Creativity / Art - Activity #1

In this unit you will learn to use the basic tools in corefx, by drawing a simple butterfly, copying it to create a larger design and adding your name to the drawing.

1. Open corefx by clicking on the shortcut on the Start Menu.

2. Click on the vertical symmetry tool . Your page will be divided into two with the gray symmetry line running from top to bottom.

3. Now select the black pencil and draw the body and head of the butterfly.

Then select the red pencil and draw the butterfly's wings.

If you make a mistake, you can erase by holding down the right mouse button and dragging the mouse, or you can undo the last action by clicking the Undo button.

4. Click the fill icon on the toolbar. If your whole page floods with red, you need to find and repair the gaps in your butterfly's outline. Click back on the black pencil and the fill icon to fill the body and head as well.

5. Now use the circle and star shapes to decorate you butterfly. Can you work out how to make differently shaped stars, and how to make stars with differently colored outlines?

6. Click on the Selection button and drag a box around your butterfly.

7. Right click on the butterfly - a menu will appear. Click on Transform > Stretch to 50 %. Your butterfly will shrink to half the size.

8. Try dragging the selected butterfly by clicking on it and holding the mouse button down while you move the mouse around. This way you can move the butterfly anywhere on the page.

9. To make a copy of the butterfly, push the Ctrl button on the keyboard and drag the butterfly to the edge of the page. Your original butterfly will stay where it is, but a copy is now moving along with your mouse. As soon as you let go of the mouse button the copy butterfly will stay in the new location.

10. Now turn off symmetry by clicking again on the icon. The gray line in the center of the screen should disappear.

11. Use the Text tool to add your name to the drawing. Try changing the font style, color and size. Make sure you move the text to the right place before you close the text window.

12. Finally, select your name and right click on it. The Transform menu has some more options that we haven't tried yet. Can you figure out what the Flip and Rotate options do?