Create a background rectangle, 525 x 450 pixels. Apply a Fractal Clouds fill using the two colors shown. Open the Profile dialog and make the changes shown.
Select the Transparency Tool (F6). Click on the rectangle to select it. Then hold down the Ctrl key, click and drag from the top of the rectangle to the bottom.
Click on the bottom control point and change the Transparency slider setting to 50%. This creates a reasonably realistic cloud filled sky.
Group the cane, branch, shoot, whatever you want to call it. Seems I have called it a cane this time and a shoot or branch somewhere else. Hey, I’m human, you know.
Clone the group and apply a Fractal Plasma, Bleach transparency. Edit the fill path as shown. This adds a some shadows to the branch, shoot, cain, thing.
Put it all together and you have a vineyard illustration.
So, you ask, why does my drawing not look like Mr. Priester’s. And well you might. Here’s what I did extra but at not extra charge.
I added a little tendril thingy to the right of the grapes. It is actually two lines with a stroke shape applied. Then the lines were cloned, the color lightened, and a bit of feathering added.
My small grape leaf has a shadow. I added a wall shadow, then I converted the leaf to editable shapes, (Arrange menu), ungrouped the leaf and the shadow, selected just the shadow and the grapes group (say that ten times quickly), and applied a clip view (Arrange > Apply ClipView.) This masks the shadow inside the grapes.
Finally, as best as I can remember, I made a bitmap copy of the whole scene, True Color and 300dpi. I copied the bitmap to the clipboard and used the Photo Tool > Enhance to decrease the Brightness -50 and decrease the Sharpen/Blur -50 to create a darker, blurred photo. The copy of the bitmap was pasted using on top using Edit > Paste in Place and an Elliptical, Mix transparency applied. The start and ending transparencies switched, 0% in the center and 100% on the outside.
I know that is a lot of steps to leave out, but if you have gotten this far, I think you can manage with a written description.
I would like to thank Gerry Woodruff, and Joel Schilling again. Not only for providing me with some excellent vineyard photos, but for their support each month as they both are the rare individuals who take the time to send me their comments. If you would like to join this select group of appreciative and much appreciated persons, use the e-mail link below to send me your comments, questions, corrections and suggestions.
In Vino Veritas
Gary W. Priester
Host of the Xara Xone
Download this tutorial by Gary W. Priester Wine Grapes Nov 2011 Xara Xone Tutorial
