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Fireworks Effects: Choosing is the Hard Part
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Variations on fill effects. Top to bottom: Impressionist,
Swish, Swish and Impressionist, Swish and Impressionist with different
settings.
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When we looked at Illustrator effects a few weeks ago, I promised
that Fireworks would follow, and here we are. I could go on about
how dedicated I am to this column that I would plod through this topic,
but I think I would soon be caught. Fireworks is just plain fun when
it comes to effects. The power is here to add great texture and color
to your graphics, since there are so many options to set effect parameters,
the very feature that makes it so much fun. Given enough time to practice,
anyone can come up with any texture or effect in any program. Fireworks
can let you get there a little ahead of the game though, since experimenting
is so easy.
The image at the left is a perfect example of what I mean. The top
rectangle has the Impressionist pattern fill, one of the built-in
patterns. The second rectangle contains a solid color treated with
the Swish texture, again a built-in selection. The third and fourth
samples combine the pattern and texture at different levels. I could
fill this page with variations on just these two fills. And that would
be before I changed the fill color, added a stroke, or did any freehand
effects adjustments.
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Identical fill with various bevel effects applied.
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I try not to think of the whole picture when it comes to textures
and effects in Fireworks – it is just too big. Take a look at
the rather overgrown buttons at the left (it is hard to illustrate
subtle changes at realistic sizes). The fill is Impressionist as above,
but this time an outer bevel effect has been added. The change from
one to the next is simply in the type of preset bevel chosen as stated
below each sample. No changes were made to angle, contrast, depth,
color or softness. You also have the option to set the style for the
bevel.
When you consider that any of the fill textures or patterns can be
used to create the initial button before any of the options described
above are added, you will start to realize that the combination possibilities
cannot be counted. You can make your own patterns and textures as
well. Getting the picture?
When you have your perfect effect created, you can then save it as
a style and have it available forever. Oh, I should mention that if
you need a place to start, or want a quick effect, Fireworks offers
preset styles, too.
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The Effect panel activated. Note the Fill tab,
the other command we will use a lot in this discussion.
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Before we move into the how-to for the effects, I want to talk a
little about terminology. I am using the word "effects"
as a generic label in this article. We are looking at the "effects"
you can create in Fireworks using both the Fill and Effects panels
(we will call on a few other features as well). I will make sure that
I am very specific with references to the Effects panel to reduce
confusion.
The Effect panel is shown at the left. Note that this same window
contains the Fill panel as well as other options. Just remember that
an "effect" may not necessarily be completed in the official
Effect panel.
Now, let's see what we can do with Fireworks. Hang onto your hat
... this is great stuff.
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 Wendy
Peck is a working Web designer and writer living in NW Ontario, Canada.
http://wpeck.com
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Next page
Fireworks Effects Tutorial Index
Fireworks Effects: Choosing is the Hard Part
Looking at the Basic Fill and Stroke Tools
Fancy Fills
Adding Live Effects
Enhance Your Designs with Styles
 
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