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  The illustration application Corel Draw forms the principal part of the CorelDraw graphics suite. Draw's prominent features include vector graphics, three dimensional (3D) effects such as perspective and shadows, and text editing and layout tools. Version 11 of Corel Draw allows users to create reusable graphical objects, and define shapes by specifying only three points.
  
  

Freehand Drawing

• The Freehand tool allows users to draw curves by dragging the mouse pointer across the screen. Users modify a completed curve by double-clicking it, then dragging nodes, or points, to a new location. The flow of the curve through a particular node can be edited by manipulating the node's control handles, which appear as arrows leading out from the node.
  
  Curves made by the Freehand tool can be rotated and resized by dragging the handles surrounding the curve. Users can change the thickness of the curve's outline by selecting an entry from a drop-down list on the Properties toolbar. Users typically convert curves to shapes, which can then be filled with color. They make shapes from the curves by ensuring that the curve is closed. Users close curves by linking the last curve segment to the first.
  
  To apply color to a shape, users select the shape, choose one of the fill tools from the toolbox, and then click on a color from a palette.
  
  

Adding Drop Shadows

• Corel Draw's Drop Shadow tool allows users to simulate shadows for images and shapes. Shapes with these shadows appear three-dimensional, hence more visually appealing. Users apply the shadow tool by first selecting an object to place the shadow under; they create the shadow by clicking the toolbox's "Drop Shadow" tool. They click the shadow's center, then drag out to form the shadow.
  
  The shadow's shape and fill properties can be adjusted with slider controls on the shadow itself, and with controls on the Properties toolbar. Shadows can be separated from the objects they're linked to by applying the "Arrange" menu's "Break Apart" item.
  
  

Adding a Glossy Effect

• Adding a glossy effect to an existing graphic is another activity for creating the illusion of 3D depth. Users first add a shape that obscures the existing graphic. They then apply the transparency tool to the obscuring shape, and manipulate the transparency's controls to change the transparency amount and color distribution. The resulting image appears as a shiny area on the underlying graphic. The new color gradations this shiny area adds to the underlying graphic give a sense of greater depth to the graphic.