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You can always use the controls on the property bar to see what kind of rotation you have set, and to communicate precise values to others, if necessary. For instance, you could duplicate exactly the extrusion we produced in the graphic above. You can see the Depth and the Vanishing Point type and values (although the vanishing point values are grayed out, because the rotation pre-empts further use of them); the rotation coordinates are:
Applying Color and LightingThe default method of filling extruded surfaces is to match the fill of the control curve. In the case of the gear, we filled it with a medium-gray color and so the extrusion took on the same color. You have many other options—you can adjust the color of the extrusion, and because you have created a 3D object, you can also consider the phenomenon of light hitting each surface differently. To access the color controls, click the color wheel on the property bar. From there, you have three places to go. Use Object Fill This simple choice sets the fill of all extruded sides to the same as the original object. We interpret this as the absence of coloring, and we think it should have been its own button on the property bar, similar to the Reset Rotation button.
Solid Fills As its name implies, this option allows you to select a solid color from a flyout palette to apply to the extruded faces. Once it’s chosen, the faces will retain that color, independent of how you choose to fill the control object. The color selection button opens whatever custom palette you currently have loaded. You can click on the Other button to mix or select any solid color from whatever color model you want. Here, we have chosen a different solid color for the extrusion. This would be handy for highlighting a certain side of an object, but it’s not very realistic. Fountain Fills You can also apply a fountain fill to the extruded faces. The default choice graduates from the control object’s color to black, and actually doesn’t look too bad. With light approaching from the object’s face, the colors could plausibly fade to dark in the back. But as soon as you start messing with different start colors, you instantly leave the realm of plausibility.
BevelingThis control lets you carve the corners of the extrusion, which otherwise would make 90-degree turns at their edges. This option was used mostly to make buttons on Web sites, and has become such a cliché that we’d rather not show it to you at all! Instead, we’ll stall, because beveling looks best when lighting is applied, so stay tuned... For realism, this is the place to go. Forget about fountain fills, drapes, and all of that nonsense—when an object has depth, it reflects light in different ways. That is what the Lighting controls are all about. The first thing to know about Lighting is that you can create more than one light source, just as would be the case in real life. You determine the intensity of each source (maximum of three). The next thing to know is that DRAW determines where the object would reflect brightly and where not (for instance, which face of the extrusion faces the light sources). This mandates your doing two things for best results:
So here’s your starting point—a solid-filled object with no outline. Attractive, isn’t it? Stop laughing. Now do this:
Now try adding a beveled edge—you’ll meet with much better results. Figure 15.4 shows our gear being examined closely on a table. We have placed it on a pedestal (although we have absolutely no idea why anyone would want to do this) and are shining two lights upon it. The lower-left light is bright and directly in its face, while the one at right is dimmer, casting ambient light.
Study the areas where the gear is dark and where it is light, and you’ll likely agree that DRAW has created a plausible object in three-dimensional space. You can find this on the Sybex Web site as Gear on Display.cdr. P.S. Are you wondering how we got the gear to be sitting inside of the stand? That’s not possible in two-dimensional space. Answer in Chapter 19. P.P.S. We used DRAW 9’s new Mesh fill to scatter light and dark areas around this drawing.
The (Not So) New Bitmap ExtrusionToolThis used to be called Text Extrusion, and Corel had a decision to make: kill it or expand its breadth. They chose the latter, much to the dismay of its team of beta testers. While Corel’s vision for DRAW 9 is cohesive and refined, the one glaring exception is its handling of 3D. Corel removed Dream 3D from the CorelDRAW box, and in its place expected to offer a tool for creating 3D renderings directly in DRAW. The Text Extrusion tool offered in DRAW 8 was the precursor, and we were supposed to be treated to a more robust tool in 9, and the whole enchilada in 10. This was the plan...on paper. When development compromises became imminent (as they always do), this tool didn’t get the attention it deserved. We completely understand the realities of application development, and we’re fine with Corel concluding that it couldn’t develop it the way it wanted to. But instead of removing the feature altogether, Corel has left it in its semicomplete state and pretty much buried it on the Extrude property bar. Only time will tell if DRAW 10 will bring this feature to fruition. Until then, we are not placing much stock in it, nor devoting any further space to it. If you want to experiment with the tool, you can search for “bitmap extrusions” in Help for more information. Final Thoughts on ExtrudingWe already told you up front that we are not completely warm to Extrude, and then we proceeded to show you how wonderful it is! No question that Extrude can be useful in any situation in which you need to render an object with height, width, and depth. We certainly made that gear look more realistic. Our angst is over its misuse. Users tend to get infatuated by, obsessed over, and ultimately in trouble with Extrude. The thought process typically goes something like this:
And before you know it, your drawing is a train wreck. Objects appear to be floating in space, all sense of perspective is lost, and the drawing shouts, “Look at Me!” before there is any chance of getting its intended message across. (Maybe “Look at Me” was its intended message, but that’s another sore subject.) We can’t think of any work among the renowned fine artists that includes use of Extrude. When capable CorelDRAW artists want to render depth, they actually create the objects that produce the depth and dimension, they don’t rely on an automatic fabricator. We asked one of our resident artists, Shane Hunt, for a sample of his work with Extrude, and indeed, he had to devise one for us, as he also doesn’t use it much in his work. Nonetheless, his impromptu effort, shown in Figure 15.5, offers a nifty example of how Extrude could be tastefully used.
By and large, Extrude will prove to be not an artist’s tool, but a technician’s tool. If the entirety of the CorelDRAW community understood that, we would be fine with the tool. But they don’t...so we’re not. If you, dear reader, learn to use it in the right situation and for the right purpose, that will be a step in the right direction.
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