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Deconstructing FreeHand graphics Part 2: Draw a magnifying glass

Draw a magnifying glass

Drawing a magnifying glass in FreeHand involves combining some of the techniques you’ve already learned with some new ones. The steps for this section are more detailed, but you might try to use only the description in the paragraphs to see if you can use the techniques you’ve already learned. If you have trouble, start over following the steps carefully.

The rim of the magnifying glass is made of five complex shapes. Instead of drawing them, you can create all five shapes using path operations on the four ellipses and one rectangle that you draw as the basic rim and lens objects.


Draw the basic rim and lens objects
As you draw the basic objects, use the Navigation panel to name them. Later, you can use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to easily select specific objects. Begin by using the technique you learned for drawing the cup to create the basic shape of the metal rim of the magnifying glass. Draw two ellipses and a rectangle. Add an extra ellipse to represent the inside edge of the metal rim, and then duplicate that ellipse to create an ellipse to represent the edges of the lens.

1 Use the Ellipse tool to draw an ellipse.
2 With the ellipse still selected, choose Window > Panels > Navigation, and then enter Bottom for Name.

3 Choose Edit > Clone to create a duplicate of the Bottom ellipse, and then Shift-drag the clone to place it slightly above the Bottom ellipse.

4 Use the Navigation panel to name the new ellipse Top.
5 With Snap to Point off, use the Ellipse tool to draw a third ellipse just inside the edge of the upper ellipse.

6 Use the Navigation panel to name the ellipse Inner.
7 Use Edit > Clone to create a duplicate of the Inside ellipse, and then Shift-drag the clone to place it about halfway between the Top and Bottom ellipses.

8 Use the Navigation panel to name the duplicate ellipse Middle.
9 With Snap to Point on, use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle that snaps to the leftmost point of the Top ellipse and the rightmost point of the Bottom ellipse.

10 Use the Navigation panel to name the object Rectangle.

 
Create the Basic Rim object
Use the shapes you drew as guides to create the final objects of the rim and lens. To do this, you will clone some of the objects, and then use unions, intersections, and joins to create the final objects you need. Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to make sure you select the correct objects

Create the Basic Rim object by cloning the Top, Bottom, and Rectangle objects and combining them to create the Basic Rim. Clear the leftover Rectangle object.

1 Choose Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics, and then click the Select tab. Use the following settings in the Select tab:
Choose Object Name in the Attribute pop-up menu.
Choose Document in the Search In pop-up menu.
Select Add to Selection.

2 Enter Top in the object name search box, and click Find.
3 Enter Bottom in the object name search box, and click Find.
4 Enter Rectangle for the object name search box, and click Find.
5 To create a single object from the three selected objects, choose Edit > Clone, and then choose Modify > Combine > Union.

6 Use the Navigation panel to name the object Basic Rim.
7 Delete the remaining copy of the Rectangle object.

 
Create the Lens object
To create the lens, clone the Inner and Bottom ellipses. Use Modify > Combine > Intersect to create the Lens object. You won’t need the Bottom ellipse again, so delete it.

1 Choose Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics, and then click the Select tab. Use the following settings in the Select tab:
Choose Object Name in the Attribute pop-up menu.
Choose Document in the Search In pop-up menu.
Select Add to Selection.
2 Enter Inner in the object name search box, and click Find.
3 Enter Bottom in the object name search box, and click Find.
4 To create a single object, choose Edit > Clone, and then choose Modify > Combine > Intersect.

5 Use the Navigation panel to name the object Lens.
6 As before, use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Bottom ellipse, and then delete it.

 
Create the final Rim object
To allow the lens to show through the rim object, use the Lens object to cut a hole in the Basic Rim object. You will need the Lens object later, so start by cloning the Lens and the Basic Rim objects, and then choosing Modify > Join. You won’t need the original Basic Rim object again, so clear it.

1 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Basic Rim and Lens objects.
2 To use the Lens object to cut a hole in the Basic Rim object, choose Edit > Clone, and then choose Modify > Join.

3 Use the Navigation panel to name the resulting object Rim.
4 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Basic Rim object, and then clear it.

 
Create the Inside Top object
The inside of the rim is comprised of two objects: one that appears above the lens, and another that appears behind it. To create the Inside Top object, clone the Rim and Inner objects, and then choose Modify > Combine > Intersect.

1 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Rim and Inner objects.
2 To create the inside of the metal rim, choose Edit > Clone, and then choose Modify > Combine > Intersect.

3 Use the Navigation panel to name the resulting object Inside Top.

 
Create the Inside Bottom object
The part of the inside rim that appears below the lens covers up the lower half of the Inside Top object. Create it by cloning the Inside Top and Middle objects, and then choosing Modify > Combine > Intersect. You won’t need the Middle ellipse again, so clear it. Don’t delete the Lens object. Instead, select it and choose Modify > Arrange > Bring to Front.

1 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Inside Top and Middle objects.
2 To create the portion of the inside rim that appears beneath the lens, choose Edit > Clone, and then choose Modify > Combine > Intersect.

3 Use the Navigation panel to name the resulting object Inside Bottom.
4 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Middle ellipse, and then clear it.
5 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Lens object, and then choose Modify > Arrange > Bring to Front.

 
Create the Edge object
The final piece of the metal rim is the top Edge object. Form it by selecting the Top and Inner ellipses, and then choosing Modify > Join.

1 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Top and Inner ellipses.
2 To create the upper edge of the rim, choose Modify > Join.

3 Use the Navigation panel to name the resulting object Edge.

 
Fill the objects
Complete the illusion of depth by filling the pieces of the metal rim with linear gradients, using the appropriate color swatches. Fill the Inside Bottom object with the Lens Gold Shadow swatch on the left and the Lens Gold Highlight swatch on the right. Fill the Inside Top object with Gold Shadow on the left and Gold Highlight on the right. Fill the Rim object with Gold Highlight on the left and Gold Shadow on the right. Finally, fill the Edge object with a basic fill, using Gold Highlight as the swatch.

1 Select the Inside Bottom object, and use the Fill inspector to fill the object with a linear gradient at an angle of zero degrees.
Note: For more information on using the Fill inspector, see the appropriate section in FreeHand Help.
2 Choose the Lens Gold Shadow swatch for the left side of the gradient, and the Lens Gold Highlight swatch for right side.

3 Select the Inside Top object, and use the Fill inspector to fill the object with a linear gradient at an angle of zero degrees.
4 Choose the Gold Shadow swatch for the left side of the gradient, and the Gold Highlight swatch for right side.

5 Select the Edge object and apply the Gold Highlight swatch.

6 Select the Rim object, and use the Fill inspector to fill the object with a linear gradient at an angle of zero degrees.
7 Choose the Gold Highlight swatch for the left side of the gradient, and the Gold Shadow swatch for right side.

 
Add magnification to the Lens object
Fill the Lens object with a lens fill, using a 2X magnification setting.

1 Use Edit > Find and Replace > Graphics to select the Lens object.
2 Use the Fill inspector to apply a Lens fill. Use the following settings in the Fill inspector:
For fill type, select Lens.
For lens type, choose Magnify.
For magnification, enter 2.
Deselect Objects Only, Centerpoint, and Snapshot.

Note: You may not see the effect of the lens fill until you place the final magnifying glass drawing over another object.


Draw the metal rod
The handle of the magnifying glass is made of two cylinders, each made the same way as the cup. The first cylinder represents the metal rod. As when drawing the cup, draw two ellipses and a rectangle to create the cylinder, and then choose Modify > Combine > Union to make a single object.

1 Use the Ellipse tool to draw a small ellipse.
2 Choose Edit > Clone to create a duplicate of the ellipse, and then Shift-drag the clone to place it below the first one.

3 With Snap to Point on (View > Snap to Point), use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle that snaps to the leftmost point of the upper ellipse and the rightmost point of the lower ellipse.

4 To create the metal rod object, select the two small ellipses and the rectangle, and choose Modify > Combine > Union.

 
Create the wooden handle
Create the wooden handle by scaling and copying the metal rod object. Add an ellipse at the bottom to make the end of the wooden handle.

1 Select the metal rod object and choose Modify > Transform > Scale. Use the following settings in the Transform panel:
Select Uniform.
Enter 200 for the scale percentage.
Enter 1 for Copies.
Deselect Strokes.

2 To create the wooden handle object, click Scale.

3 Shift-drag the wooden handle object down until only the top of it overlaps the bottom of the metal rod object.

4 With Snap to Point off, use the Ellipse tool to draw a small ellipse just inside the edge of the bottom of the wooden handle object.

 
Fill the handle objects
Fill the small ellipse with the Handle Shadow swatch. Fill the wooden handle object with the Handle Shadow swatch on the left and the Handle Highlight swatch on the right. Fill the metal rod object with the Gray swatch on the left and the White swatch on the right.

1 Apply the Handle Shadow swatch to the small ellipse.

2 Select the wooden handle object, and use the Fill inspector to fill the object with a linear gradient at an angle of zero degrees.
3 Choose the Handle Shadow color swatch for the left side of the gradient, and the Handle Highlight color swatch for right side.

4 Select the metal rod object, and use the Fill inspector to fill the object with a linear gradient at an angle of zero degrees.
5 Choose the Gray color swatch for the left side of the gradient, and the White color swatch for right side.

 
Finish and place the magnifying glass
Finish the magnifying glass by grouping the objects, rotating them as necessary, and placing them on the grid. Start by grouping the small ellipse, the metal rod, and the wooden handle objects. Double-click the group to display its transform handles, and rotate the group until the angle matches that of the magnifying glass in the sample image. Drag the group to where the left side of the metal rod appears to meet the gold rim of the magnifying glass. Finally, group all of the objects of the magnifying glass.

1 Select the objects that form the metal rod and handle, and then choose Modify > Group.
2 Double-click the group to display its transform handles.
3 Place the pointer near the outside of the lower right transform handle and drag to rotate the group until it matches the angle of the handle in the sample image.

4 Drag the group such that the end of the metal rod appears to meet the gold rim of the magnifying glass.

5 Use the Stroke inspector to remove the stroke (if any) from all of the magnifying glass objects.
6 Place the magnifying glass on the grid in the approximate location in the sample image.

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