Requirement

All Fireworks versions.

Article

Final Product What You'll Be Creating


1. Path

Create a path with the Pen tool . This will be our rope.



Figure 1: Draw the shape of the rope

2. Text tool

Grab the Text tool and type some dots: Tahoma 20px Crisp Anti-alias



Figure 2: Text tool

3. Kerning

Make kerning (-25).



Figure 3: Kerning

4. Text to path

Attach text to path: Select both path and the text objects -Go to Text > Attach to path.



Figure 4: Adjust the Kerning

5. Linear Gradient

Change Fill to Linear gradient (#D1C098 --> #E9E1CF) Texture "Grain" 40% and Stroke to 1px./soft #CDC7BC



Figure 5: Linear Gradient

6. Live Filters

Add "Inner Bevel" live effect Edge=Smooth, Width=7, Contrast=70%, Softness=2, Angle=108, Button preset=Raised.



Figure 6: Live Filters

7. Curves

Add "Sharpen" and "Curves" live effects. See Figure below for Curves settings.



Figure 7: Special Effects

8. Done!

Now add shadow and further enhance composition. With Fireworks you can change the shape of rope at any time. Remember to have fun and experiment. My main goal is to teach you powerful and useful techniques, which you can develop further to achieve different (in most cases better) results.



Figure 8: The finished rope