STEP 8. Open the Fill Gallery (click the color wheel icon on the top right-hand side of the Property Bar). Refer to the Help menu for downloading fills from the Xara Web site (or read The Xealot! Issue 2, for details). For this exercise we'll need the Paper 14 fill from the Textures folder. Select the card rectangle, select Paper 14, and click the Fill button. You see can the results in the illustration below. Looks pretty cool, you'll have to admit. Xara can use any bitmap image for a fill, not just the ones that come with the program. Simply Import the bitmap image, open the Bitmap Gallery (five icons to the left of the Fill Gallery) locate the bitmap and click the Fill button. And any bitmap can be scaled, even when used as an object or Text fill. But I'm getting a little off the subject.

STEP 9. We're almost done. I've saved one of Xara's most powerful tools for the last, the Transparency Tool. Select the paper - texture - filled card, click on the Transparency Tool and adjust the slider on the Property Bar to 50%. This makes the paper pattern more subtle. Select the drop shadow, change the fill color to black, and select the Transparency Tool again. This time from the Transparency Shape drop-down list (left side of the Property Bar) select Linear. An arrow appears. Drag the arrow as shown in this example to make the shadow become gradually lighter. Cool huh? And, the type can still be edited. Save your work and if you have a printer handy, print out your card. I actually create my business cards in Xara and print them on glossy stock using my Epson Stylus 800 color ink jet printer. They look every bit as good as expensive cards. But that's another tutorial. If you liked this tutorial and would like to have more, click here to send me an e-mail message. Gary W. Priester Editor (such as it is) The WebXealot!

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©1998 Gary W. Priester
This lesson may not be copied, altered, republished or distributed in any type of media without the express written permission of the author.