Vector Gradient Fills 2 pg 3: Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com

Vector Gradient Fills 2: CorelDraw Fountain Fill Text and Outlines

Text filled with a gradient fill when selected with the Selection tool.

Individual characters filled when selected with the Shape tool.

Text with a fountain fill in CorelDraw is easy. Select the object and follow the steps we worked through on the previous page. Text is no different from any other object as it is in some other programs, which is a nice feature, since your text remains editable even with a fountain fill. However, the entire word is treated as one object and the fill runs continuously through the object.

You can also select your text, and choose Arrange>Convert to Curves to create individual objects from each character. Since the text has been converted to a graphic object, however, you cannot edit it as text after performing this conversion.

Top: Text with an outline. Middle: Text outline converted to object and moved away from text. Bottom: Former outline, now object is filled with a fountain fill.

Converted outline with fountain fill and a new outline applied.

Neat trick
Finally, there is one feature that is not well known in CorelDraw. You cannot fill an outline with a fountain fill. You can however choose Arrange>Convert Outline to Object from the main menu. Just as it sounds, it takes the outline and turns it into an object, separate from the object it used to outline. While it can make some great effects on objects, it is really powerful when you take one extra step and use it on text.

Create your text. Apply a fairly thick outline – I have used a 20px outline for 140pt text for the example shown here. (The original text was 140pts but I made it smaller on export to fit.) Increase your letter spacing if necessary, since the outline tends to join letters together. (See Text as Design for text manipulation techniques).

Now let's start the magic. Choose Arrange>Convert Outline to Object. The outline becomes a separate object. The sample at the left shows the text with regular outline first, with the outline moved away from the text in the second sample. Fill with the fountain fill you desire ... neat effect. If you really want to push the technique, start with your characters spread further apart, and apply an outline to the original outline. You may find the result is better when you specify a wide outline. Then open the Outline Pen window through the Outline Pen tool, and check Behind Fill, located at the bottom left of the window. This sends the outline behind the object and can be easier to control the effect.

At the left, I have included a magnified version of the outline on an outline effect. Of course, you could also have the original text behind filled with yet another color. It is when you see effects like this, and how easy and accurate the methods are, that you begin to realize why designers insist on having both raster and vector programs at their disposal.

Now, lets take a look at creating blends for even more color blending power.

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Vector Gradient Fills 2 Tutorial Index

Vector Gradient Fills 2 Start
CorelDraw Fountain Fills
CorelDraw Fountain Fill Text and Outlines
CorelDraw Blends
Flash Gradient Fills