Need help, wondering if in Corel Draw can make Prizmatic font or do I have to do it on my own?? Trying to look for short cuts... I hate have to buy the fonts, cause the price is out range..
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
You have to make your own. I also want to add that you are setting yourself up for a doozie with the pricing comment!
Actually, I think there may be a step-by-step on the site. See the left hand panel. But it's still a do-it-yourself.
[ February 18, 2002, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: Amy Brown ]
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Jaime... As Amy says, you can't just hit a key or click a mouse to create bevelled or prismatic VECTOR lettering in Corel. There is a step by step on the procedure at the following URL.
That being said, if you want to create prismatic "BITMAP" lettering there are plug-ins that will do this for you with a few clicks of the mouse. I don't use these myself because I don't do any digital printing. I am sure that others can steer you to those plug-ins.
Posted by Jaime Doyle (Member # 2422) on :
thank for replying back... I guess the hard way is the answer.. I was hoping there is a way to just click a button to do it... Oh well...
I was wondering if corel draw 10 any better than 9???
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Jaime. I upgraded to ver 10 for one reason only. The contour tool in ver 9 was faulty. It would leave flat spots in the contour. Version 10 fixed that problem. Other than that the major advances were in areas that I don't use, like web design and stuff like that. For vector purposes, that was the only major advance that there was.
Oh yes, I almost forgot...In version 10 you can now apply a contour, a weld or an envelope to a "group" of objects instead of having to "combine" them or apply the function to each individual object.
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
Boy Jaime, you just hit on a major after market plug-in that could make somebody a LOT of money. The utilities to do it with bitmaps abound, but not one to alter vectors.
As far as Corel, every version I've gotten of that program has been a significant improvement of it's predecessor. Not always in added tools, but in the speed, stability and integrating more of the bitmap and vector utilities together. I suspect it's only a matter of time before Corel Trace can read a 'beveled' bitmap in a predictable way and convert it reliably to smooth vector paths. 10's probably better than 9, but I doubt if it's quite there yet.
Posted by Daniel Craig (Member # 971) on :
Jamie, At a cost of $20 or $25 a font, it will be well to your advantage to simply purchase some prismatic fonts. How long will it take you to do an entire alphabet in prismatic form? Hours. How much do you make an hour making signs? Instead of creating something that already exists, call one of the great signmaker-friendly font sites, give em a credit card number, and you will have your font in 10 minutes. Add the 25$ extra to the first sign you use it on, and then it is paid for.
Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :
Just my opinion...
Building a chisel or bevel letter in vector is not an overly difficult thing to do. It is, however, time consuming. A certain ability level in the program of your choice, along with an extreme amount of patience, is a must. Even when you have the entire "font" done, the time it takes to cut and paste, along with kerning the rascals, is excessive.
The chisel fonts that are commercially available are worth every penny that you spend. The time you will save will make it worth the purchase alone. I guess this assuming that you place some sort of value on your time.
Whenever I have wanted to buy a font for a specific job, I just added a little bit to the job to warrant it's purchase. Besides, then you will have the font forever to use again and again.
Dan Antonelli's fonts, available from Dave Simpson at Sign DNA, are exceptional quality and value for the money. Gene from the Fontry makes an exceptional valued set of chisel fonts as well. There is a set of chisel fonts that are available from Mr. Clipart although I can not attest to their quality as I have never seen them up close and personal.
Having made my own chisel letter and such, it has made me appreciate the ease that having the fonts already made affords me. I like 'em!
Have a great one!
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
I agree that purchasing a prismatic font for a specific job and then adding that purchase to the price of the job is not a hardship.
Personally, I like to do the prisming (is that a word? ) on a job to job basis. I just do it to the letters that I need to do it to, not the whole alphabet and DEFINITELY not with an eye towards creating a font. As Bruce said THAT is a REAL pain in the butt! (And that's why the prismatic fonts are SOLD, not DONATED.
I have a couple of the prism fonts that came with my registering as a resident here (STEP RIGHT UP MR. MAYOR!!! ) and have used them on jobs, but I find that the selection is restrictive.
Nothing nicer than "all caps, Brush Script, done on an arc, with a nice prism effect in blue and red" to set your heart a'flutter!!!!!!!!!! (correct Ken Henry???????? inside joke)
Seriously...if all you have to do is a few letters, it doesn't take all that long and they don't have to be scientifically precise...painted letters that are prismed are not "precise". That is the beauty of it...each letter is "hand rendered".
(disclaimer---- The previous comment was not intended to start a war )
Posted by John Deaton III (Member # 925) on :
ITs well worth the investment for the Prismatic fonts put out by Dan, Letterheadfonts,and The Fontry. All of them are good, and highly usable. The price for these fonts are exceedingly low for what it takes to create them and turn them into a font. IF I want to add a prism to a word for a sign, I do just that. Only that word. Its not that hard once you do it, that is one word at a time. There are a couple tutorials on here that describes the process of doing this and you should check these out. IT's really pretty simple once you do it a few times, but as pointed out, time consuming.
Posted by TransLab (Member # 470) on :
I seem to recall having a similar discussion around this same time last year. The end result of which was that I drove myself crazy learning how to design a prismatic font in corel 9. I posted the uppercase font in this posting http://www.letterhead.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011687 (gotta love that search engine).
I never did get around to finishing the lowercase, I got too bu$y. --next slow down ..... I promise .... but I don't seem to recall seeing Mr. Grundy's contribution either ...
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Another option would be to invest in the Chisel module if you have SignLab e6 or ask someone with e6 to do it for you.
There is a catch though. The bevels are set in strict 45-degree angles and are somewhat mechanical.
Posted by Jaime Doyle (Member # 2422) on :
Just wanted to thanks you guys for helping me out here... Gave me a lot of advice... And Thanks for the Letterhead.com for having this site, cause it really helps me out... ;o) I don't know where I would be at without this site...
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
Hey Jaime, before we retire this thread, I did a test that I had never tried before to check my theory that CorelTrace might produce a useful vector path on a chiseled bitmap. It was surprisingly easier and sharper that I imagined. Take a look at this -
Depending on the resolutions of the bitmap and trace settings, this could lead to a useable cut path. Getting a third color in the trace wouldn't have been a problem either, but I wanted to see how well it would handle just two colors like other prismatic fonts I've seen. This really isn't too bad. Maybe it's a viable approach. I'll be experimenting further next call I have for this effect. Good luck.
Posted by Jaime Doyle (Member # 2422) on :
Thanks Joe... Now, I knew there has be a way in Corel Draw... Lucky I haven't start on them earlier... Or I would have wasted my time... thanks so much... )
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