re-Building of the Pyramids - Page 5
January 19, 2001
The triangle is the last geometric shape we're going to look at, and
what can you build out of a triangle but a pyramid?
Again, we'll use the Preset Shape tool, (triangle this time),
and a Gradient fill. The Tool Options dialog box will have the
same settings as for the cylinder; the gradient will be set to an
angle of 0, the style will be Linear as before. (Uncheck Invert
Gradient if it's still checked). The Stroke (top) Active
Style box should be set to Null. The foreground color should
be set to a dark color, the background color to a lighter shade
of the same color.
Since you'll need to draw two triangles of equal size, it may
help to turn the grid back on. Draw the first triangle with the
gradient, then switch the background Active Style Box from
Gradient to Solid Color (the brush). Switch the foreground and
background colors by clicking on the small arrow between them.
Draw your second triangle,
placing it's bottom line even with the first triangle. If the second
triangle is resting on top of the first, slide it to the right so
that just the bottom points meet.
With the Object Selector Tool, hold the shift key in while dragging
the top of one of the triangles
to the center grid line between the two triangles. Do the same with
the other triangle.
Ok, so now we've got a big two toned triangle. How do we make the
pyramid? Remember on the cube how you pulled the bottom edge up to
give the face of the cube perspective? We do the same here. With
one of the triangles selected, press in the shift key and drag the
outside bottom handle up. Repeat for the other side, making sure to
get the two corners even.
For the shadow create a third triangle,
using black and white as your gradient. Be sure to start on the
background so the shadow will go to it's own layer and not sit on
top of your pyramid. You'll need to use the
Linear gradient with the angle set to 0. Either switch the foreground
and background colors back, or put a check in the Invert Gradient
box in the Gradient dialog box.
Once the third triangle is created, position it so that it's bottom
line is even with the two outer points of the triangle. Drag the
top center handle to the right while holding in the shift key.
Still holding the shift key, drag the bottom right handle to the
right until the edge of the shadow meets the edge of the pyramid.
Now drag the top right handle down so that the shadow doesn't
appear to be pointing up into the air. Soften your edges with
the Retouch tool and you're done!
Now, I promised you another technique for a cone, didn't I. This
is really simple to do. Using a Linear gradient, draw a triangle.
Add an ellipse to form the bototm of the cone, and add a drop
shadow as you did for the cylinder.
There's your basic geometric shapes. There's no one way to
create 3D, any method that produces an end result is good. Play
around and see what you can discover on your own!
Have fun!
Of Cylinders and Cones - Page 4
From Flat to 3D
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