Tips & Tricks

A Tips and Tricks Tutorial By Rik Datta (“Rik” on tg)
Creating illustrations with Only Extrudes

Xara’s Extrude tool has been with us for more than 4 versions, and although it’s a lifesaver when you need to dress up something in five minutes that’s visually bland, sadly a lot of us (myself included) don’t dig deeper into the possibilities of this tool just because we all know it extrudes shapes. Which leaves us with one of two possibilities, usually: either a cookie-cutter effect when you extrude a symbol font, or extruded text, as shown in Figure 1. Superman Comics used the now legendary extruded logo on their very first cover in 1939…so at best, extruded text has proven history, and at worst, it’s not as fresh as other graphics we see today.

The long camera lens you see in Figure 2 uses the Extrude tool, believe it or not, and if you’re not a believer, download the zip file for this tutorial, go get a font (see Note below), and walk through these steps to follow. Because you need to use specific values and a special technique, most of this tutorial is presented in “recipe” style—as in “click here and do this”.

The principle of the lens construction will become evident as you work and you can indeed apply what you learn to building other things with the 3D tool. All you really need to remember is that if you take a circle and extrude it, it’s just a thick circle if you present it to the audience face-on, but if you rotate the extruded circle by almost 90 degrees top to bottom or side to side, you have a column…or the shaft to a bolt, or a chimney…or as you’ll soon learn…a long lens for a camera.

Gary Bouton had added a little something to the Xara file guide page you download—you can create a body for the camera with the pieces he’s added, and using rotations of the extruded object in specific, and perhaps unexpected, ways.

Putting Slot A into Tab B

You’re going to run through nine fairly detailed instructions in the parts to follow—let’s call them really long steps—and at the end, after you've created specific pieces for this long lens illustration, you’ll be shown, like in a bizarre IKEA instruction sheet, how the parts you've created are arranged together.

Let’s begin just a little before the beginning:

The Nudge Size in the Lens Cheat Sheet.xar document you find in General Options (Ctrl+Shift+O) was set at 228px in a the document. This document is an exploded view of the individual pieces as I created them for the very front of the lens—after you’ve created 7 parts, I saw little reason in making you create 7 more when the steps are essentially repetitive. To reassemble the lens front as the finale to this tutorial, press the Arrow Keys sequentially with each shape selected, Group the pieces (Ctrl+G) and then press Ctrl+F to put the group to the front of the page.

The second page of the Cheat sheet shows the completed illustration, plus Gary’s camera body you can add.

Many of the shapes are just larger versions of the original extruded shapes. However, once you “assemble” your lens, you will certainly feel like experimenting with the Rotation values just a little, or make minor alterations to the lighting.

Number the pieces after you create them or I’ll never be able to show you how they should be assembled! Once you’ve completed a section, type #1, #2, and so on next to the piece you’ve built.

That’s about it for a Prologue. To create the lens above, you’ll need to draw shapes (circles and thin rectangles), use the 3D Extrude Tool, choose a Bevel Type, and adjust the angles and lighting positions and colours. Follow along!

Building Piece #1

Draw a circle of 90px in size and colour it #3d563e, using the Color Editor (Ctrl+E) and the Hexidecimal entry box at far right of the value boxes while using either the HSV or RGB color models. With the circle selected, choose the 3D Extrude Tool and then click the Apply Extrusion button on the top left of the Infobar. From the Infobar—and you’ll be entering precise values in this tutorial instead of trying to drag on the shape with the Extrusion tool to attain precise values.

You need to set the Bevel type, the Bevel size, the amount of Angle 1, Angle 2 and Angle 3. You will also set the Extrude Depth, the Light Angle amounts for Light 1, 2 and three as well as the color of each light.

With the 3D Extruded circle still selected, please enter the necessary settings on the Infobar by work your way methodically through the following settings.

Piece #1 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Curve Faced 2
Bevel size: 60
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 52	Angle 3 = 3
Extrude depth: 30
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = 14	Light 1 Angle 2 = -68
Light 2 Angle 1 = 57	Light 2 Angle 2 = 25
Light 3 Angle 1 = 101	Light 3 Angle 2= 21
Light 1 Colour = #3b4733	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

See Figure 4 for the results here.

Building Piece #2 (Second verse, same as the first!)

To get right down to it:

Draw a circle of 140px in size and colour it #5a8162. With the circle selected, choose the 3D Extrude Tool, Apply extrusion and then make your settings as listed below.

Piece #2 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Curve Faced 2
Bevel size: 60
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 63	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 15
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 107	Light 2 Angle 2 = -42
Light 3 Angle 1 = 72	Light 3 Angle 2= 11
Light 1 Colour = #c0e9a5	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

See Figure 6 to see what you just built, or believe that you just built.

Ooooh! 3’s a fun part! Making a ring with grooves to twist!

This next set of moves will get you the attachment ring, sometimes the ring on one of these expensive things that helps attach and detach the lens from the camera mount. Follow along carefully; there’s no alarm clock set to go off in 20 seconds here at Xara Xone!

1. Draw a circle 139px and colour it #9c9c9c.

2. Draw a vertical rectangle 2px wide and 141px high and colour it #919191.

3. Press CTRL+SHIFT+L to centralise both items using the Object Alignment box, by clicking in the center of the proxy box above the controls to put all the proxy objects horizontally and vertically centered. Then click Apply.

4. Press CTRL+K to clone the vertical rectangle, and then apply a 5 degree angle using the rotation box on the Infobar. You should carry on cloning and rotating by 5 degrees until you have a complete set. With all the shapes selected, Ctrl+G (Group them).
5. Apply 3D Extrude using the Extrude tool.Then enter the parameters as seen in the Piece #3 Parameters table that follows.

Piece #3 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Round Faced
Bevel size: 12
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 62	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 9
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -98	Light 1 Angle 2 = -6
Light 2 Angle 1 = -9	Light 2 Angle 2 = -73
Light 3 Angle 1 = 49	Light 3 Angle 2= 16
Light 1 Colour = #898989	Light 2 Colour = #7c7c7c	Light 3 Colour = #383a39

Figure 7 shows a pretty groovy addition to the long lens.

Part 4: Using a Bevel Preset as a Visual Element

This part of the lens gets its character from the type of bevel you use. The Rounded Corner 1a puts very small rings at both ends of the extrude, but ordinarily you wouldn’t notice them unless you have your extrude positioned at about a ¾ angle as you’re doing in this tutorial:

1. Clone the Circle in Part 2. We’re talking the base circle and not the extruded shape, so you can right-drag the #2 part to a different location on the page and then release the right mouse button to accomplish the duplication (the clone). Then you remove the Extrusion by clicking the 3D icon at the left of the Infobar when the shape is selected with the Extrude tool, and the object returns to 2D.
2. Scale its size up to 146px.
3. Apply 3D Extrude, then choose Bevel type Round Cornered 1a from the drop-down list, and change the Bevel size to 15.
4. Adjust the Extrusion parameters as follows (I think you’re getting the hang of this part now!):

Piece #4 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Rounded Corner 1a
Bevel size: 15
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 63	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 15
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 105	Light 2 Angle 2 = -44
Light 3 Angle 1 = 69	Light 3 Angle 2= 10
Light 1 Colour = # c0e9a5	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

See Figure 8.

Part 5, an Easy One

Clone the 3D shape that is Part #3, and all you have to do is to change the Extrude depth to 1. Finito, done-ski, see Figure 9.

Part 6: Revenge of the Extrude Tool

In the continuing saga of the Clone Wars, your next step is to clone the circle Part #4.

1. Scale the circle to 170 pixels.
2. Apply 3D Extrude, and use the Bevel type called Curve Face 2 from the drop-down list on the Infobar. This is a neat preset—it carved a small interior to the extrude, perfect for creating a lens or a machined object.
3. Make the Bevel Size 60.
4. You got it—adjust the Extrusion parameters as so…

Piece #6 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Curve Faced 2
Bevel size: 60
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 63	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 35
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 60	Light 2 Angle 2 = -69
Light 3 Angle 1 = 75	Light 3 Angle 2= 9
Light 1 Colour = #c0e9a5	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

See Figure 10.

Building Part 7: You’re almost there!

1. Clone (Ctrl+K, or use the “drop a copy” technique) the circle used for Part #6. Return this copy to its 2D state by unclicking the 3D Extrude button at left on the Infobar.
2. Resize it to 178.5px.
3. Apply 3D Extrude, Bevel type Round Cornered 1, and then set the Bevel size 12.
4. Adjust the Extrusion parameters to these exacting and mission-critical values:

Piece #7 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Round Cornered 1
Bevel size: 12
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 60	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 17
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 60	Light 2 Angle 2 = -69
Light 3 Angle 1 = 77	Light 3 Angle 2= 9
Light 1 Colour = #898989	Light 2 Colour = #7c7c7c	Light 3 Colour = #383a39

Watch Figure 11. It moves if you shake your monitor up and down.

Part #8: Almost like Part 7

1. Clone the circle in Part #5 and then unextrude it, exactly as you did with Part #7.
2. Resize the circle to 178.5px.
3. Apply the 3D Extrude, choose the Bevel type Round Cornered 1, and then set the Bevel size 12.
4. Adjust the Extrusion parameters to these values:

Piece #8 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Round Cornered 1
Bevel size: 12
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 63	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 17
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 60	Light 2 Angle 2 = -69
Light 3 Angle 1 = 72	Light 3 Angle 2= 9
Light 1 Colour = #3b4733	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

Voila! See Figure 12.

Number 9, Number 9, Number…

Next up after Part #9 is to assemble what you’ve built so far. So without further adieu…

1. Clone the Part #6 shape, remove the extrude so you’re left with a circle, and then resize it to 196.5px.
2. Click that Apply 3D Extrude button now, and then change the Bevel to Rounded, at a value of about 12 on the Infobar.
3. Apply the following settings on the Infobar (you’ve done this a few times before!):

Piece #9 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Rounded
Bevel size: 12
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 63	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 41
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -64	Light 1 Angle 2 = -75
Light 2 Angle 1 = 60	Light 2 Angle 2 = -69
Light 3 Angle 1 = 78	Light 3 Angle 2= 9
Light 1 Colour = #c0e9a5	Light 2 Colour = #727a72	Light 3 Colour = #486b55

See Figure 13.

Assembling a Long Lens

Oddly, this tutorial gets much easier now at its final stages, not harder. You’ve numbered the parts, you have them all in a convenient location on the page or spread, the next thing you want to do is purely visual—it requires very little text explanation here. It’s important to position them as shown here, so as to create the correct effect of the various lens parts. Rely on Figure 14 and the Selector tool to make it all happen for you.

Creating the Focal Ring

This is the widest, largest part of the lens assembly and it has the fictitious name of a manufacturer on it, in case someone with a camera wants to take a picture of your camera (?).

1. Create a Circle of 209px in diameter. Give it the colour of #5a8162.
2. Draw one vertical rectangle 13px wide and 212px high with line width of 0.25px. Give the line colour #5a8162. The line colour ultimately determines the colour of the extruded side of the object. This is why you really can create gradients and such on the extruded side of a Xara Extrude shape.
3. Draw another vertical rectangle 8px wide and 212px high with line width of 0.25px. Give the line colour #5a8162.
4. Clone the thicker rectangle and rotate it 45 degrees, 3 times.
5. Clone the thinner rectangle and rotate it 22.5 degrees, and then clone that one and rotate 45 degrees, 3 times.
6. Position all rotated pieces, as shown and then bring up the Object Alignment box (CTRL+SHIFT+L) and then with all the pieces selected, center them.
7. With all pieces selected, CTRL+G to group them.
8. Position these over the circle and centralize them all.
9. Group all these pieces together, so you have a group within a group.
10. Choose the Bevel type Rounded, and a Bevel size of 28. See Figure 15.
    
    

    

The ring isn’t as long as we’d like it to be, and as before (many times) you need to set other parameters on the Infobar for the object:

Creating the Focal Ring 3D Extrude Parameters
Bevel type to: Rounded
Bevel size: 28
Angle 1 = 3	Angle 2 = 68	Angle 3 = -3
Extrude depth: 102
Perspective: (default value)
Light 1 Angle 1 = -70	Light 1 Angle 2 = -77
Light 2 Angle 1 = 102	Light 2 Angle 2 = -54
Light 3 Angle 1 = 62	Light 3 Angle 2= 10
Light 1 Colour = # c0e9a5	Light 2 Colour = # 727a72	Light 3 Colour = # 43704d

Finally, add any sort of text you like to the side of the focus ring.

Putting the Xara Cheat Sheet to Work

If you’d like a quick finish to this tutorial so you can go out and take some pictures, here’s the skinny on making the complete lens illustration:

1. Copy the back of the lens (the 9 grouped pieces you did at the beginning of this tutorial), and the focal ring.
2. Open Xara Cheat Sheet.xar, and then paste the two grouped shapes into the page. See Figure 16.
   

   

3. Move the pieces over so you have a clear view of the seven shapes on the page.
4. Group the focal ring and the lens back parts, and align them to the right of the last part at the bottom of the page. Use the guideline I dragged out to align the respective part bottoms.
5. Select the first part at the top of the page. Nudge it down by one keyboard keystroke.
6. Group it with the lens part to the left of it.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until your composition is complete. You might choose to put a feathered drop shadow beneath the work to make it look fancier, and Gary has provided the camera body parts both posed in 3D and as 2D objects, so don’t say you have nothing to do on the Xara Xone this month!

Enjoy, and I’d love to hear some feedback on The Xara Xone area of TalkGraphics.

About Rik Datta

Be sure to thank Rik for this great tutorial by showing us your 3D illustrations in the Talkgraphics.com thread, September 2014 Tips and Tricks: Creating illustrations With Only Extrudes.