Auto Shapes are art with JavaScript logic
attached. They include additional diamond-shaped control points that let
you alter visual properties, such as corner roundness, corner shape, or
the number of points in a star. Most of these control points also have
tooltips that describe how they affect the Auto Shape. You will now add
an Auto Shape as a background for the watch thumbnails.
1. | Choose
the Chamfer Rectangle tool from the Vector section of the Tools panel
(click and hold the Rectangle tool to see the other tools available).
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2. | Drag
out the shape so it covers the width and height of the four watch
thumb-nails. When you release the mouse, you’ll see the yellow diamonds
in each corner. You’ll also see that the shape takes on the properties
of the last vector shape, which can make for a pretty busy-looking
design.
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3. | If necessary, change the Fill setting from Pattern to Solid.
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4. | Set the fill color to #343434, matching the gray background of the watches.
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5. | Make sure the Stroke category is set to None.
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6. | Click
on one of the four yellow corner diamonds to toggle the corners of your
shape to other designs. Keep clicking until the chamfer shape returns.
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7. | Resize
the total shape by clicking and dragging the fifth yellow diamond,
located near the bottom right of the shape. Set the dimensions to 390
pixels wide by 100 pixels high.
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8. | In the Layers panel, rename the new shape sample background and adjust the stacking order so that the sample background is below the watches.
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9. | Use
the Pointer tool to reposition the shape so it is centered under the
watch group. Smart Guides will help you align the objects. Toggle the
shape’s visibility off if needed.
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10. | From
the Stroke Category menu, choose Pencil > 1-Pixel Soft and set the
stroke color to black (#000000). Your final design should be similar to
this.
Tip
The Auto Shapes panel (Window > Auto Shapes)
contains a collection of even more complex shapes. You can download
other shapes from the Adobe Exchange at www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/. You will have to sign up first, but membership is free.
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11. | Save and close the file. |
