Part 2: Creating Bevels with Transparency
1. Open the Fills Gallery in Xara. Using the rectangle tool, with the Ctrl key held down to constrain the rectangle to a square, create a square shape. Drop the Bitmap Fill onto the square:
2. Using the Shape Editor tool (it looks like a snake on the toolbar), select the L key, or use the straight line icon , create a trapezoid shape for the bevel. Fill the bevel shape with black, then select the Transparency tool. Set the Transparency type to Linear, and drag the tool over the bevel. You may want to experiment with the Opacity slider to get the best effect. Copy and Paste the shape, and rotate the bevel shape 90 degrees. Copy and paste the shape again, rotate the shape another 90 degrees, and change the fill to white. This will be the highlighted bevel for the top of the icon. Copy and paste the highlight, rotate 90 degrees. Drag all of the bevel pieces into position.
4. This is now a template. By selecting the original square, you can change the fill by simply dragging a new bitmap from the Fill Gallery.
