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Drawing flares


    The flare tool creates flare objects with a bright center, a halo, and rays and rings. Use this tool to create an effect similar to a lens flare in a photograph.

    Flares include a center handle and an end handle. Use the handles to position the flare and its rings. The center handle is in the bright center of the flare--the flare path begins from this point.

    TipFlares look best when drawn over existing objects.

    Illustration of components of a flare with these callouts: A. Rays B. Halo C. Center handle D. Rings E. End handle
    Components of a flare A. Rays B. Halo C. Center handle D. Rings E. End handle

To create a flare using default settings:

  1. Select the flare tool  the flare tool .
  2. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click where you want the flare to appear.

To create a flare using the Flare Options dialog box:

  1. Select the flare tool, and click where you want the flare to appear.
  2. Specify the options you want in the Flare Options dialog box, and click OK.

To reset a flare to the default values:

  1. Select the flare, and double-click the flare tool icon to open the Flare Options dialog box.
  2. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click Reset.

To draw a flare:

  1. Select the flare tool.
  2. Click to place the center handle of the flare. Then drag to set the size of the center, the size of the halo, and to rotate the angle of the rays.
  3. Before releasing the mouse, do any of the following:
    • Press Shift to constrain the rays to a set angle.
    • Press Up Arrow to add rings.
    • Press Down Arrow to remove rings.
    • Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag to hold the center of the flare constant.
    • Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drag to hold the center of the flare constant.
    • Press ~ (tilde) as you drag to redraw the rings in a different random arrangement.

    Each element (center, halo, rings, and rays) in the flare is filled with color at different opacity settings.

To edit a flare:

    Do any of the following:

    • Select the flare, and double-click the flare tool icon to open the Flare Options dialog box. Change settings in the dialog box.
    • Select the flare and the flare tool. Drag an end point--from either the center handle or the end handle--to change the length or direction of the flare.
    • Select the flare, and choose Object > Expand. This makes the elements of the flare editable, like elements of blends.

To specify flare tool options:

  1. Double-click the flare tool.
  2. Specify the overall diameter, opacity, and brightness of the flare's center:
  3. Specify the Growth of the halo as a percentage of the overall size, and specify the fuzziness (0 is crisp and 100 is fuzzy) of the halo.
  4. If you want the flare to contain rays, select Rays and specify the number of rays, the longest ray (as a percentage of the average ray), and the fuzziness (0 is crisp and 100 is fuzzy) of the rays.
  5. If you want the flare to contain rings, select Rings and specify the distance of the path between the halo's center point (center handle) and the center point of the furthest ring (end handle), the number of rings, the largest ring (as a percentage of the average ring), and the direction or angle of the rings.
  6. When setting options to edit an existing flare, select Preview to view the final effect on the selected flare using the current settings.
  7. Click OK.