You can get more out of adding an outline to text in DrawPlus than you might think. Instead of creating a solid colour around your words, why not use a gradient? Here’s how to do it.

After writing your text with the Artistic Text Tool, right-click it and select Filter Effects. Check and select the Outline tab, then under Fill type select the gradient type you’d like to use. We’ve gone for a linear gradient with an angle of 270 degrees.

Now uncheck the Transparency option and click the drop-down icon to the right of the gradient bar. On the window that pops up, select Edit to bring up the Fill Editor window. To change the gradient’s colours, click the nodes under the gradient bar and change colour by clicking on the drop-down menu.

To add extra nodes, simply hover your mouse anywhere between the two existing ones; click when you see the hand icon. You can also drag any additional nodes to change the scale of the gradient. Click OK when you’re done and there you have it – a gradient outline to your text.

But what if you want to go one step further and really add the finishing touch? Now we’re going to remove the text itself and just leave the gradient outline – perfect on top of a picture. Firstly, add the picture and place it behind your text – right-click and select Order Objects>Send to Back.

Now we need to copy both the text and the image, so shift-click them both, then copy and paste. With the copied image and text both selected, right click and select Crop>Crop to Top Object. If you move this cropped object, you’ll see the image has been cropped to the shape of the text. For the coup de grace, lower the opacity of this cropped shape to around 45%.

Access more support, resources, and forums on the Serif website, as well as here on the Serif Blog.