points.
Choose the Selector Tool. Then while holding
3.
SHIFT
,
drag the left or right middle handle outward until the
starry shape is much wider than it is tall.
Press
4.
CTRL
-
SHIFT
-
S
to convert the shape to a regular
closed path.
Click the selected shape to put it into rotate/skew mode
5.
and then rotate it a little counterclockwise so it matches
the angle of “Thwak!”.
One point at a time, select a few control points along the
6.
starry object's path, and then move them until the path
takes on a natural, irregular appearance.
Aligning and Distributing Shapes
Between dropping copy and creating different versions of a
shape by scaling and other operations, you'll soon have a lot of
objects on a page. It would be nice to be able to
arrange
these
shapes, and the Object Alignment palette helps you do that.
With more than one object selected on a page, press
CTRL
-
SHIFT
-
L
(Arrange | Alignment on the main menu).
At the top of the Object Alignment palette is an interactive
proxy box that you can use in lieu of the drop-down lists.
