LESSON 2 USING CORELDRAW FOR DESIGN

STRUCTURE
2.0 OBJECTIVES

2.1 INTRODUCTION

2.2 WORKING WITH LINE, RECTANGLES AND POLYGONS

2.2.1 LINES
2.2.2 SELECTION AND MANIPULATION OF AN OBJECT
2.2.3 DASHED LINES
2.2.4 W ORKING WITH RECTANGLES
2.2.5 THE POLYGON TOOLS

2.3 WORKING WITH SPIRALS AND CIRCLES

2.3.1 SPIRAL
2.3.2 CIRCLE

2.4 ARRANGEMENT OF OBJECTS

2.4.1 CHANGING THE ORDER OF OBJECTS

2.4.2 ALIGN OBJECTS
2.4.3 DISTRIBUTE OBJECT SETS
2.4.4 GROUP AND UNGROUP OBJECTS
2.4.5 ROTATING AND SKEWING OBJECTS

2.5 EXERCISES

2.6 ASSIGNMENTS

2.6.1 CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

2.6.2 HOME ASSIGNMENTS

2.7 SUMMING UP

2.8 POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK QUESTIONS

2.9 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

2.10 SUGGESTED FURTHER READING AND REFERENCES

2.11 GLOSSARY
 2. USING CORELDRAW FOR DESIGN
In Lesson 1 of this Unit we were introduced to CAD/CATD and basic operations
and facilities of CorelDraw. In this lesson we will use Tool Bars and will learn to work
with objects.

2.0 Objectives
After going through this lesson, you will be able to

• Understand use various flyout options.

• Select and manipulate objects for it shape thickness and colour.

• Change the alignment, order, group and rotate objects.

2.1 Introduction
In the first semester we learnt how to draw an object in Unit 5 of CTD 103 while
studying Digitizer and Tablets. Free hand drawing with the help of a digitizer tablet
requires the person to be skilled at sketching with running hand, but for the users who
are not so good at free hand sketching Corel draw provides numerous in-built standard
shapes, with the help of which one can draw quickly and easily, giving a professional
touch to one’s piece of drawing and designing.

For example, to draw a circle or a neat curve or even a perfect arc, is not
everyone’s cup of tea, but with Corel Draw, this is actually a child’s play. So let us now
learn to work with free hand tool to draw the basic shapes available in Corel such as:-
Lines, Rectangles, Polygons, Spirals, and circles. We shall also learn the proper way of
selection and manipulation and arrangement of an object created in Corel Draw
Graphics.

2.2 Working with Lines, Rectangles and Polygons

2.2.1 Lines

Lines can be made using the Free hand Tool (Fourth from the top in the tool
bar). Just click where the line is desired and drag the mouse till the required length.
The shape of the line (whether wavy or straight) will be according to the movement of
the mouse. For an absolutely straight line, press Control and drag the mouse. A single
click will end the line. For Zig Zag lines first single click, then move the mouse upwards
and then double click. The double click starts a fresh line at the very same point and
then moves the mouse downwards. Repeat the procedure for as long as the zig zags
are required. Terminate the length with a single click.

2.2.2 Selection and manipulation of an object

• Selection of object is a basic requirement in Corel. It can be done in 3 ways:

o Firstly, using the Pick Tool, by simply selecting the object.

o Secondly using the Marquee tool. For this select the pick tool and click and
mark the area by dragging the mouse. All the objects in the area will get
selected.

o Thirdly using the Tab key. This is used when the objects are very small and
clicking on the object is difficult. On using the Tab key each object on the
screen gets selected one by one.

• Once it is selected, you can manipulate an object as follows:

 o Duplicating Objects: Just select the object and press Ctrl+D. That will create
the exact copy of the object.

o Changing Outline Thickness: Select the object. Then click on the Outline tool
(Third last icon from the bottom). The Fly out give the various options of
thickness like 2pt, 4pt, 8pt and so on.

In the following figure, the thinnest line is 2 pt and the thickest line is 35pts. You
can also type the thickness figure on the property bar. In the illustrations, the straight
lines with various thicknesses have been duplicated and arranged.

Filling and outlining objects with colour: Clicking on a colour from the colour
palette does colouring. The colour palette appears by clicking Windows, and then
selecting colour Dockers. One can select any colour model like RGB or CMYK or so on.
CMYK is selected when the work is to be printed.

Any object has two components. The outline and the area enclosed. The outline
and the object can have different colours. To change the colour of the object, left click
on the colour in the colour palette. To change the colour of the outline right click on the
colour in the colour palette. The colour of single thick lines can be changed through a
right click. The figure below illustrates this.
2.2.3 Dashed Lines

You can select various styles of lines like the dashed, dotted lines etc. (As shown
in the next figure). The options to change the line features are displayed in the Property
bar.
2.2.4 Working with Rectangles

• Select the Rectangle tool, click and drag the mouse. The size of the rectangle will
change as one drags the mouse.

• To make a square select the Rectangle tool in the tool box and hold the Ctrl as
you drag it. A simple rectangle ‘A’ has been drawn in the next figure.

• Transforming the Rectangle: The rectangle can be rounded. For this select the
Rectangle Corner Roundness icon in the Property bar. To change the corner
roundness equally, click on the Lock icon. If you deselect this icon one can select
different roundness for each corner. ‘B’ and ‘C’ depict the rounded rectangles. ‘B’
has equal roundness in all the corners while ‘C’ has different roundness.

Self-check Questions

1. How do you use modifying lines?

2. How do you select and manipulate objects?

2.2.5 The Polygon Tools

The polygon tool offers different options to create various shapes. The default
shape of the polygon is the pentagon: a five sided object. You can change the number
of sides that you draw with the Polygon tool. If the polygon is defined as a three sided
object it then forms the triangle ‘A’ as shown in the next figure.
Up to 500 sided polygons can be made using this tool. To change the number of
sides a dialog box appears on double clicking the polygon tool. (‘B’, and ‘C’). In ‘D’, ‘E’,
‘F’ of the same figure the number of sides of the star has been increased and the outline
is thickened.
Using the Polygon tool you can also create stars. One simply has to define the
number of points needed in a star. One can change the number of sided required on the
Property bar also.

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Activity: Quilt Design

 Using Graph Paper Tool, draw the square; for the background Fill tool was
selected, then Texture Fill dialog, select sample7, Dry lands. For the plain squares
polygon tool was selected and polygon shape was drawn. Select the object with the
pick tool keep the cursor on any of the nodes, just drag it inwards, or outwards; move it
to left or to right; finally select it. Get the duplicate, by pressing Ctrl+D. Reduce the size
with the pick tool, then fill colour, again duplicate it as many times as required. A small
star may be inserted in the pink star and filled with different colour. To change the out
line colour, select the object and right click on the desired colour.

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2.3 Working with Spirals and Circles

2.3.1 Spiral

This option is in the fly out of the Polygon tool. One has the choice of making
close spiral or spirals in which the lines are far apart. They are called symmetrical and
Logarithmic spirals respectively.

The property bar gives the choice of how many rings can be made in the spiral.

In the next figure ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ show symmetrical spirals made in 2, 3 rings with the
outline thickness increased. ‘E’ shows the spiral with lots of rings.

‘F’, ‘G’ show logarithmic spirals with the ring space increased and lesser rings.
2.3.2 Circle

Similarly, one can make circles using the Circle icon in the tool bar. This is the
sixth icon from the top on the tool bar. The property bar again shows the changes one
can make with the circle i.e. making a PIE and an ARC.

2.4 Arrangement of Objects

2.4.1 Changing the order of objects

For this select the object to be moved, right click on the object. Many options
appear on the screen. Select the Order command and a fly out appears with various
options like To Front, To Back, In Front Of etc. Select the appropriate option and the
object is relocated accordingly.

2.4.2 Align Objects

• To align objects vertically:

o Select objects.
o The alignment will be based on the last object you select, so choose the
object that is in the correct position last.
o Choose Arrange, Align and Distribute from the Main Menu and Choose Left.
o You can preview your results by clicking the Preview button.
 o Click OK to apply the alignment.

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Aligning objects vertically
Self-check Questions
3. How do you draw various shapes like triangle and star?

4. What are the steps involved in changing the order of the objects?

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2.4.3 Distribute object sets

• Select Objects - The distribute objects function will evenly space sets of objects
horizontally or vertically, a great time saver.

• Align and Distribute Window - Choose Arrange, Align and Distribute from the
Main Menu to open the Align and Distribute Menu. Click on the Distribute tab.

• Choose Vertical Distribution - Choose Spacing as the distribution type. You can
also align the top, center or bottom of objects, although spacing is a common
choice. The spacing type will place an even amount of space between the
objects, and will work even with objects of varying sizes.

• Choose Distribution Area - Click on Extent of Selection in the center of the Align
and Distribute window. This setting distributes objects evenly over the area from
the top object to the bottom object in the selection. You also have the option to
have the objects distributed over the entire height of the page. Choose Extent of
Page for this option.

• Preview and Apply - Preview the distribution settings you have chosen by clicking
on the Preview button. If the result is what you wanted, click OK to apply the
settings. Note how the objects are now all evenly distributed from top to bottom.

2.4.4 Group and Ungroup Objects

 • Select Objects - Marquee or SHIFT select at least two objects. Note the status
bar stating the number of objects you have selected. We are going to group
these objects so they behave as one unit. You can move, transform, and resize a
grouped set as if they were one single object. They can also be ungrouped at
any time, and it is not unusual to group a set of objects for temporary
convenience to prevent accidental changing of positions.

• Group Selection - Choose Arrange, Group from the Main Menu.

• Modify Group - Click on a colour in the colour palette. Notice how all the objects
are filled with that colour. You must be careful when working with a group that
you do not make global changes. Click undo to restore the original colours.

• Select One Object in Group - Hold your CTRL key down and click on an object
within the group. This selects an individual object. Click again on the colour
palette and only the selected object will be filled with the new colour.

• Ungroup Objects - Click on your group to select. Choose Arrange, Ungroup from
the Main Menu. Now note the status bar. The status bar now states that we have
5 objects selected for this sample.

2.4.5 Rotating and skewing Objects

Special selection handles, called rotate and skew handles, are available to rotate
and slant objects using the mouse. Objects are rotated around a pivot point. The pivot
point can be relocated outside of the object. This is handy when you want to rotate one
object around another. You can also rotate objects by specifying an increment in the
Angle Rotation section of the Property Bar.

• Skewing objects: Skewing slants an object along either the horizontal or vertical
plane. This technique is used often to give the illusion of distance or movement.

• Flipping objects: You can flip objects by clicking two buttons located to the right
of the Angle Rotation portion on the property bar.

• Go to the Standard Toolbar and select the Undo arrow twice. When you select
the arrowheads, a drop down list shows you all the steps you have done since
the last save. This allows you to undo one particular step or a series of step. It is
an advanced feature that you might find useful but will not be addressed in this
lesson.

2.5 Exercises

i) Using the tool, draw a rectangle.

 ii) Using the tool, draw an ellipse.

iii) Try multiple Selection of objects created, with the tool and Shift.

iv) Draw multiple rectangles and try horizontal alignment.

v) Try distribution of object sets.

2.6 Assignments
2.6.1 Class assignments

i) Draw multiple Rectangles and try vertical alignment.

ii) Try Grouping and Ungrouping of objects.

iii) Try rotation and skewing of objects.

iv) Try duplication of objects.

2.6.2 Home assignment

i) Try to make a Visiting Card project.

2.7 Summing Up
In Lesson 2 we learnt how to draw elementary objects like lines, rectangles,
spiral and circle using tools. We also learnt elementary operations of objects like
selecting, aligning, grouping, rotating and skewing. In Lesson 3 we will be learning to
work with symbols and drawings.

2.8 Possible answers to Self-check Questions

1. Lines can be drawn and modified using the free hand tool.

2. Selection of object is a basic requirement to work in corel.

It can be done in 3 ways-

• Firstly, using the pick tool and clicking the mouse cursor on the object.
 • Secondly using the marquee tool i.e. by selecting the pick tool and click and
drag the mouse to mark the area. All the objects in the area will get selected.

• Thirdly using the tab key when the objects are very small and clicking on the
object is difficult. On using the tab key each objects on the screen gets
selected one by one.

Once the object is selected you can manipulate it as follows:-

o Duplicating Objects: Just select the object and press Ctrl+D. That will create
the exact copy of the object.

o Changing Outline Thickness: Select the object. Then click on the Outline tool
(Third last icon from the bottom). The Fly out give the various options of
thickness like 2pt, 4pt, 8pt and so on.

o Filling and outlining objects with colour:

The colour palette appears by clicking Windows, and then selecting colour
Dockers. One can select any colour model like RGB or CMYK or so on. CMYK is
selected when the work is to be printed. To change the colour of the object, left
click on the colour in the colour palette. To change the colour of the outline, right
click on the colour in the colour palette.

3. There is a Polygon tool option on the toolbox. The polygon tool offers different
options to create various shapes with corners in them, like triangle, square,
rectangle etc. The default shape of the polygon is the pentagon: a five sided
object.

To draw a triangle, all you have to do is to change the number of sides of the
polygon option on the property bar to 3 and just by click and drag along with
pressing the control key you can get an equilateral triangle.

4. Following steps are to be taken for changing the order of the objects;

• First select the object

• Then right click on the object

• From the menu that appears, when you select the option ‘Order’, a flyout
will come out with various options like to front, to back, to front of etc.
 • Now click over the order you wish object should come at.

2.9 Terminal Questions

1. What is the function of Handle and Nodes in an object?

2. How are rectangle edges rounded?

3. With which tool would you create a star?

4. What are the three methods of selecting an object?

5. Name the two ways through which rotation can be done?

2.10 Suggested Further Reading and References

1. CorelDraw Help Menu

2. CorelDraw Tutorials

3. Online Tutorials on Graphic Software

4. http://www.grassrootsdesign.com/intro/index.php

5.http://www.caddprimer.com/cadd_primer_chapters/drawing_design_automation_in
troduction_0.htm

6. http://www.grafx-design.com/tutorials.html

2.11 Glossary
1. Manipulation Handling or Use

2. Marquee Large and often sumptuous tent, Pavilion

3. Skewing Turn or place at an angle

4. Flipping Throw or toss with a quick motion