Comic Life: Curve Text, Outline Letters and Put Images inside Them.

A comic showing what you can do.

Readers often ask how to curve text in Pages or how to outline the letters. Filling letters with images is another design trick popular with the readers of this blog.

I’ve mentioned several times here Comic Life, a graphic and layout programme from Plasq.com. 

It is designed to put together comic strips with graphic images or photos in various layouts and add captions and speech bubbles to the images.

Comic Life has a colourful and joyful interface and is very easy to use. It’s tools, menus and techniques are very similar to iWork’s. There is a familiar Inspector and many icons in the Toolbar are the same as in iWork. If not they are easy to understand. If you are already comfortable with iWork it will take no time for you to start using Comic Life straight away, simply by following prompts and clicking around.

Full completed designs can be exported to a number of popular formats, including PDF, ePub, JPEG and PNG. And elements of Comic Life designs, such as chunks of text or text and graphics can be copy-pasted into iWork projects.

Comic Life may look like child’s play but it has a number of powerful features not available in iWork. Here is what you can find in Comic Life 2.2.6 that can be useful in iWork projects.

  

1. Curving text.

Text can be curved by dragging blue handles of the selected text box. Click on Lettering in the window at the bottom of your document and drag it to a comic panel.

2. Outlined text.

Text in templates is already outlined. Change the number and colour of the outlines in the Graphic Inspector under Stroke.

3. Colour-filled typography.

Letters and other typographical symbols can be colour-filled. Many come with gradient (changing) colour. Choose either gradient or solid colour fill in Graphic inspector by clicking in the colour well and then in the colour palette. Click on the comic panel to choose a background colour for the panel.

4. Image inside text.

If you want to put an image inside letters, go to Graphic Inspector and choose Image from the Fill drop-down menu. Drag an image from iPhoto or from the Desktop into the image well. It will fill the letters. Here, I’ve used the same apple photo that’s in the graphic panel and favicon of this blog.

There is much more of course. Comic Life is a fun and useful programme that will complement whatever you do in iWork.

Comic Life retails for $29.99 on Plasq.com and from Mac App Store. 

More Runners Drawings.

I've made a few more runners, this time in colour and featuring both a man and a woman. All drawings are a combination of lines drawn with the Pages Draw tool (or Pen).

The brown colour is Cayenne and the grey is Steel from Crayons in Colour Viewer. The blonde woman's hair is a slightly modified Banana, and the dark haired woman's hair is Licorice.

The colour of the shadow in some drawings is a real human skin colour I picked off a photograph. The background rectangle is also coloured with varying shades of human skin off a photo (Graphic Inspector > Advance Gradient Fill > Radial Gradient Fill.)

All designs ©Alexander Anichkin. Contact the editor if you'd like to commission one like this.

 

How to draw an arrow with two clicks.

When you want to point out a detail in the drawing or a photo, you can do it with two clicks of the draw tool. After you've finished, make an image of the drawing or the photo with the arrow.

It can look like this.

This is how to make the arrows:

1. Choose draw tool from the shapes menu. Make a line in two clicks. Drag the mouse around after each click to make line curving.

2. In Graphic Inspector click in the colour well and choose colour.

3. Click on line thickness arrows to set the thickness of the line.

4. From endpoints menu choose an arrowhead style. 

5. Drag the line’s handles to make it point to the object or detail you want to point out. 

6. Drag curving propellers to curve the line.

7. Duplicate the line and edit the new line to point to another object or detail. Repeat if you need more lines.

Read more in my new book 'iWork for Mac OSX Cookbook' (2012), follow me on Twitter at iworkinpages, like my page I Work in Pages on Facebook and add me to your circles on Google+

A man and a woman: how to show gender in logos.

I was working on a logo design this morning and thinking: how can I indicate the gender in the simplest of ways. I mean, without references to the obvious differences in the attributes of sex.

This is an idea that came to me when I was just staring at the Shapes drop-down menu. For the man's head, use Rectangle. For the woman's, use the Quote Bubble.

The body shape can stay the same, but the square gives it an immediate 'masculinity' effect. Rotate the Quote Bubble's small spike to top right, it will look like a pony-tail and give the shape a 'feminine' effect.

Simple and effective!

  This is a quick draft in low resolution png format. If you want to order a similar design, please contact the publisher.

Minimalist Nude (3). Adobe Illustrator's Tutorial.

In this video tutorial from the SewHeidi web-site (via YouTube) a fashion designer shows how to use Adobe Illustrator's tools to draw the sketch of a fashion model.

Palettes and bars are slightly different from those in iWork, but the actual process of adding editing points (anchors) and curving the lines of the body shape is the same.

Read Minimalist Nude (2) for a step-by-step tutorial and watch this video to have an idea of how it works.

Minimalist Nude 2 (drawing pictures and logos)

Minimalist Nude

A few weeks ago I published 'Nu Minimale', a picture made with iWork's draw tool. The tool sits as the last option in the Shapes menu. It is for creating free-drawn (custom) shapes.

In other words, it's an artist's tool. Look at it as a pencil, a piece of chalk, a brush or a stylus.

To create shapes click several times. Each click creates a dot and each next dot connects to the previous one with a line of default colour and thickness.

To make a closed shape, make a roundtrip with your clicks – and click on the first dot again. To make a line, double click on the last dot.

After the basic shape is created we can edit and modify it.

This is how it works.

Click one-two

Click two-three

Click three-four

Click four-five

Click five-six

And double-click on the last dot. 

Format>Shape>Smooth Path

This makes the line curving instead of angled. 

Choose a line style  

In Graphics Inspector, under Stroke click on Line and choose a line style from the drop-down menu.

Make curves

When you click on red dots – editing points, they turn white and show 'propellers'. Drag, pull out or push in to change the curves of the line. When you drag one propeller, the other one moves too. To move them independently, press Command while dragging. 

Curve the line until it resembles the curves of a body.

Watch an Adobe Illustrator's video tutorial to get the gist of how the curving function works. It's pretty much the same in iWork. 

See earlier post 'Nu Minimale'.

and have a look at 'Obama, Blues Brothers and Picasso'.

In this clip from Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' Gil stuns Paul with his deep understanding of avant-garde art:

The Dog. From Smooth to Wire-Haired (Changing the Shape's Outline)

Please read the article on how to draw Picasso's Dog here.

A reader writes:
Thanks for the tips on using the Bezier pen. I tried to make the jagged line, but was not successful, can you include any helpful hints? – Dawn


To change the outline of the shape (dog's coat) open Inspector and choose Graphic.


In Pages'08 there is only one suitable option – the first one in Graphic Inspector>Stroke>Picture Frame (the tope left one). 


Pages'09 greatly improved the choice of outlines, moving it from picture frames to lines: Graphic > Stroke > Line. Try whatever suits your project best. Here is what I got – all sorts of different breeds of Dachshund (read about them on wikipedia) from smooth short-haired to wire-haired. First, simple outline:

Next option, smudged line, more hair:

And a bit of avant-garde: 

And the outline curves fountain-pen-style:  

And a Japanese calligraphy style:

And a hairy wild dachshund:

And, finally, if you want to add colour, in Graphic inspector click on Colour Fill and on the colour well. When colour viewer opens choose colour (here it's Mocha from the box of crayons):

And remember, the same method can be used to 'write' exciting letters and numbers! Read these two articles on I Work in Pages:

Doodling Memorable Dates in Pages and Let's Design a Christmas Card in Pages

All images ©A.Anichkin

Read more in my new book 'iWork for Mac OSX Cookbook' (2012), follow me on Twitter at iworkinpages, like my page I Work in Pages on Facebook and add me to your circles on Google+ 

Picasso. The Dog. In One Line.

This is a copy of Picasso's famous drawing, The Dog (Le Chien). Not copy as in copy-paste, but as in a re-drawing of someone else's drawing, by hand, i.e. it's my original artwork. And you can try it too.

Smooth curve

I made it with the Pages' Draw Tool (pen) in one continuous line, beginning with the front paw and ending with the muzzle. I then added a picture frame (one of the jagged lines) to the image.

There are several tricks here involving curving the line. To see other articles on this technique search the curving lines in iWork Pages label (click on the label at the bottom of this post).

In this example one trick is crucial: changing the line from smooth curve to pointed angle. It comes in handy when you need to angle the line under the tail of the dog (the angle points inside the shape) and around the nose of the dog (the angle points outside the shape).

Here is how to do it:  

Nose: to change the smooth curve into the pointed angle select the editing point. Click on it to turn the red dot into the white circle with the red outline. Then double click on it – the rounded curve turns into the angle.

Pointed angle

Tail: in Pages when you make a Shape editable and its outline Smooth (Format>Shape>Make Editable and >Smooth Path) each editing point gets 'propellers' when selected. These are for changing the curve of the line. By default propellers point in opposite directions as in the Smooth curve pictures. When you drag one, the other also moves. To make the angled curve pointing inside under the dog's tail you need to move 'propellers' independently from one another. To do this press Command while dragging – that allows you to create an angled curve!

Smooth curve

Lump the Dachshund befriended Pablo Picasso and became his muse for years. The artist put him in many of his works. It's a touching story described in the book by David Douglas Duncan Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund's Odyssey".

I couldn't find a copyright-free image of Picasso's drawing, but you can see it, for instance here  and a photo of the great man himself with Lump here.

See also my copies of Picasso's Femme here and here.   

Read more in my new book 'iWork for Mac OSX Cookbook' 

Pointed angle

Follow me on Twitter at iworkinpages  

Like my page I Work in Pages on Facebook 

and 

add me to your circles on Google+ 

Add Arrows to Maps in Pages

There is a ready arrow shape in the Shapes drop-down menu.

Click to import. Arrows can be resized and rotated like any object. In Graphic Inspector change colour of the arrow and its ‘stroke’ – outline or frame.  and edit as suits your project. Drag the arrow into position on the map.

To give the arrow a curved look, go to Format>Shape>Make Editable and then Format>Shape>Smooth Path. The arrow now looks more like a mushroom, than an arrow. Double-click on those points where an angled/squared contour is needed, and get an arrow with a curving stem.

If you just want a thin arrow pointing to a particular spot on the map, use Draw Tool (last option in the Shapes menu). Click once, then again and double click on the second point. In Graphic Inspector set colour fill to ‘none’, choose Line in Stroke and add an arrow-shaped endpoint. Next, change thickness, colour etc. 

See another example and a more detailed how-to in this article: Arrows and call-outs: show yourself in a mass photo.

This post is Part Three of the popular tutorial D-Day Map: making maps, schemes and plans in Pages. Part Two is here. Read an earlier simple 10-step tutorial 'Maps in Pages'

Valentine Face: Drawing Wrinkles

Wrinkles show emotion: let's add a few to make our Valentine’s Droopey more expressive.

The simplest way of doing it is to draw a two point line with the Draw tool: click plus click and double click. Then make it editable and smoothen: Format>Shape>Make Editable and Format>Shape>Smoothen Path. Curve the line with ‘propellers’ on editing points. I used this method to draw the mouth.

To make more complex shapes that look like they were drawn by a felt-pen I used rectangles.

1. Insert Rectangle

Insert a rectangle, make it black, then make editable and smoothen path as above.

Squash using white square handles and curve using red editing points.

2. Make Editable and Smoothen

Work on a large rectangle first, because it’s difficult to edit small images. When you finish curving, check ‘Constrain proportions' box in Metrics Inspector and reduce size.

You need more than one shape for eyebrows and wrinkles. Don’t do them all from scratch again. Just duplicate (Command+D) the first shape as many times as you need. Then place them roughly on the face and rotate, flip and change size (all in Metrics Inspector or press Command and drag the shape’s ‘handles’). If you want to edit one or more shapes copy-paste it into a blank document, enlarge and make the changes, then copy-paste back onto the image.

3. Squash and curve

 The nose is a simple oval with gradient colour fill.

Print your finished Valentine to PDF, JPEG or PNG, put it on a card or attach to an email – send!

Read how to draw the heart and eyes in these previous posts and check out other Valentine's projects here and here.

Curving Lines and Shapes: Links List

Read how to make this apple here 

The Pages free Draw Tool has a lot of power which is easy to master. It is not just curving lines you can create with it,  with drawing tool you can do exactly what it says – draw. And 'write' too. In fact, you can create your own full alphabet in any language – and original cards and drawings. I have published several articles on various uses of the drawing tool.

Here is a list of posts about curving lines and irregular shapes:

Curving lines and shapes - make them in Pages

Card Design in iWork/Pages: A Complete 10-Step Tutorial

HNY 2011: Drawing Snowman and Robin
A Bit of Cheating: Designer's Tracing Paper

The Snowman: drawing and editing images in Pages 

Christmas graphics and clipart: a few easy tricks

Drawing letters and numbers in Pages: Happy New Year

Remembrance Poppy Designed in Pages 

Doodling memorable dates in Pages

Creating clipart and original shapes in Pages

'Thought Bubble': Edit Shape in Pages

How to add curving points to a custom shape

Arrows and call-outs: show yourself in a mass photo

Curving text in Pages: a suggestion

Doodles: Picasso's room

Jigsaw cutouts with Pages

Valentine: make your own in Pages

Yes, we can: drawing in Pages

Keeping your lines straight

How to design folders

Designing D-Day map in Pages

Maps in Pages

Please feel free to send me your own ideas, questions and links to what others do with Pages.

Curving Text In Pages with Comic Life

Working on a last-minute Father's Day project?  Create great original effects by combining the forces of Pages and Comic Life.

I wrote recently about using Comic Life application to make a 'thought bubble' for a Pages project. And before that about curving small chunks of text to create an attractive visual effect.

Now, Comic Life also offers a very easy way of curving text, outlining it with colour and frames and even gradient (changing) colour fill.

Go to Applications folder, find Comic Life, launch the application and open a new comic. Choose a panel, for instance, blank, click on 'Lettering' in the bottom left corner of the comic and drag the icon to the panel. The work window opens. Type in your text and click 'place lettering'.

Type Command+Shift+C to open the Colour Palette which is exactly the same as in Pages (and most other Mac applications). Change colours the way you want them to be. If you previously created custom colours and saved your favourite or brand colour sequences in the Colour Palette while working in Pages, they will show in Comic Life too. So, just click in the palette to use them in your curved text.

The same goes for the Font Panel. Type Command+T to open fonts and change to your favourite font.

Comic life is very easy and intuitive - you just click about to get a feel of what it can do. Drag and drop photos straight from your iPhoto albums, take photos with in-built camera and so on. And the accompanying creeking and screeching sounds are great fun!

Now, the snag is you can't just copy/paste Comic Life panel into Pages. Never mind, make a screenshot or 'Print' to iPhoto (Command+P and in PDF drop-down menu choose Save PDF to iPhoto) and then import into Pages.   

Mark from plasq.com has just emailed me (23 June 2010) to say that the latest version of Comic Life (1.5.3.) does allow copy/pasting straight into Pages. Select the curved text bit in Comic Life, copy it, switch to Pages - and paste. It works! The curved text pastes as PDF, so you can change dimensions, adjust height and width to fit with your Pages project. Thanks, people! Here's a quick stack of curved text I put into a blank Pages doc.

Apple has been bundling Comic Life with the basic software install that comes when you buy your Mac, but if you don't have it, download from Plasq.com.