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Xara Xtreme Brass Hinge tutorial April 2006

A dark background would make the hinges pop out but somehow something more elegant is called for since these are such elegant high quality hinges.

Add a rectangle behind your drawing about 525 x 450 pixels. Open the Clip Art Gallery (Shift F10). From the Photographs 2 folder, select the Conservatory image and press Insert. Delete the image (a copy is automatically placed in the Bitmap Gallery).

With the rectangle selected, open the Bitmap Gallery (F11), select the Conservatory image and press Fill. Select the image with the Fill Tool (F5) and edit the size and position of the fill as desired.

With the bitmap filled rectangle selected, open the Xara Picture Editor (Utility menu). Press Ctrl e to open the Enhance dialog and move the Blur/Sharpen slider to the left to about -320 or so. This makes the wood and hinge appear to be in sharp focus while the background is in very soft focus.

 

Xara Xtreme Brass Hinge tutorial April 2006

I discovered this final step by accident. I made a bitmap copy (Arrange > Create Bitmap Copy...) and applied a Flat, 0%, Stained Glass transparency. It made all the colors deeper and richer and enhanced the elegance of the image. The light now looks like late afternoon sunlight coming through the window.

 

Xara Xtreme Brass Hinge tutorial April 2006

Of course, once I am finished, I am never finished. I decided to add a few embellishments. I created a duplicate of the left rounded rectangle and filled it with the Conservatory image. I applied a Linear, Bleach transparency to the image and increased the transparency slider settings until the image was barely visible. I made a smaller version of the barrel shape and added it at the bottom of the barrel (this would be the bottom of the pin that holds the two sides of the hinge together). I made a bitmap of just the barrel, reduced the width, placed it to the right of the barrel, and applied a Linear , Mix transparency to create a reflection of the barrel in the right plate. I placed a slim light brown rectangle on either side of the wood and applied a Linear, Stained Glass transparency to give the edges a rounded look.

And finally, since the image was starting to look like an advertisement for something, I added some elegant script text and a few Minion Ornaments top and bottom.

Your comments? Questions? Suggestions? I always value your feedback as it lets me know that there are at least one or two of you out there doing these tutorials and that I am not just talking to myself. Please used the feedback form on the next page to forward your comments to me.

Gary W. Priester
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