Cutout text PI5 tutorial - won't work in PI X3

[sisom]

I've been trying to do the second tutorial on this page:

http://www.eastofthesun.com/pi5/texttricks.htm

for cutout text, but I can't get it to work in PI X3. I can get as far as this bit "From the Attributes toolbar's Mode dropdown list choose 3D Round. Don't be alarmed if you get something like this, full of creases and grooves." but it doesn't work, and then I'm stuck.

Can anybody try this tutorial in PI X3 and work out how to do this cut out text effect? It looks fantastic and is just what I'm looking for.

Many thanks in advance.

[Ron P.]

Since that tutorial was written for an earlier version, translating it to PI X3 can be confusing, but it does work.

First I'll ask if you're missing the Continue Draw part? That's the important step for this effect to work. If so make sure you change to the Continue Draw. If not I'm getting ready to do a quick tutorial for you with screen-shots, so check back soon..

[sisom]

Hi Ron, I did use Continue Draw, but it goes wrong just after that part.
I've done all the following parts with no problems:

"The second trick is Cutout text. Start by creating a new True Color file 450 pixels wide by 150 pixels high. Select the Text tool. In the Attributes toolbar, select Script MT Bold (or another font with a fairly broad surface area), size 90. Click the Style button and choose Bold. The Mode should be 3D Round. The color of the text doesn't matter.

Click in the base image. When the Text Entry box opens, type your text and click OK.

type in text

While the text is active, choose Object, Convert Object Type, From Text to Path. Select the Path Drawing tool. From the Attributes toolbar's Mode dropdown list, choose Continue Draw.

select Continue Draw from Mode

Now your text looks like this.

continue draw mode

Click on the Shape button and select Rounded rectangle.

select rounded rectangle"


The next bit I can't do:
"Click on the Options button and select Even-Odd Fill."

In the Tool Settings - Path window, 'Even-Odd Fill' is greyed out and I can't tick it.

Edit: Aha! I clicked the Pick Tool, as that was all I could do, and then right clicked the object and chose 'Edit Attributes', and then I could tick 'Even-Odd Fill', and reduce the size of the border, and now it works fine, and looks fantastic! And by changing the depth from 30 to -30, I can make it look like raised letters in a sunken background. Great stuff!

One thing I couldn't do, is change the roundness of the rectangle corners, after making the picture, do you know how to do this? I couldn't do it at any stage of the proceedings, unless I missed it.
It will inherit whatever rounded corners settings I have set, before drawing the rectangle, but I often want to change it after I've drawn it.

[Ron P.]

That's great that you worked it out, saved me from posting my video tutorial..

To change or alter the shape, with your object selected click on the Edit Path Object tool.

[sisom]

Hi Ron, do you know of another way of combining the two objects, rather than using Continue Draw? I want to create four or five header bars, using the cut out text, and it's proving very difficult, as I have to do each one manually, and try to measure out exactly the size of the horizontal bar that I'm using, each time.
It's not the end of the world if there's no way to do it, just that it would save me a lot of time, and I'd like to use this effect a lot in the future.

[Ron P.]

Well it's not as easy or fast as using this cut-out text method. You would need to use the z-merge tool, and it takes a little playing around with it and the lighting on your objects to get a similar effect. For example I tried to get the following effect that was done with the Cut-out text, using the z-merge, but could get close to it, however not as close as I'd like.

pixx3_cutout text.png (25.49 KiB) Viewed 5634 times

Done using the z-merge:

pix3_cutout text-2.png (26.59 KiB) Viewed 5634 times