An Introduction to Creating 3D Photos in Xara Photo & Graphic Designer or Designer Pro The Extrude tool is not just great for creating incredible vector extrudes, but it can also rotate photographs in 3D as well. By creating a mirrored copy in combination with the transparency tool to create a graduated reflection, you can create this effect, a popular graphic design look. If you don't have time to create this look from scratch but would like to display your photos like this, then we have the solution for you! We've provided the .xar file (Download xar file) and you can just drag and drop any photos you like on top of the images to create your personalized version. Replace the photos with your own Open the .xar file and in File Explorer window locate your photo. Then just drag any photo from your hard disc on top of one of the images. You will also need to drag it onto the reflection as well (it will automatically be orientated upside down so it's an accurate reflection of the top image). Easy! In the case above, the black graduated rectangle behind the photos is used as a ClipView. Creating this image from scratch Xara Designer doesn't create the reflected images automatically, so you have to manually create the top and reflected images separately. Each is a separate extruded 3D image, and the angles are adjusted purely visually to simulate the reflected effect. So these are the steps to create a reflected 3D photo from scratch: 1. Drag and drop your photo onto a blank page and resize it as required. In this case to be about 300 pixels wide. 2. Go to the Extrude tool and drag on the image and rotate it to the desired angle. In this case I'm creating a left facing image, so all I will do is drag leftwards on the image. To get it exactly accurate, hold down the CTRL key while you drag, which constrains it to rotate exactly horizontally. In this case you can do it numerically - Angle2 is set to be 42 degrees. 3. I have adjusted the depth of the extrude by dragging on the side of the photo, in this case to an extrude depth value of 9 (you can use the first drop down menu to see or enter the values numerically). So my image now looks like this: 4. Clone the image (Ctrl+K) to make an exact copy on top. Then using the Selector tool click the flip vertically icon. Move the copied image below the top image (again hold Ctrl down to constrain the move to be exactly vertical). It's the wrong 3D angle, but should now look like this: © Xara Group 2011