Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Fractal clouds
Repeating Tile
105 dpi
Graininess 1
Fractal Clouds
Repeating Tile
100 dpi
Graininess 5
Fractal Plasma
Repeating Tile
350 dpi
Graininess 7
Fractal Plasma
Repeating Tile
223 dpi
Graininess 2
Click between direction
lines to display settings
on Infobar
F
IGURE
5-3
Fractal fills can
simulate natural textures because
fractal patterns are found in nature.
high graininess, and a linear transparency is used to create the
shadow fall-off toward the object's right. Similarly, the Fractal
Plasma is used for a piece that lies on top of the illustration of
the pills to add a diffuse quality to the work. In real life, nothing
is perfectly reflective and shiny, so you can use fractals to add
noise to a drawing to achieve the desired simulated object
complexity.
F
IGURE
5-4
You can draw
small objects with a few more
photorealistic qualities if you add
noise via a fractal fill.
Distorting a Fractal Fill
On the Xara install CD are several examples of natural and
industrial textures created by overlaying fractal-filled shapes
using different degrees of opacity and transparency types. Many
of the fine pieces of illustration were accomplished by using a
trick; you can disproportionately scale and skew fractal fills by
holding the
SHIFT
key while you drag a fill handle. Doing this
can lead to fill effects that look like polished aluminum, fine-
grain wood, and other useful textures.
To disproportionately scale (stretch or squash) a
fractal fill, hold
SHIFT
-
CTRL
(
CTRL
helps constrain any
unintended rotation) and then drag one of the fractal
control points.
To proportionally skew a fractal fill, hold
CTRL
and
then drag on a control handle away from the control
point's direction line.
After you've distorted a fractal fill's scale, the
disproportion remains this way the next time you
Hold
SHIFT
while
dragging.
