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How to Introduce a New Color Pattern in Corel Draw


Final product image
What You'll Be Creating

Get your 30-day free trial now! You will be downloading a 30-day, fully functional trial version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 . This trial is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The 64-bit version has been optimized for those with 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 7.

In this tutorial we'll be creating an elegant seamless pattern with precious gems in CorelDRAW® X7. Follow the process together with me and learn how to make a set of shiny gems with basic shapes and then build up a repeating pattern using the Duplicate feature and Pattern Fill function in CorelDRAW. We'll finish up by recoloring our pattern in a few clicks with the versatile Color Styles docker and using the Find and Replace function. Interested? Let's get started!

1. Create a Drop-Shaped Gem Using Basic Shapes

Step 1

Let's start rendering our first gem from its central part made of aComplex Star(you can find this tool in the same folding menu as thePolygon tool (Y)). Hold down theControl key to form an even star. We can adjust the cornerSharpness and the number of the starPoints in the Property Bar. Let's set thePoints number to8 and theSharpness to2.


make a Complex Star

Step 2

Convert our startoCurves (Control-QorObject > Convert to Curves) and move its upper point by dragging the node up with theShape tool (F10). Let's enable the object snapping inView > Snap To > Objects in order to make our workflow more precise and convenient. Make all the sides of the star straight by double-clicking the nodes in the middle of each side to delete them, thus getting rid of the unneeded corners inside our star.


Convert the star to Curves and extrude the points

Step 3

Continue shaping our gem by creating its outer part. Arm yourself with thePolyline tool (it is located in the same folding menu as theFreehand tool (F5)) and connect the points of the star, clicking them one by one.


shape the gem base with polyline tool

Now we have the base of our drop-shaped gem. Select both the star and the created curve andGroup them(Control-G). Keep acopy(Control-C > Control-V) of the created gem for a while, as we'll need it a few steps later.


create a copy of the gem base

Step 4

Great, now we can fill the shape with some bright colors! We could do this manually by dividing the gem into pieces and then coloring each of them separately. However, CorelDRAW has a great feature called theSmart Fill tool, which allows you to fill any closed path of a complex shape automatically. Let's try it out!

Take theSmart Fill tool and head to theFill Options in the Property Bar. Open aFill colormenu and clickMore to reveal theSelect Color window. Here we can choose the desired color. Let's make our gem bright lilac.


edit the Smart Fill tool color options

Apply the color to our gem by clicking the outer row of triangles with theSmart Fill tool one by one.


apply the color with Smart Fill tool 1

Select a lighter-lilac color in theFill Options of theSmart Filltool and move to the middle row of triangles, making them a bit lighter and, finally, end up in the center, forming the lightest part of our gem. Set theOutline to none in theSmart Fill tool options, or just select the whole object and click the crossed square on the top of your color palette with the right mouse button to get rid of the outline.


apply the color with Smart Fill tool 2

Step 5

Let's make our gem more glassy by adding a bright highlight on top. Use the basic curve we made with thePolylinetool earlier, duplicate it, make it a bit smaller, and place it in the upper part of our gem.

Fill the shape with the same light-lilac color as the middle part of the gem and use theTransparency tool to form a semi-transparent overtone. Click in the upper part of the shape and drag the mouse cursor down, creating aFountain transparency. Our first gem is ready! Now that we know the technique, let's move on to the next gem.


make the gem glossy by adding a highlight with the transparency tool

2. Render a Heart Precious Gem With Perfect Shapes

Step 1

Our next gem will be a lovely heart-shaped ruby. Switch toBasic Shapes in theTools panel (in the same menu as thePolygon tool (Y)) and select the heart shape from thePerfect shapes drop-down list, which you can find in the Property Bar. Click and drag to create the heart andConvert it to Curves (Control-Q).Nowwe canmake it more rounded by selecting both side nodes with theShape tool (F10) and dragging them down a bit.


shape the heart base

Step 2

Let's form the inner part of our gem, using theComplex Star tool as we did previously. Form an even star and place it inside the heart, so that its lower points are touching the edges of the heart, but not crossing them.Convert the starto Curves (Control-Q)and thenselect the star points with theShape tool (F10), dragging them closer to the edges of the heart. Double-click to delete the unwanted nodes in the middle of the star edges, making the sides straight and thus expanding the center of the shape.


form the inner part of our star with the complex star 1

Here is how the base of our heart-shaped gem looks after we modify its middle part.


form the inner part of our star with the complex star 2

Step 3

Continue and color our ruby in sparkling shades of pink and red. Take theSmart Fill tool and paint the outer row of elements with a deep pinky red. Make the next row a bit lighter and, finally, fill the central part with pale pink.


color our ruby with pink and red

Step 4

Duplicate (Control-D) the heart shape on top of our gem and fill it with the same light pink as in the center of the gem. Make the new heart-shape a bit smaller and turn it into a highlight using theTransparency tool, thus creating a glass effect. Now we have a smooth and glossy heart-shaped ruby!


add a highlight with the transparency tool

3. Make a Rounded Sapphire in a Few Clicks

Now that the complex-shaped gems are finished, we have a couple of simple gems on the way. Let's shape them!

Step 1

Start forming the base of our sapphire with theEllipse tool (F7) by holding theControl key and forming an even circle. Take theComplex Star tool ,click and drag to create while holding theControl key to form an even star and set thePointsvalue to9in the Property Bar. Proceed by placing the created9-pointedComplex Starin the center of our circle. You can center both objects towards each other by selecting them both and thenAlign Centers Horizontally andVertically inObject > Align and Distribute orsimply by pressing theC key and theE key while both objects are selected to align the centers in the same way.

Delete the unneeded nodes inside the star with theShape tool (F10),thus forming a neat outlined base of our gem.


make a sapphire base with the ellipse tool and complex star

Step 2

Fill the sapphire with bright shades of blue, from darker blue at the edges to the lightest blue in the center. Add a smaller even circle on top of the gem and turn it into a gentle highlight with the help of theTransparency tool.


Fill the sapphire with bright shades of blue

Now we have a perfect glossy sapphire. Let's move to the next piece!


a perfect glossy sapphire

4. Shape a Chamfered Emerald From a Square

Step 1

Start by making an even square with the help of theRectangle tool (F6).Click and drag while holding down theControl key to constrain it to a perfect square. Keeping the shape selected, find the corner types in the control panel above and switch to theChamfered corners. Now you can set the corner radius to some value (140 pxin my case) and see how the corners change.


make a square base with Chamfered corners

Step 2

When you've found the desired size of your chamfered corners, go on and place an even9-pointed Complex Star in the center of our gem.Convert itto Curves (Control-Q) and adjust the position of its points with theShape tool (F10), so that they touch the square base, but not showing outside its edges.


place an even Complex Star in the center of our gem

Step 3

Color the gem with the help of theSmart Fill tool, applying emerald shades, moving gradually from darker to lighter green. Place another square with chamfered corners of a smaller size on top of our gem and make a glossy overtone using theTransparency tool.You can use theElliptical fountain transparencyby applying it from the Property Bar in order to make the gem more realistic and dimensional.


color the emerald in shades of green and apply elliptical transparency

You can switch between the fountain transparency modes in the Property Bar, trying various options. Let's apply theLinear fountain transparency to maintain the overall flat style of our gems.


apply the linear fountain transparency

Fantastic! Our precious gems are ready, and we can move to the next part of our tutorial.


Our precious gems are ready

5. Build Up a Seamless Pattern Using the Created Gems

Step 1

Deselect everything by pressing theEscape key a few times, or click on thePick tool and click in the white area off the page. Set the page dimensions to600 x 600 px from the controls on the Property Bar, making a square canvas with equal height and width. Move on and find theDuplicate distance option withX andY-axis values. Set theX-axis value to600 px andYto0 px.

Now place our sapphire on the left edge of the page, so that its center and the edge are aligned (set theHorizontalObject Position toX=0 px in the Property Bar). Keeping the object selected, pressControl-DtoDuplicateit to the opposite side of the page.


make a square canvas and duplicate the gem

Step 2

Let's do the same with the ruby gem, but this time we place it across the upper edge of the page. Set theVertical Object Position value toY=600 px in the Property Bar if you wish to align the center of the ruby with the edge of the page. Otherwise, just let any part of the ruby cross the edge. Deselect all objects and set theY-axisDuplicate distance value to-600 px and theX to0 px. Select the ruby andDuplicate (Control-D) it. This way we make the copy appear in the bottom part of the page.


duplicate the ruby forming a pattern

Step 3

Distribute our gems on the page, creating several copies of every element and changing their sizes to make our pattern more variable and rhythmic. Fill the blank areas between the stones with small circles, using theEllipse tool (F7). Fill the circles with gentle pastel shades of blue, pink, lilac and turquoise.


form the pattern and fill blank spaces

Step 4

Let's fill the background of our pattern with a neutral tint. With everything deselected, double-click theRectangle tool (F6) to place a rectangle of the size of our page right beneath all other objects. Fill it with a pale-yellow color, making our pattern feel warm and sunny.


fill the background with yellow

Step 5

Now we need to get rid of those parts outside the edges of the page. We could just crop or erase them, but this will delete the elements completely and we won't be able to edit the pattern any more. Let's choose another way and hide the objects!

Deselect all objects and double-click theRectangle tool (F6) to create another square. Find the created square in theObject Manager docker(Window > Dockers > Object Manager), click it with your right mouse button and selectFrame Type > Create Empty PowerClip Frame. You will see a crossed square, indicating an emptyPowerClip Frame.


create the PowerClip Frame

Step 6

Now select all our objects in theObject Manager, except the PowerClip Rectangle, by clicking on the first and the last group of objects while holding down theShiftkey. Click the right mouse button and findPowerClip Inside in the context menu. Right after that your mouse cursor will change to a thick black arrow. Click the empty space between the objects, thus placing them inside the PowerClip Rectangle. Voila! Now the unwanted pieces are hidden, but we can access them anytime by editing the PowerClip contents.


use PowerClip Inside to hide the elements

Step 7

You can check the position of your objects in the pattern byDuplicating (Control-D)it a few times. When you are happy with the result, use theExport (Control-E)function to save the pattern tile and use it outside the program.

However, let's continue tweaking our pattern. We have a couple more interesting and fun CorelDRAW features to explore! Move on and see how we can create a pattern fill and how to recolor our pattern in just a few clicks!


duplicate and export your pattern

6. Create a Pattern Fill and Recolor Your Pattern

Step 1

Select our PowerClip Rectangle andExtract Contents, revealing the hidden shapes. Head toTools > Create > Pattern Filland select theVector type of pattern in theCreate Pattern pop-up options window.

Now click your left mouse button and start dragging it, thus covering an area that you wish to turn into a pattern fill. Make sure you've enabled theObjects > Snap > Snap to Objects to get the needed object boundaries. We need to cover the whole page(600 x 600 px)without the elements which are outside the edges. Click theAccept button as soon as you've selected the desired piece, andSave yourPattern.


create pattern fill

Step 2

Let's apply our new pattern fill and see how it looks. Create a rectangle of an optional size and double-click theFill bucket icon in the bottom control panel to open theEdit Fill options window. Select theVector pattern fill,click the fill drop-down list, scroll down to then new fill we just created and double-click it to apply our gems pattern.

Here you can flip it horizontally or vertically, change the scale, and play with some other settings. In our case, let's set the size of our pattern fill to300 x 300 px.


apply our new pattern fill to a shape

Step 3

Now let's see how we can change the color of our pattern rapidly. Open theColor Styles docker inWindow > Dockers > Color Styles.Select our pattern elements, drag them to the new docker and drop to the area with the following description:Drag here to add color style & create a harmony, leaving the settings in the pop-up options window as default.


use the Color Styles docker

Step 4

Now we have all the colors grouped into separate palettes. Select the first group of turquoise shades, which refer to our emerald gem. Hold theShift key to select all the colors of a single group.

Then grab the slider inside the color wheel in theHarmony Editor section and rotate it, changing the color from turquoise to yellowish-green. You will see the colors of the emeralds change on our pattern in real time.


change the colors of the gems in the Harmony Editor

Do the same with other color groups, applying entirely new color combinations to our gems.


change the colors of the gems in the Harmony Editor  2

Step 5

We have one more element left to recolor: the square light-yellow background. Go toEdit > Find and Replace > Replace Objects. This will open theReplace Wizarddialog box with a variety of options. SelectReplace a color and clickNext.

Click on the Finddrop-down menu, select theEyedroppertooland pick the light-yellow color from our pattern background. Choose a pure white color in theReplace with color drop-down menu and clickFinish.

Finally, click Replace Allin the Find and Replacemenu that opens right after you close theReplace Wizard, and see our background change from yellow to white.


use the  the Replace Wizard to change colors

In this tutorial we've used only one feature of the Find and Replace Wizard, but it can also be used for a wide range of actions, such as replacing pen or text properties, and changing the color model or palette. It makes editing very convenient and versatile, allowing you to apply changes only to the selected object.


colors variations of the gems pattern

Congratulations! Our Seamless Pattern With Precious Gems Is Finished!

We've successfully created two colorful versions of the pattern, learning how to shape the gems with basic forms, how to recolor them, and how to unite them into an intricate seamless pattern. I hope you've discovered some handy tips and tricks while using various CorelDRAW tools and features. Feel free to use these techniques as a guide for creating your future illustrations. Good luck!

How to Introduce a New Color Pattern in Corel Draw

Source: https://www.krobknea.com/2015/04/design-and-recolor-flat-precious-gems.html

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