A client of mine has supplied me with a logo, but asked if I can change its
colours to fit in with a new website design.

I've managed to change most of it OK where solid colour is used, but not sure
how to easily change the colours on the edges to soften them.

I've posted the logo here to show what I mean. The darker colour on the right
is pretty much OK, but the orange edges are particularly bad.

Any pointers or with this would be much appreciated.

http://www.handprintdvd.co.uk/webdes.../lotuslogo.htm

Iain71 wrote:

> I've managed to change most of it OK where solid colour is used, but not sure
> how to easily change the colours on the edges to soften them.

Have you tried the Color Replace tool?

--
Linda Rathgeber - Adobe Community Expert
http://www.adobe.com/communities/experts/members/8.html
--------------------------------------------------------------

Its funny you should mention that. I did also try playing around with an actual
photo of a flower using the colour replace tool, and found that it was smarter
than I'd realised, in that it seemed to take gradients into account, and I got
surprisingly good results making the flower less pink :

http://www.handprintdvd.co.uk/webdes...tica/index.php

But when I tried it with the logo, it only wanted to literally change the
colours selected to the new colour.

Should this be easier than literally zooming right in and doing it on an
almost pixel by pixel basis?

You could learn how to use the pen tool and redraw the logo. That would give
you the most control because you'd end up with a scalable vector version of the
logo that would allow you to change the color at will with a single mouse click.

You could also ask the client to provide you with an AI or EPS version of the
logo (Adobe Illustrator) which is where it was probably originally designed.
Given you have access to illustrator you'd then be able to bring the logo into
Fireworks from there.

Joey - I would love to learn how to use the pen tool properly. Its not
something I've never needed that often, but when I have tried, I've always got
extremely frustrated by it. Can you recommend any good tutorials on it?

(Although I'll be the first to concede my patience has usually gotten the
better of me when I have tried in the past!)

I tried the Fireworks pen tool and got frustrated almost immediately!

Um...if you like, you can go to http://drop.io/FWpixlor and grab the file
lotus.ai. I traced your bitmap in Expression 3, which has a nice pen tool that
I know how to use. You can import this into Fireworks, clear the stroke, and
set the fill as you need. (Sorry that I don't have a direct link, I'm new to
using drop.io and don't know if it's possible. The file will expire 1 month
from last access.)

cheers!

Ahhh, you both need to learn the Bezier Pen! It's by far the most powerful
computer-aided graphic design tool at your disposal.

Here's the hard-core, math oriented explanation via Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9...puter_graphics

Here's an awesome tutorial that explains it in plain english via YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umoK473vTAY

The more you practice the easier it gets. But the logo that Lain posted would
be childs play for someone who has a solid Bezier pen technique.

(I'm not familiar with Expression 3 Pixlor, but I don't find the Fireworks pen
tool much different from Illustrator or Flash. Forgive me if you're already
familiar with the Bezier Pen).

Expression 3 evolved into Microsoft Expression Design 4 and it's a decent
vector editing program. Not as powerful as Illustrator, but it had natural
media strokes and transparency in the 90s when Expression 1 was released as the
vector-based companion to Painter by Fractal Design.

Expression has two pens. I used the standard pen, because it's easier for
tracing shapes. (I don't think the Fireworks pen is a Bezier pen, eitehr, as
the nodes are on the shape itself.) Each shape in the file I made is 21
points:seven node points and 14 handle points. The relationship of the handles
can be set one of four ways. Individual nodes can be selected and modified or
multiple nodes can be selected and modified. It's really quite straightforward
to use.

I've played with Illustrator some, but I know Expression better. I've also
played with Inkscape and Freehand a very tiny bit. When I tried the pen in
Fireworks earlier today, it didn't act as I expected. I went to move a node
slightly and suddenly I had extra points where I didn't want them and a big arc
that messed up the line I'd started. No other program I've used has ever
done that. So I gave up!

But, to be more fair, I gave it another try. I don't see a tool that allows me
to change a corner node into a node with handles, so that I can create a curved
line. Hmm...the files say to select the object, click on a corner point
with the pen tool and drag out handles. That works, but then I get new points
added to the shape starting from my last point. That's frustrating. Because the
tool is overloaded with functions, the program doesn't have any way of knowing
what it is I want it to do, I guess. And, I don't get the result I want,
either. It's a shame that Fireworks does not have a specific tool for node
conversion. Illustrator has one. I think Expression's drawing tools are closer
to Illustrator's then Fireworks's are.


I think i'll stick with Expression and export .ai files! :tounge;

Yeah, admittedly I only use the Firework pen tool for quick and easy drawing
work and masks. I save all of the heavy lifting for Illustrator.

I'm pretty sure though in fireworks that if you click and release a node it
becomes a corner node, and if you click and drag it gives you handles. It's
very odd though that you can't change the node type - quite a quandary!

I wonder if the Fireworks pen is closer to how Macromedia Freehand acted, or
if it's a unique little snowflake...

Thanks for the insight Pixlor!

pixlor wrote:
> Expression 3 evolved into Microsoft Expression Design 4 and it's a decent
> vector editing program. Not as powerful as Illustrator, but it had natural
> media strokes and transparency in the 90s when Expression 1 was released as the
> vector-based companion to Painter by Fractal Design.
>
> Expression has two pens. I used the standard pen, because it's easier for
> tracing shapes. (I don't think the Fireworks pen is a Bezier pen, eitehr, as
> the nodes are on the shape itself.) Each shape in the file I made is 21
> points:seven node points and 14 handle points. The relationship of the handles
> can be set one of four ways. Individual nodes can be selected and modified or
> multiple nodes can be selected and modified. It's really quite straightforward
> to use.
>
> I've played with Illustrator some, but I know Expression better. I've also
> played with Inkscape and Freehand a very tiny bit. When I tried the pen in
> Fireworks earlier today, it didn't act as I expected. I went to move a node
> slightly and suddenly I had extra points where I didn't want them and a big arc
> that messed up the line I'd started. No other program I've used has ever
> done that. So I gave up!
>
> But, to be more fair, I gave it another try. I don't see a tool that allows me
> to change a corner node into a node with handles, so that I can create a curved
> line. Hmm...the files say to select the object, click on a corner point
> with the pen tool and drag out handles. That works, but then I get new points
> added to the shape starting from my last point. That's frustrating. Because the
> tool is overloaded with functions, the program doesn't have any way of knowing
> what it is I want it to do, I guess. And, I don't get the result I want,
> either. It's a shame that Fireworks does not have a specific tool for node
> conversion. Illustrator has one. I think Expression's drawing tools are closer
> to Illustrator's then Fireworks's are.
>
>
> I think i'll stick with Expression and export .ai files! :tounge;
>
Use the Subselection tool for altering control points in an FW vector.
To extend the control arms for a control point, click k the point with
the Pen tool and drag away from the point. You should not get additional
points on the path by doing this.

In FW CS4, the Path panel gives you a lot of control over vector points
and paths. It's worth checking out.

--
Jim Babbage - .:Community MX:. & .:Adobe Community Expert:.
http://www.communityMX.com/
CommunityMX - Free Resources:
http://www.communitymx.com/free.cfm
---
.:Adobe Community Expert for Fireworks:.
Adobe Community Expert
http://tinyurl.com/2a7dyp
---
See my work on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_babbage/

Many thanks for the replies - that video on YouTube was great. Its actually not as complicated looking as I remembered.

And especially to Lorraine for tracing it - very much appreciated!

[q]Originally posted by: Newsgroup User
pixlor wrote:
>... When I tried the pen in
> Fireworks earlier today, it didn't act as I expected. I went to move a node
> slightly and suddenly I had extra points where I didn't want them and a big
arc
> that messed up the line I'd started. No other program I've used has
ever
> done that. So I gave up!
>
> But, to be more fair, I gave it another try. I don't see a tool that allows
me
> to change a corner node into a node with handles, so that I can create a
curved
> line. Hmm...the files say to select the object, click on a corner point
> with the pen tool and drag out handles. That works, but then I get new
points
> added to the shape starting from my last point. That's frustrating. Because
the
> tool is overloaded with functions, the program doesn't have any way of
knowing
> what it is I want it to do, I guess. ...
>
Use the Subselection tool for altering control points in an FW vector.
To extend the control arms for a control point, click k the point with
the Pen tool and drag away from the point. You should not get additional
points on the path by doing this.

In FW CS4, the Path panel gives you a lot of control over vector points
and paths. It's worth checking out.

--
Jim Babbage - .:Community MX:. & .:Adobe Community Expert:.
[/q]

On my first attempt with the Fireworks pen tool, I am not sure if I was using
the sub-selection tool or not when that bizarre arc showed up. The second time,
I was able to use that tool and move nodes around. No problem. However, I
definitely did get additional points after I dragged out handles from the node
I selected. The Fireworks pen tools are not very intuitive.

Yes, I'm planning to upgrade from my CS3 suite. But I expect I will stick with
Expression for vector drawing. Here are some features I use that Fireworks
doesn't have (Illustrator probably does, but I'm happy with Expression):
[bullet]On a curve point I can set the relationship between the handle
positions to one of four ways:
Symmetrical - handles are on a line and their lengths match
Smooth - handles on on a line, although their lengths may be individually
adjusted
Angle Locked - the angle between the handles remains fixed when one is moved,
lengths may be individually adjusted
Unconstrained - handles may be individually adjusted[/bullet]
[bullet]I have a command to smooth a path and the amount of smoothing can be
adjusted.[/bullet]
[bullet]I can change a natural media stroke into a shape.[/bullet]
I make use of these features. Fireworks' tool set is too basic for me, even if
I knew how to make it work right.