To draw the sky (for a sunny day), select
GT Shape tool in ellipse mode, set color #1 to white
and color #2 to blue, and both alphas to 0. Draw the fill from the point where you want the sun to be
such that the whole screen is covered in a white-to-blue gradient. Now select
circle and draw a filled circle for the sun.
Alternatively, draw a sun-less sky (e.g. a plain blue
background) then set color 1 to white. Draw a filled circle (the sun). Now
select the GT Shape tool in ellipse mode. With the
sun as the center, alpha1=0 and alpha2=255, tint in the light of the sun.
Clouds
To draw a cloud, spray the area with white using
spray gun then smoothen the area using the
smoother. I suggest you set
the tools thus : width=16, level=16. You can also use
effects brush in shadowing mode with white for the same effect, but the results are not the
best.
Ground
To draw the ground, paint or gradient fill the area, then use the
roughen option of the Roughen and Spray tool to roughen it. Use the
smoother in directional, horizontal mode to smoothen
the area and create perspective effects. When roughening, pay particular
attention to the near-ground. Done correctly, this method gives perfect results.
Lights
To create lighting effects, first draw the source of light (e.g.
sun, bulb), then, using the GT Shape
tool in ellipse mode and white and something close to white as color1 and color 2, tint in the light with
the source as the origin. It’s kinda difficult to explain, so just try it out.
Try the included
Lighting Effects sample if you have them.
Horizon
Did you know There’s a lot you can do with the
smoother tool in directional, horizontal mode,
especially if the horizon in your landscape is rough?
Stars
The GT Shape tool in sparkle mode is the obvious
first choice for this kind of work. Just set alpha1 opaque, alpha2 transparent, color 1
to white and color 2 to something you like.
Very neat stars can also be made by simply zooming in, selecting
the GT Shape tool in ellipse mode, then drawing two ellipses with the same center - one long
along the vertical, the other long along the horizontal. I recommend 3/6 ratios.
Done properly, the results are just heavenly...
Disco Lights
To create disco-lights, use the
Triangle List tool in Triangle Fan mode. Starting at
the light source, pull the tint down, then set points around this center while changing color and alpha
to draw the light fan. How cool is it? Like TOTALLY. Try the included Party
Lights samples under Lighting Effects if you have them.
3D Objects
Triangle Lists can make painting 3D objects real easy, as
long as you think in terms of shaded triangles and rectangles. For example, a
cube may be thought of as six quadrangles (the six faces), which in turn may be
thought of as twelve triangles...
