Free Vector Software - Xara

[DD28]

Hi All,

Just to let you know, that Xara are giving away a version of their vector drawing package Xara Xtreme 5.

All of my paper props (that are not photos) are created using a version of this program, I have been using Xara for years and cannot praise it highly enough, it is very powerful, yet very simple to use.

If you haven't tried a vector drawing package, you can't really do better than this, especially as it is free

The offer is only open until April 29, 2013

Free Xara Xtreme 5

Peter

 

[greylocke]

Hmm Downloading to give it a try. Thank you.

 

[rorschach999]

me too I i need a good package to edit photos etc

 

[DD28]

Xara isn't really a Photo editing package, it's a vector package like Coreldraw or Illustrator. Adobe are currently allowing free versions of All their CS2 packages at the moment, so you could always get photoshop.

Peter

 

[The Passenger]

Thanks for Sharing!

 

[kid2000]

Thanks

 

[Luke0312]

Will check it out.

I have been using inkscape, which is also free.

 

[Brigandia36]

Peter, how do use it for recreating props ?
What kind of use for this software ?
BTW very easy to use ! Thanks.

 

[DD28]

Peter, how do use it for recreating props ?
What kind of use for this software ?
BTW very easy to use ! Thanks.

Ok where to begin....

I'll describe the process I go through when recreating a paper prop.

First off you need good reference pictures, if they are straight on more the better, but if not I tend to use Photoshop to straighten them up the best I can.

Next I load the image into Xara.

If I know the overall dimensions of the item, I draw a box to those dimensions, then load in the reference image and scale it to match the box I have drawn.

Then I use whatever tools in xara I need to recreate the prop.

As Xara is a vector drawing program, and shapes you create can be edited (that include fonts) and as they are all separate shapes they can be moved around independently.

When it comes to fonts I usually consult either Identifont - Identify fonts by appearance, find fonts by name and us the limited selection and date modifiers to narrow down the search, or WhatTheFont! « MyFonts if I have a fairly clear image of the font.

If there isn't much text or the font is obscure, I just tent to redraw it in Xara.

This probably isn't much help, I may do a small tutorial if anyone is interested.

When it comes to learning Xara though, the company have produced a lot of online tutorials which is how I originally learnt the software myself. You can access the movies from the help menu.

Peter

 

[Brigandia36]

Can you take my pictures for a tutorial ?

The 1st is a scan I made:
View attachment 142254

The others were found somewhere on the web:
View attachment 142255
View attachment 142256
View attachment 142257
View attachment 142258

 

[Brigandia36]

Hidden text is:

Red Apple premium quality tobacco
Contains 20 Class A Cigarettes
Made in the U.S.A.

 

[Cmdr.Kerner]

Can you take my pictures for a tutorial ?

The 1st is a scan I made:
The others were found somewhere on the web:

This is what I found by a Google search:

Red Apple Cigarettes - Design by ~Apfeistrudel on deviantART
Red Apple Cigarettes by ~cinges on deviantART
http://home.online.no/~hthorn/Props/Red-apple-Cigarettes.jpg

Could be useful.

Dietrich

 

[Brigandia36]

View attachment 142353

View attachment 142354
"... and other bad things"

View attachment 142355

View attachment 142356

 

[Vettius]

Peter,

Thanks for the software link and the tutorials on how to use it!

Best,

Vettius

 

[rorschach999]

Hi All,

Just to let you know, that Xara are giving away a version of their vector drawing package Xara Xtreme 5.

All of my paper props (that are not photos) are created using a version of this program, I have been using Xara for years and cannot praise it highly enough, it is very powerful, yet very simple to use.

If you haven't tried a vector drawing package, you can't really do better than this, especially as it is free

The offer is only open until April 29, 2013

Free Xara Xtreme 5

Peter

has anybody got a copy of this as I did download it but my PC went fuzzy and now i cant find it - any help please ?

 

[rorschach999]

sorted thanks to "KING" peter (DD28) glad its still a free registration