Another way to add a distressed look to your designs is by taking a photo of a rough texture — let's say the side of a cinder block. The more cracks, the better. 

1. Import that photo into CorelDRAW. 
2. Go to: Bitmap > Mode > Black and White.  Make sure your Conversion Mode is set to Line Art, and you might have to adjust your Threshold. 
3. Next hit 'OK'. 
4. Now select the black and white image and click on the 'Trace Bitmap' button in the Properties Bar.  I like to use the Outline Trace > Line Art option.   
5. In Corel PowerTRACE specify the color you want to remove, either Black or White.  Make sure you check the box that says: "Remove color from entire image".
6. Then adjust your Detail slider accordingly. 
7. When you are happy with the results as seen in the preview window, select OK. 
8. Now you can take the newly traced vector texture, lay it over top of the design you want to distress and use the Trim command to create.

Tip provided by Joe Diaz, CorelDRAW Master, graphic designer and sign artist.