DrawPlus X8 ® Quick Start Guide Simple steps for getting started with your drawing.
In this guide, we will refer to specific tools, toolbars and tabs. Use this visual reference to help locate them on the DrawPlus workspace.
This Quick Start Guide will walk you through the key stages in getting started with drawing a coffee cup logo in DrawPlus X8, inserting images, creating an animation and exporting your finished project. To install DrawPlus X8, insert the DrawPlus X8 program disc into your disc drive. The AutoRun feature automatically starts the setup process. Simply answer the on-screen prompts to install the program.
When you launch DrawPlus, the appears. The Startup Assistant allows you to: ● Create new drawings and animations from samples or from scratch. ● Open recent drawings. ● Access DrawPlus resources from Serif's Learn and News feeds, including videos, tutorials and articles. To access the Startup Assistant from an open drawing, choose from the Menu bar, then click . To draw in DrawPlus you'll need to create a new empty page of your chosen size. , click From the .
The Create New Drawing option lets you choose the type of page you want to start with. From the options pane, explore the categories for a variety of preset sizes and formats. Click to select a page layout thumbnail. Your page is displayed. 1. To the left of your drawing, on the Drawing toolbar, click .
2. Click on the page where you want the text to start. 3. Above your drawing, on the context toolbar, set the font, size, and other attributes. 4. Start typing. To enter the letter é use . Once added to the page, QuickShapes can be left as basic shapes. They can also be resized and morphed into additional shape variants, great for use as building blocks to create more complex designs. 1.
3. You can adjust the QuickShape's nodes to alter its appearance. Drag the bottom node to change the shape of the Quick Moon. 4. You can also rotate a shape from its corner handles. Click and drag with the mouse to rotate the object, and hold Shift to constrain the rotation to accurate measurements. By holding down Shift the half moon can be rotated 90 degrees. 1. Use the object. ( toolbar) to select your 2.
5. (Optional) Adjust the Opacity slider to control the object's opaqueness. 1. At the left of your screen, from the . toolbar, click the 2. (Optional) From the context toolbar above your page, select a Line Colour, Width, or Line Style. Increase the Smoothness to 100% for smoother lines and the Line Thickness to 5pt for a punchier effect. 3. Click and drag on the page to draw. 4. With the line selected using the , under the choose a pressure profile that tapers off at the end to add a finishing touch.
1. At the left of your screen, from the . toolbar, click 2. Hold Shift to constrain the to a straight line, then click and drag across to create a line. 3. From the toolbar, select the . 4. Hover over the middle of the line; the cursor will change and you can then drag the line out to produce a curve. 1. To make the cup outline look more stylized, we can use the to select both the Quick Moon shape and the top line that form the shape of the cup.
2. With the top line selected, a pressure profile that tapers off at both ends can be chosen on the tab. It's easy to paint creative brush strokes directly onto the page . with the 1. Select the toolbar. from the 2. To the right of your screen, from the tab, click on a brush thumbnail to select it, for example . 3. Click-drag to draw a brush outline on your page, then release the mouse button to create the brush stroke. Repeat this procedure to create steam wisps appearing out of the cup.
1. Select the object you want the style applied to. 2. To the right of your screen, from the tab, select a preset category from the drop-down list. 3. Click on a styles thumbnail to apply it to your object. The effect can be applied to other objects by selecting them and clicking on the style. 4. Colour can also be applied to selected objects. Select an object and, with the Fill swatch active, choose a colour from one of the Swatch Palettes.
1. At the top left corner of your bar, select screen, on the . 2. At the bottom left of the Picture Export dialog, click for a side-by-side comparative preview of different graphic file formats and their exported file sizes (displayed above each image). 3. Click on a previewed picture to select it for export or to change its properties. 4. From the drop-down list, select the file format of your exported picture. 5. (Optional) Specify the image's size or resolution (DPI).
1. To the left of your screen, on the toolbar, click . 2. From the dialog, locate and select your picture, . then click 3. Click and drag anywhere on the page to insert your picture. 4. Above your selected picture, on the context toolbar, click . 5. Paint over areas you would like to be discarded from your picture. 6. At the bottom right of Cutout Studio, click to review your cutout, and click once you're happy.
1. From the , click . 2. Click New Keyframe Animation. A dialog appears, which lets you choose the type of page you want to start with. 3. Select a page layout thumbnail. 1. At the bottom-right of your screen, open the tab. 2. Click to expand the ClipArt folder, select the Animals category, then drag the Bumblebee onto the page. Resize from the corner handles if needed. 3. Towards the bottom of your screen, from the tab, click . 4. In the Number of keyframes box, enter ‘10’ and click 5.
6. From the tab, click . Your bumblebee animates along a linear path. 7. From the tab, select every second keyframe and move the bee up or down to create a wavy path. Click again to see the bumblebee fly along an undulating path. 1. At the top left corner of your screen, on the . bar, select 2. From the dialog, enter a , then select a , and for your animation video. 3. Click , then once the export is complete, click from the dialog to view your animation video.
: Bonus vector fills. Inclusion in future promotions and discount offers. To register DrawPlus, run the software and, when prompted by the registration screen, follow the on-screen instructions. To manually start registration, click Help > Registration Wizard from within the software. Visit community.serif.com to have your questions answered by the Serif community.
