Is there an easy way in Corel12 to outline an object? I mean, I have some clip art and it engraves wonderfully but I also want it to cut the outer most perimeter (for ornaments, hangtags, placecards, etc.) so the outline wants to follow the clipart outline. Hints? Thanks.
You will need to use the bezier and shape tools to create a vector outline around the object you want. The help files will guide you through this process.
Using the trace function will not create and exact outline of the original object and this will also require your having to make adjustments to the created outline manually with the bezier and shape tools anyway.
I do this all the time, sometimes for fairly complicated shapes which I want to cut around an image that has been printed out on cardstock… One way to do it is to first have the art in a program like photoshop. Create a mask by filling or dragging the magnetic pen tool around the edge. Then use the create path command. Then export the path to Adobe Illustrator and import into Corel. Make sense?
In CorelDRAW if you already have the object you can give it an outline very easily.
With the “pick tool” selected, move the cursor to the object you desire to have the outline and click on it. Then the object will be highlighted. Now move the cursor to the color pallet and RIGHT click on the color you wish the outline to be. You are done. A cut on the laser will necessitate the outline to be a hairline which is the default in my system. If you want to make the border wider, move the cursor to the bottom right and you should find an icon that looks like a ink pen head. Double click on that and it will bring up an option box where you can change the border to your heart is content. This will make an outline of each individual object.
If you want to cut around the entire group of objects, under options, click on the “select all” (short cut “Cntrl A” and “copy and paste” in place. With the newly pasted set of object you can “weld” them together and this will give you the outer border and you can now assign border options as explained above for individual objects.
Hope this is clear. It is actually easier than what it sounds. Try with two or three objects (rectangles and circles which overlap and are of different colors) until you get the feel if you are not comfortable with a complex object as a beginning point.