Blending objects
CorelDRAW lets you create blends, such as straight-line blends, blends along a path, and compound blends. Blends are often used for creating realistic shadows and highlights in objects.
The highlights and shadows in the object on the right were created by using blends.
A straight-line blend shows a progression in shape and size from one object to another. The outline and fill colors of the intermediate objects progress along a straight-line path across the color spectrum. The outlines of intermediate objects show a gradual progression in thickness and shape.
After you create a blend, you can copy or clone its settings to other objects. When you copy a blend, the object takes on all the blend-related settings, except for their outline and fill attributes. When you clone a blend, changes you make to the original blend (also called the master) are applied to the clone.
Straight-line blends can be used to create graphics with a glass-like appearance. The rollover button (left) contains a blend of tightly overlapped blended objects.
You can fit objects along part or all of a path’s shape, and you can add one or more objects to a blend to create a compound blend.
The straight-line blend (top) is fitted to a curved path (bottom).
You can change the appearance of a blend by adjusting the number and spacing of its intermediate objects, the blend’s color progression, the nodes the blends map to, the blend’s path, and the start and end objects. You can fuse the components of a split or compound blend to create a single object.
This compound blend consists of three blends.
You can also split and remove a blend.
By mapping nodes, you can control the appearance of a blend. Two nodes on the polygon are mapped to two nodes of a star shape, showing a more gradual transition (bottom).
To blend objects |  |
. Select the first object, and drag over the second object. If you want to reset the blend, press Esc as you drag.
on the property bar. Click New path. Using the curved arrow, click the path to which you want to fit the blend.
on the property bar, and enable the Blend along full path check box.To copy or clone a blend | |
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Select the two objects you want to blend.
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Blend from
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You can also use the Eyedropper tool
 to copy a blend. For more information, see “To copy effects from one object to another.” |
To set the number of intermediate objects in a blend | |
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You can set object and color acceleration rates by clicking the Object and color acceleration button
 on the property bar and moving the corresponding slider. |
To set the distance between objects in a blend that is fit to a path | |
on the property bar.
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You can set object and color acceleration rates by clicking the Object and color acceleration button
on the property bar and moving the corresponding slider. |
To set the color progression in a blend | |
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You can’t create color progressions by using blended objects filled with bitmaps, texture, pattern, or PostScript fills.
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You can set how fast the object’s colors transform from the first to the last object by clicking the Object and color acceleration button
on the property bar and moving the corresponding sliders. |
To map the nodes of a blend | |
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Click a node on the start object and on the end object.
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To work with the start or end objects in a blend | |
on the property bar, and click Show start, or Show end.
. If you have selected the end object, click the Fuse end button 
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To change the blend path | |
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Click the path you want to use for the blend.
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, and drag a path’s node.
To split a blend | |
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Click the intermediate object at the point at where you want to split the blend.
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You can’t split a blend at the intermediate object that is immediately adjacent to the start or end object.
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To remove a blend | |
on the property bar.