The Xara Xone Workbook
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Creating Metallic Texture

There was a request in the Xara Gallery Conference for a Metallic Paint Effect like the kind you see on custom cars and motorcycles and in which tiny metallic flakes are covered in a highly glossy coat of transparent lacquer. And while I am not sure I have solved the problem, I think I have come up with an interesting effect in the process.

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

The tiny metallic flakes are different in size and orientation and so the first place to start is to see if there is an existing texture that has the same characteristics. In this case the Oak Leaves fill in the Fill Gallery on the Infobar has a similar appearance (if you can forget they are leaves). Create a square approximately 250 pixels. Open the Fill Gallery (upper right portion of the Infobar). Open the Horticultural Fills folder and select Leaves 3. Press Fill to apply the fill to the selected square.

Select the filled square with the Fill Tool and resizing arrows will appear. Drag either of the squares at the ends of the arrows and rotate the fill approximately 45 degrees. Drag the ends of the arrows towards the center to make the size of the repeating image smaller.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

With the filled square selected, from the Utilities menu, select Bitmap Effects and Plug-ins... > Bitmap Effects... > Brightness and Contrast. Drag both the Brightness and Contrast sliders all the way to the right. The result looks somewhat like flecks of metallic paint don't you think?

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Now that we have the basic texture we need to make the fill a color. Select the filled square with the Fill Tool. Click on either outside control handle (the small square at the end of the arrows) and change the color to the RGB color shown above. (Open the Color Editor [Ctrl e], select RGB Color Model from the drop down list of Color Models, and enter the three values shown above in the three text entry boxes). Select the center control handle and change the color to the RGB color shown on the bottom left.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Here is where it starts to get weird and no longer looks like flecks of metallic paint, but it is an interesting texture.

Clone the square (Ctrl k) and rotate the clone 90 degrees. Select the clone with the Fill Tool and change the two colors to the two shown. From the Fill Effect drop down list, select Alt Rainbow.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Select the cloned square with the Transparency Tool. From the Transparency Type drop down list, select Saturation. That's rather cool, but perhaps those are dark metallic flecks?

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Select the two squares and Arrange > Create Bitmap Copy... Set the Color Depth: to True Color (not True Color + Alpha) and press Create.

Delete the two squares. Create a larger rectangle and with the rectangle selected, open the Bitmap Gallery on the Infobar. Locate and select the bitmap you just created and press Fill.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Clone the filled rectangle (Ctrl k). Change the Fill to white. Select the white rectangle with the Transparency Tool. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag from the top of the rectangle to the bottom to apply a Linear transparency. This represents a bright white highlight falling onto the surface of the very glossy lacquer. A reflection will help reenforce this effect.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

We'll make a glossy sphere to reflect into the flecked paint. Create a 150 pixel diameter circle and from the Bitmap Gallery, select the bitmap and press Fill.

Clone the circle and select the Fill Tool. From the drop down list of Fill Types, select Circular. Drag the center of the fill down as shown and change the colors to 80% black and 20% black. (Make a duplicate of this fill and set it to one side for a moment.

Place the Circular-filled circle over the metallic paint-filled circle. Select the Circular fill with the Transparency Tool and apply a 20%, Brightness transparency.

Create a slightly smaller white circle. From the Arrange menu, select Convert to Editable Shapes. Select the bottom control handle with the Shape Editor Tool and drag it up towards the center to modify the shape as shown bottom left.

Apply a Linear transparency to the white shape. Group the objects.

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Position the circle in the center as shown above and position the Circular filled duplicate under the circle as shown and press the Flip Vertically button on the Infobar to flop it (highlight side up). Drag the bottom resizing handle upwards to make an ellipse out of the circle. Select the group of circular objects and bring them to the front (Ctrl f).

Copy the Circular-filled ellipse to the clipboard (Ctrl c).

 

Metallic Paint Effect Xara X Step-by-step Tutorial

Select the Circular filled shape and the white semi-transparent rectangle and Arrange > Combine Shapes... Subtract Shapes. This makes an elliptical hole in the white reflection which lends the impression of the surface being very glossy.

Paste a copy of the Circular-filled ellipse on top using Shift Ctrl v. Apply a 40% Mix transparency.

Flecked metallic paint? Perhaps not. But an interesting effect most definitely.

 

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