CorelDRAW Tutorial

CorelDRAW: Shape
Building Basics
by Mary Winkler13 Oct 2014
Difficulty:BeginnerLength:ShortLanguages:
HalloweenCorelDRAWVectorIllustration
What You'll Be Creating

This CorelDRAW tutorial focuses entirely on creating elements from basic shapes
using a small selection of the program's shape tools. Additionally, we'll play with
some of the tools, toolbars, and dockers dedicated to altering said shapes. Join me
in firing up CorelDRAW X7 to create a simple harvest pumpkin with rectangles
and ellipses.
1. From Rectangle to Pumpkin

Step 1
Create a New Document and draw a rectangle with the Rectangle
Tool (F6). Select the newly drawn rectangle and in the Property Bar, you'll find
options for altering the shape and radius of its corners. Choose Round
Corners and enter 2.0" for the Corner Radius.
Step 2
In order to adjust the shape's nodes, select the rounded rectangle and hit Convert
to Curves (Control-Q). Using the Pick Tool, Scale the rounded rectangle inward
so it's thinner. Then, use the Shape Tool (F10) to adjust the shape's nodes so the
top of the shape is narrower than the bottom (see below).
Step 3
1. Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) the rounded rectangle shape and,
using the Pick Tool, Double-Click the copied object so you can rotate it
toward the center of the design.
2. Copy and Paste the shape on the left and hit Mirror Horizontally in
the Property Bar. Once again, adjust the nodes of each shape with
the Shape Tool so you've got more of a lumpy pumpkin look.
3. In Object Manager, place the two side shapes behind the center
shape. Paste another pumpkin section behind the three objects already
drawn. Rotate it to the center, Scale it down, and adjust the nodes as
needed.
4. I opted for six objects total. Group (Control-G) your pumpkin shapes
together.
Step 4
Select each section of the pumpkin in Object Manager and in Object Properties
(Alt-Enter), change the Outline to null and each object's Fill color to a varying
shade of orange. From front to back, I chose these four shades:
#FFB02D
#FF9C1E
#FF862C
#FF782C
Copy and Paste the pumpkin group and Ungroup (Control-U) the objects. With
all of them still selected, hit Weld in the Property Bar. When
you Copy and Paste an object, you'll notice it's already aligned with its parent
item. Push the welded object behind the pumpkin group in the Object
Manager and set the Outline to dark orange (#F74A00) at 4.0 pt Weight.
2. From Ellipses to Leaves and a Stem
Step 1
1. Use the Ellipse Tool (F7) to draw a circle (hold Control to keep it uniform
in shape).
2. Hit Convert to Curves in the Property Bar and use the Shape Tool to pull
the right node out to the right, extending the shape into a sideways teardrop.
3. With the Smear Tool, select Pointy Smear in the Property Bar and bring
the right side to a point. Adjust the tool's size and pressure to your liking.
4. Switch to Smooth Smear and carefully brush it across the leaf shape so it
looks longer and more like a wiggling, waving leaf.
5. How extreme of a shape your ellipse becomes is up to you. My final shape
is seen below.
Step 2
1. Place the leaf on the top of the pumpkin. Scale and Rotate as
needed. Copy and Paste the leaf so you have two of them. Add
an Outline of 2.0 pt Weight in the Object Properties docker.
2. Draw an ellipse that bisects the first leaf.
3. In the Property Bar, change the drawn shape from Ellipse to Arc. Set
the Outline color to match the leaves' outline color.
4. Select both the arc and leaf, and hit Intersect in the Properties
Bar. Delete the arc object in the Object Manager and set the newly created
shape's Outline to 2.0 pt Weight.
5. Copy, Paste, and Rotate for the second leaf. Make sure the leaf's vein is
behind the first leaf in the Object Manager.
Step 3
For the stem, we'll use two alternate shape tools.
1. Start with the 3-Point Ellipse Tool and draw a line that takes up the width
of your stem.
2. After clicking with your mouse, drag the tool upward to create the ellipse.
Keep it horizontal and relatively narrow.
3. Set the Fill color to brown (#996633).
4. Use the 3-Point Rectangle Tool to drag a line across the width of the ellipse
and pull a rectangle down to the length of your stem.
5. Set both of the objects at brown for the Fill color and null for
the Outline color.
6. Copy and Paste the ellipse twice and place one at the bottom of the
rectangle. Weld one of the top ellipses, the rectangle, and the bottom
ellipse together.
Step 4
1. Change the welded object's color to a darker brown (#663300).
2. Use the Shape Tool to select the nodes of the bottom of the stem shape and
bring them inward.
3. Keep the bottom rounded by adjusting both nodes and node
handles. Group the two objects together.
4. Place the stem underneath the first three sections of the pumpkin (you will
likely have to Ungroup these objects to place it). Add a dark
brown Outline to the main stem shape of 2.03.0 pts Weight.
Step 5
Under the Polygon Tool (Y) in the Toolbox, there are a plethora of custom shape
tools. Grab the Spiral Tool (A), set the number of Spiral Revolutions to 2, and
chose Logarithmic Spiral. Draw a couple of spiral shapes and place them near the
stem and leaves.
Great Job, You're Done!
You've learned the basics of CorelDRAW, running through the Ellipse
Tool, Rectangle Tool, Property Bar, Object Manager, Object Properties,
and Smear Tool. What other objects can you create with assorted polygons and
custom shapes? Show us your pumpkins or other Halloween designs in the
comment section below!
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CorelDRAW: Shape

What You'll Be Creating

1. From Rectangle to Pumpkin

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