Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1451379
8 4 G R A P H I C S P R O A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M A W A R D S & C U S T O M I Z A T I O N 8 4 G R A P H I C S P R O A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M S O F T W A R E T I P S & T R I C K S | D O U G Z E N D E R 3 WAYS TO USE THE DISTORTION TOOL HOW TO USE THE PUSH & PULL, ZIPPER, AND TWISTER OPTIONS T he Distortion tool was first introduced to the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite with version nine and remained unchanged up to and including version 2019. at is 13 versions of the program that retained this effect. e 2020 version of the program saw some major changes to the interface and some additional Distortion features. I want first to look at the classic inter- face. Fig. 1 shows the main tool bar with the icon for the distortion tool circled in red. It's kind of an irregular shaped icon. With an image drawn, when the dis- tortion tool is accessed, there are three options from which to choose on the top task bar, as seen in Fig. 2. From left to right, they are respectively Push & Pull, Zipper, and Twister. In the accompany- ing examples, I began by drawing a circle in the center of the page and then added the distortion to it. PUSH & PULL With each of these, the task bar changes to display different adjustment options. e first example in Fig. 3 is the Push & Pull feature. On the left side is Push, drag- ging from the center of the image from right to left. e right side is an addi- tional Pull from left to right. e presets can result in different visual results. is effect can easily produce some interesting designs of objects that may prove usable in a particular project. ZIPPER My next example is the Zipper distor- tion, again beginning as a centered circle and depicted in Fig. 4. ere are several choices displayed on the task bar includ- ing randomize, smooth and local. Each can produce differing results. I recom- mend you explore the various options to determine what is best for your purposes. e randomize option creates a pattern that makes the spikes at differing inten- sity. e smooth option tends to round distortion details and the localize choice is an option that moves the distortion to a particular part of the image. ey are all best visualized in use, and many of these details are only obvious in use. TWISTER Lastly is the Twister option. It is only four rotations but could involve more as one chooses. Fig. 5 is an image of that. I have included Fig. 6 as a possible use of the distorted image. I first created a swirl distortion, then stretched it down. I then quickly drew an imaginary planet with some 3 D effects and placed it over the distorted image giv- ing a look of the planet floating above a cloud or some kind of space phenome- non. is kind of thing could easily be the beginning of a logo or marketing design for a customer and is easily and quickly rendered. It is worth mentioning that all examples above are all rendered as vector images that can easily be altered or edited in Corel DR AW as needed. at's part of the program's intuitive nature, or at least used to be. NEW VS. OLD INTERFACE So far, we have looked at the classic interface that many have grown accus- tomed to over time and use, including myself. I guess it's time to look more intently at the new interface. Beginning with the 2020 version, the distortion tool is no longer accessed by an icon on the tool bar. You must go to Effects > Distort and a menu box (Fig. 7) appears to indicate a choice of 11 different distortion options from which to choose. Fig. 1: The main tool bar with the icon for the distortion tool circled in red. (All images courtesy Doug Zender) Fig. 2: There are three options to choose from on the top task bar. Fig. 3: The Push & Pull feature – on the left side is Push, dragging from the center of the image from right to left. Fig. 4: The Zipper distortion, again beginning as a centered circle.