Corel Draw question

Peter E

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Recently, I purchased the FEGA DVD that was from Andrew Biggs' seminar on using Corel Draw for manipulating images for editing and transfer.

My question: I followed the steps of scanning an object into my computer (which was a knife), drawing around the bolsters to create a "template" to use for drawing in the details.

I then created some scroll backbones in the bolster in Corel Draw, enlarged the image and printed it. After drawing in the leaves, etc., I scanned the image and "imported" it into Corel Draw.

I then used the "crop" tool to select just the section of the 8.5" X 11" sheet containg my drawing for "tracing" the bitmap object.

The result gave VERY good detail of the image, but it has THOUSANDS of nodes making it VERY difficult to work with (sizing, moving, etc.)

I'm wondering if I did something wrong, or is there another step to reduce the nodes.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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Peter,for sizing I think there is a different select tool than the one you use to adjust the nodes.
At least that is how it works in Illustrator.
Best in my opinion is to use different layers that can be locked also.

arnaud
 

Andrew Biggs

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Hi Peter

Yes, you do end up with thousands of nodes. This should make any node editing almost impossible. I believe that you have X3 (13)

But.........you shouldn't have any difficultly with sizing, rotating etc. So something is not quite right.

The first thing to look at........is your computer powerful enough with enough RAM and graphics card? If it's a reasonably new(ish) computer then it should be OK. If the graphics card is not very good then you will always be fighting your computer with these types of applications.

Are you scanning a pencil drawing in??..........if you are then you will be creating a lot more extra nodes. You can get around this by laying tracing paper over your drawing, outline with a suitable size technical pen (0.25mm to 0.5mm depending on the size of your drawing) then scan. That way the scan isn't picking out every bit of rubbed out detail, faint lines etc etc. You also end up with a much "cleaner" outline and drawing. This is far superior to scanning a direct pencil drawing into the computer. ....................However, if you do scan a pencil drawing in, you can outline it in CorelPaint/Photoshop using a Wacom tablet which just acts like a sophisticated tracing paper. Then import and autotrace etc etc.............This is the method I use as it allows me to add extra detail or change bits as I go. But the tracing paper and pen is just as good and very effective.

What resolution are you scanning at??.........300 to 600 is more than ample. I now do most of mine at 300dpi. The higher the resolution the more nodes you are going to get.

In the actual tracing program you can play with the sliding bars for "detail" and "smoothness". By having less detail you will reduce the nodes and by making smoother you will reduce the nodes..........but be careful as these sliders can effect the outcome of the drawing.

These are the main things I can think of...........Maybe post your drawing so I can actually see what is happening. That will probably give me a clearer idea (or not) of what is happening.

Cheers
Andrew
 

Andrew Biggs

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Just one more thing............

Make sure that in the autotrace box that you have the setting to "black and white". The default mode is RGB.

This will make a huge difference because in RGB mode it will autotrace 256 colours which will give you about 200 trillion nodes and bog your computer down in processing time.
 

Peter E

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Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Andrew - you DID answer my question in that once the drawing is scanned in, it needs to be in the final state. I was thinking it could be edited after "tracing".

When I mentioned difficulty sizing or moving objects, what I mean is that once I "click" on an object and move the cursor, the object doesn't move immediately (same with "stretching"). Perhaps it is MY lack of experience using Corel Draw?

My computer IS getting OLD (like me) but I think the resources are adequate. The CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.04 GHz with 1.00 GB of RAM. The Graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.

Arnaud - for sizing, the object is "selected" which surrounds it with small black boxes. To size the object proportionately, it is done using the corner black boxes. To "skew" the object, the boxes on the sides are used.

You certainly do some EXCELLENT drawing in Illustrator. Are you saying you use different layers to get the level of detail?
 

Andrew Biggs

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Hi Peter

I can't be of much help about the actual specs on the computer I'm sorry. I just ask the guys at the computer shop to make sure it's up to snuff for what I'm doing..........when they try telling me what they have done my eyes tend to glaze over a bit as I'm just not a tech type person and it tends to go in one ear and out the other. :)

If you have a computer shop near you try asking them if it's OK...........it should be, but it's always worth checking. Or maybe someone else with a bit more computer tech knowledge on the forum could chip in.

Edit after tracing...........no, that is virtually impossible as there are far to many nodes and it would take forever.

From what I understand with Arnauds drawings, he does them from scratch in his computer (traces over the pencil drawing in Illustrator) which is a different thing altogether and not something I would recommend. Maybe if you were really adept at the program but even then I wouldn't recommend it as you are limiting yourself to what the computer can do........you can achieve better results with a pencil faster and probably better.

Did you try the other things I suggested???............because that is the only things I can think of that would effect the speed of what you are doing. Sizing, rotating and all of that kind of thing should be instant as you are doing it.

Cheers
Andrew
 
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Peter E

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Hi Peter


Did you try the other things I suggested???............because that is the only things I can think of that would effect the speed of what you are doing. Sizing, rotating and all of that kind of thing should be instant as you are doing it.

Cheers
Andrew

Andrew - I scanned the document at 600dpi and when "tracing bitmap" selected "line art", set "smoothing" to zero and "detail" to maximum. Also, "color" was tried in "greyscale" and "black & white".

Probably, I need to spend more time experimenting and learning the program.

Thanks again.
 

quickcut07

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First I am not good at Corel used it for years and still stumble on the easy things at times. Saying that I will not give advice on using the program. When I feel I need more frustration added to my life I will put an evening into working with X3 or Painter. It is much faster to draw your images and use Corel to size, rotate, skew or twist your art in any way to fit your area. Trying to use it to do a complete drawing in scrolls, I have never got it to work that way . For help though you can try Corel draw graphics suites tutorials. Go to Corel draw site and look around for it. They are getting to have more help there all the time, the down fall you spend all your time there and may or may not get what you need.
On your computer see how much onboard memory you have and be sure it is maxed out. Memory is real cheap (RAM). You may already be there but when I had my computer GEEK look at ours he stated I still have room to double the on board memory. I guess that can make a big differance. Havn't done it yet but it is on the list. Not much help i know but getting ahead with Corel is a slow process. Good Luck !
Eric:beerchug:
 

Arnaud Van Tilburgh

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From what I understand with Arnauds drawings, he does them from scratch in his computer (traces over the pencil drawing in Illustrator) which is a different thing altogether and not something I would recommend. Maybe if you were really adept at the program but even then I wouldn't recommend it as you are limiting yourself to what the computer can do........you can achieve better results with a pencil faster and probably better.


Cheers
Andrew

Andrew, indeed I also scan my pencil draw, open it in Illustrator in one layer. I lock that layer as it is not good when it would move.
Than I add another layer, sometimes more, and trace the pencil lines just the computer mouse.
The extra layer where I do the drawing is on top of the scanned one.
I use a red pencil to add the nodes like they are on the pencil drawing, only I refine them a bit. This means when I zoom into some parts, I make sure the leaves are touching borders etc.
So this way I am making a design on real size.
If I want to make a change, I go back to the pencil, user the gum and I make a new scan and add this to the same Illustrator file, again on a new layer.
I then copy the layer I was tracing to a newer layer on top.
All I have to do then is to delete the parts that need to be fixed.
This way I keep all the changes.
I just use a laptop and this works fine and fast for me.

I know about auto tracing, but for me it does not work precisely enough.

When the design is ready I change the red colour into black and make the lines as thin as the laser printer can possible print it.

You are probably right that this way one is limiting himself to what the computer can do, but I only see more possibilities using Illustrator to trace a design from paper than when one uses tracing paper to do that. After all the design needs to be on the object to be engraved.
When using a pencil to draw an even wide continuous black line (design) on an object, one is also limited to what the pencil is able to.

I’m not saying one is better than the other, but if one uses a computer why than making it more difficult whit less quality.

And I agree that using an automatic spiral is not a correct way, as that limits the design. Drawing with a pencil makes it more flexible to end up with a nice design.
But once the design is ready to be engraved, I think everything one can use is okay.
I know Sam draws a lot under the microscope, I recently purchased his “transfer waxâ€￾ so I will give it a try also, but when it is a very complicated design, I think it can’t be drawn correctly directly on the object.

just my opinion of course :big grin:

arnaud

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quickcut07

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It doesn't matter how you get it on there , the easier the better. It looks as though you have a real good handle on what you are doing. Real nice work !:thumbs up:
 

Peter E

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It looks as though you have a real good handle on what you are doing. Real nice work !:thumbs up:

I agree Arnaud. You have posted some EXCELLENT drawings and your "illustrator" skills are excellent also.

Sam also is quite accomplished in "illustrator", although he said he can draw faster with a pencil:big grin:
 
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