Blending objects

CorelDRAW lets you create blends, such as straight-line blends, blends along a path, and compound blends. Blends are often used for creating realistic shadows and highlights in objects.

The highlights and shadows in the object on the right were created by using blends.

A straight-line blend shows a progression in shape and size from one object to another. The outline and fill colors of the intermediate objects progress along a straight-line path across the color spectrum. The outlines of intermediate objects show a gradual progression in thickness and shape.

After you create a blend, you can copy or clone its settings to other objects. When you copy a blend, the object takes on all the blend-related settings, except for the outline and fill attributes. When you clone a blend, changes you make to the original blend (also called the master) are applied to the clone.

Straight-line blends can be used to create graphics with a glass-like appearance. The rollover button (left) contains a blend of tightly overlapped blended objects.

You can fit objects along part or all of a path’s shape, and you can add one or more objects to a blend to create a compound blend.

The straight-line blend (top) is fitted to a curved path (bottom).

You can change the appearance of a blend by adjusting the number and spacing of its intermediate objects, the blend’s color progression, the nodes the blends map to, the blend’s path, and the start and end objects. You can fuse the components of a split or compound blend to create a single object.

This compound blend consists of three blends.

You can also split and remove a blend.

By mapping nodes, you can control the appearance of a blend. Two nodes on the polygon are mapped to two nodes of a star shape, showing a more gradual transition (bottom).

To blend objects

To	Do the following
Blend along a straight line	In the toolbox, click the Blend tool . Select the first object, and drag over the second object. If you want to reset the blend, press Esc as you drag.
Blend an object along a freehand path	In the toolbox, click the Blend tool. Select the first object. Hold down Alt, and drag to draw a line to the second object.
Fit a blend to a path	In the toolbox, click the Blend tool . Click the Path properties button on the property bar. Click New path. Using the curved arrow, click the path to which you want to fit the blend.
Stretch the blend over an entire path	Select a blend that is already fitted on a path. Click the More blend options button on the property bar, and enable the Blend along full path check box.
Create a compound blend	Using the Blend tool, drag from an object to the start or end object of another blend.

You can also blend objects by using the Blend docker (Effects Blend).

To copy or clone a blend

•

Copy effect Blend from

•

Clone effect Blend from

You can’t copy or clone a compound blend.

You can also use the Attributes eyedropper tool to copy a blend. For more information, see To copy effects from one object to another.

To set the number of intermediate objects in a blend

You can set object and color acceleration rates by clicking the Object and color acceleration button on the property bar and moving the corresponding slider.

To set the distance between objects in a blend that is fit to a path

2 .	Click the Blend spacing button on the property bar.

If you have used the Blend along full path command, the Blend spacing button is unavailable.

You can set object and color acceleration rates by clicking the Object and color acceleration button on the property bar and moving the corresponding slider.

To set the color progression in a blend

•

Direct blend

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Clockwise blend

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Counterclockwise blend

You can’t create color progressions by using blended objects filled with bitmaps, texture, pattern, or PostScript fills.

You can set how fast the object’s colors transform from the first to the last object by clicking the Object and color acceleration button on the property bar and moving the corresponding sliders.

To map the nodes of a blend

2 .	Click the More blend options button on the property bar, and click Map nodes.

To work with the start or end objects in a blend

To	Do the following
Select the start or end object	Select a blend, click the Starting and ending objects button on the property bar, and click Show start or Show end.
Change the start or end object of a blend	Select a blend, click the Starting and ending objects button on the property bar, and click New start or New end. Click an object outside the blend that you want to use as the start or end of the blend.
Fuse the start or end object in a split or compound blend	Hold down Ctrl, click a middle object in a blend, and then click a start or end object. Click the More blend options button on the property bar. If you have selected the start object, click the Fuse start button . If you have selected the end object, click the Fuse end button .

You can reverse the direction of the blend by clicking Object Order Reverse order.

To change the blend path

2 .	Click the Path properties button on the property bar, and click New path.

You can also
Detach a blend from a path	Click the Path properties button on the property bar, and click Detach from path.
Change the path of a selected freehand blend	Click the blend path with the Shape tool , and drag a path’s node.

To select the blend path, click the Path properties button , and click Show path.

To split a blend

2 .	Click the More blend options button on the property bar.

3 .	Click the Split button .

You can’t split a blend at the intermediate object that is immediately adjacent to the start or end object.

To remove a blend

2 .	Click Effects Clear blend.

You can also remove a selected blend by clicking the Clear blend button on the property bar.

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