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Rather than try
to explain, why don't I just show you what you can do with Xara X's amazing
transparency tool. If you don't need more convincing, proceed to the bottom
of the page and download a free trial of Xara X.
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For this example I overlaid a shape with blue fill and 80% flat transparency over another shape containing a bitmap fill. "Flat" means that it is evenly transparent. Applying the transparency took only two clicks and can be set anywhere from 0% to 100%. As you drag a slider you see the percentage of transparency change in real time making it easy to achieve the level of transparency you desire.
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Transparencies don't have to be "flat". A linear transparency was applied to the blue filled shape for this example. All I did was click the transparency button then click and drag in the direction I wanted the linear transparency. Xara X understands when you do this that a linear transparency is what you are after. It couldn't be any easier. For a simple drop shadow effect I added a shape - black filled - set with a high level of transparency. I reordered the shapes so the blue shape was in front and the "shadow" shape was in the back.
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This time I added a shape that covers the bitmap's sky, filled it with yellow and then applied a circular transparency. To enhance the sunset effect I duplicated the yellow shape, made it orange with a single click, and then reduced the radius of the transparency. Adding this sunset took less than two minutes. The drop shadow looks more realistic in this example than in the example above. I softened this shadow by building it up from several slightly offset overlapping shapes - each set with 97% transparency. I did the shadow that way for its demonstration value. Xara X has a shadow tool which creates the same effect instantly and very intuitively.
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For fun I continued developing the graphic, trying to incorporate as many of Xara's transparency effects as I could. For glass reflections I used white-filled shapes with elliptical transparency - there are two of them. The textured brass porthole frame was created using Xara X's fractal cloud transparency effect. The frame's shadows use conical transparency. The hinge and latch use linear transparency to create the rounded look. Their highlights were created with the elliptical transparency. The rivets were given the domed look by applying shadows and highlights using circular transparency.
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When you use Xara X to create a graphic you can go back later and modify it to suit a new use. I can, for instance, easily go back and change the image you see through the above porthole. To hit home the incredible flexibility of Xara X I have further developed the graphic into an animated gif. You can find the outcome here. You can also create sophisticated graphics that most professional graphic artists (the unenlightened) would not believe are even possible with vector-based illustration software. The next page defies the common misconception that you need Photoshop or PaintShop Pro if you want to edit a photographic image. I created the example in Xara and it was considerably easier than the same project in PhotoShop would have been. Nirvana achieved!
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