Creating shadows and soft-edged objects using only vectors

Creating soft-edged objects without having to resort to bitmap effects is quite easy in CorelDRAW if you use the Interactive Blend tool. The following technique is useful for creating soft-edged shadows, but it can be used for many other object types (neon lights, glowing objects, deliberately blurry objects, etc.)

1. Create the basic shape that will define the contour of your shadow. Fill it with black and set it to a Transparency factor of 100% (it will only be visible now under the Wireframe view, of course), on Multiply mode.
2. Duplicate this object and reduce its size until it is as big as the darkest area of the shadow you envision. Set the transparency factor of this duplicate to 50% (you can later on change any value or colour so that it best resembles the shadow or glow that you have in mind).
3. Fuse both objects together with the Interactive Blend tool. Your shadow will be ready, just as the one you can see in this illustration I made. If you observe the Wireframe view on the image, you can see that the projected shadow on the floor is made up from just two objects.

Important: be sure that both objects have the same amount of nodes and in a similar position, so your blend will look okay. If you want to add or remove or reshape one of the objects, be sure to delete the other one and once you are satisfied with the new shape, repeat the steps I mention in this small tutorial.