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ChazInMT · 08-28-2011, 04:05 AM

OK, In Word, I "Insert Picture" which gets me either a car or a template say onto the word doc, I usually change my page layout to landscape.

Then I "Insert Shape" and the one I use is the freeform. It has the icon looking like this.

I start by clicking on what I want to trace at the major direction change points, or corners. In the case of the template, I make a triangle like this.

Now the real fun happens, this is cool, if you right click while the cursor is on the triangle, it has an "Edit Points" option, and you then get corner points to play with. If you cursor on a point, and left click, you get what I call "Arc Whiskers" that appear, if you grab the box on the end of the whisker, and drag it about, you control the line and can duplicate the shape perfectly. It takes practice, and you have to manipulate both ends of the arc line, but once you get the hang of it, it is super easy to trace a picture.

And here's what I end up with, the original picture, with the new red Shape on top, now you can copy and paste the shape onto any other picture you insert into a word doc.

Tips for managing the shape, you want to right click it and under "More Layout Options" or "Format Shape" you want to find the Size menu and select "Lock Aspect Ratio" this way when you grab a corner point, it will enlarge or shrink the aero template without distorting it. If you grab a side or top point, it will mash it up, remember, the undo icon is your friend here, if you screw up, just undo last change. Also, play with all the format features to change colors and sizes and such. Don't be afraid to goof around a lot to learn all the tools, right click on stuff and see what options you are presented with.

Now to "Publish" my work, I save the item as a .pdf in acrobat, then I use acrobat to save it as a .jpg. Then I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager to crop the jpg file and to reduce its size if need be. I use TinyPic to upload my photos to the web, and insert the links here in the message so I don't run into any of the issues with uploading pics to Ecomodder since they are quite picky about file sizes & such.

I know this is not complete, I hope it is a simple guide to get you started in the right direction towards creating illustrations. As I said before, by using the tools available, I was able to design full size parts and have them printed on a large format printer with a 3 foot wide roll of paper that was 6 feet long that had my parts on them, all I needed to do was trace these onto other sheets of paper (I used tyvek since having been a builder it was lying about) than I cut the tyvek and traced the outline onto plywood. I was only 1/8" off over 5 feet. Scaling is critical to accomplish this.

Anyway, get started trying to mess with this, if you have questions ask, I'll try and help.

08-28-2011, 04:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
ChazInMT Aero Deshi Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Vero Beach, FL Posts: 1,065 MagMetalCivic - '04 Honda Civic Sedan EX Last 3: 34.25 mpg (US) Thanks: 430 Thanked 669 Times in 358 Posts	OK, In Word, I "Insert Picture" which gets me either a car or a template say onto the word doc, I usually change my page layout to landscape. Then I "Insert Shape" and the one I use is the freeform. It has the icon looking like this. I start by clicking on what I want to trace at the major direction change points, or corners. In the case of the template, I make a triangle like this. Now the real fun happens, this is cool, if you right click while the cursor is on the triangle, it has an "Edit Points" option, and you then get corner points to play with. If you cursor on a point, and left click, you get what I call "Arc Whiskers" that appear, if you grab the box on the end of the whisker, and drag it about, you control the line and can duplicate the shape perfectly. It takes practice, and you have to manipulate both ends of the arc line, but once you get the hang of it, it is super easy to trace a picture. And here's what I end up with, the original picture, with the new red Shape on top, now you can copy and paste the shape onto any other picture you insert into a word doc. Tips for managing the shape, you want to right click it and under "More Layout Options" or "Format Shape" you want to find the Size menu and select "Lock Aspect Ratio" this way when you grab a corner point, it will enlarge or shrink the aero template without distorting it. If you grab a side or top point, it will mash it up, remember, the undo icon is your friend here, if you screw up, just undo last change. Also, play with all the format features to change colors and sizes and such. Don't be afraid to goof around a lot to learn all the tools, right click on stuff and see what options you are presented with. Now to "Publish" my work, I save the item as a .pdf in acrobat, then I use acrobat to save it as a .jpg. Then I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager to crop the jpg file and to reduce its size if need be. I use TinyPic to upload my photos to the web, and insert the links here in the message so I don't run into any of the issues with uploading pics to Ecomodder since they are quite picky about file sizes & such. I know this is not complete, I hope it is a simple guide to get you started in the right direction towards creating illustrations. As I said before, by using the tools available, I was able to design full size parts and have them printed on a large format printer with a 3 foot wide roll of paper that was 6 feet long that had my parts on them, all I needed to do was trace these onto other sheets of paper (I used tyvek since having been a builder it was lying about) than I cut the tyvek and traced the outline onto plywood. I was only 1/8" off over 5 feet. Scaling is critical to accomplish this. Anyway, get started trying to mess with this, if you have questions ask, I'll try and help.