Impressions - August/September 2021 - 38

Figure 3
at the same time. It's so much better for
Figure 2
Figure 2
doing complex image separations, or even
edits of a distressed image with 3,500 pieces
containing slightly different colors.
The find-and-replace function is good
enough now so that I no longer miss the
previous scripts used to accomplish these
tasks. All I have to do is use the quick keys
(Alt+E+F) and then I can find or replace
items. The revised dialog has multiple options
to allow for different graphic pieces in the
file to be edited simultaneously.
If you have a mad propensity for building
multiple layers of nested powerclips, you
may occasionally have some issues if you
don't go into them separately. For most
everything else, however, this new feature
is significant.
ability to average and make subtle choices
as it traces to have a far higher percentage
of successful tracing attempts. When
I traced several designs of various degrees
of difficulty and resolutions, the software
re-created and essentially " guessed " at how
to best replicate the pixelated sources into
workable vector images (see Figure 1).
Many artists commonly don't attempt
to use the Powertrace program because
of past challenges with other tracing software.
However, this new version seems
to handle a combination of far greater
complexity, and can provide consistent,
higher-quality results.
Importing & Exporting Filters
Although the process of importing graphic
elements, clipart, previous files and text into
CorelDRAW isn't as sexy as creating killer
graphics from scratch, the sheer number of
times you have to import and export can
adversely impact productivity if it isn't a
smooth process.
The improvements that have been made
to these filters make dealing with differP.38
ent
issues of importing graphics far easier,
and the overall effect is that the software
now can allow editing capacity with more
options, as well as perform faster. In this
version of CorelDRAW, you now can pull
in many PDF formats and edit them, which
can save time as opposed to re-creating
these files due to formatting or processing
challenges.
Older versions of CorelDRAW also
replicate better, and there are fewer issues
with the optional font-update filters,
as well as better support for spot colors
that are in older versions. If you've ever
had an old file open without fonts or spot
colors recognized, you know what I mean.
Having many of these issues resolved or
easier to navigate makes adjusting to the
new features easier.
Find & Replace Refinements
CorelDRAW 2021 finally added extra functionality
to its " Find and Replace Script "
feature. This means you now can replace
more things with fewer steps in one setup.
Yes, now you can change fills and outlines
IMPRESSIONSMAG.COM AUG./SEPT. 2021
The image in Figure 2 needed to be edited
so that it would work on Army green, red,
gray and royal blue shirts. The main graphic
needed to be changed from a white and navy
eagle on the royal and red shirts to a black
and gray eagle on the gray and Army green
shirts. With the find-and-replace function,
making all of these adjustments took less
than five minutes.
When it was time to separate the image,
all I had to do was duplicate the design
four times - for the white underbase,
navy blue, red and highlight white - on
different pages. CorelDRAW 2021 even
offers different views so you can look at all
of your separations simultaneously if you
wish. Once I had the duplicate design in
the same location on each page, I rapidly
replaced all colors that weren't on that separation
with white, and the sep color was
changed to black. Doing it this way allowed
me to easily add a thin outline to the white
underbase separation page, and the color
pages rapidly could be isolated.
Since this design had a distress filter bitmap
used as an overlay, it was relatively simple
to add a trap. All I had to do was zoom in
and use a small Nudge tool command to
duplicate and move the distress filter up,
down, right and left (see Figure 3). Essentially,
this made four additional transparent monochrome
bitmaps on top of the original and,
together, created a trapped distress. This way,
the slightly bigger distress filter wouldn't
have the tendency to show the underbase
if there was any screen distortion on the
underbase or overprinted colors.
Non-Destructive Styles & Effects
In a lot of ways, CorelDRAW 2021 takes
some of the best features of bitmap software,
with regard to layer styles, filters and similar
effects, and allows you to experiment on your
images. There are unlimited possibilities, and
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