How to draw... a freehand pencil(!?) line, LOL.

Don't know why I thought I had CorelDRAW 5... it's version 10!

Anyway... I download and opened the file, but it contains no objects.

> If none of the installed strokes work, you could create your own.
> Open the AM docker and use the save button there and save as a Brushstroke.

Hm... All I'm seeing is shapes and colours. When I draw, it's just a line of shapes along it like balloons. How do I create the brushstroke you mentioned? Or are you saying I needed to create a brushstroke from the objects in your file?

The file I posted was an CDX5 version...that's version 15, so I'm surprised it opened at all in version 10! I don't recall what Artistic Media looked like in version 10, or if CD even had a usable tracing feature then. Since I can't be specific on instructions, I'll post an image later of the two strokes I used. That was the only two objects in the file I attached.

AM has different modes, so to speak...Preset, Brush, Image Sprayer. You'll want the Brush. I recommend you read the Help file on Artistic Media for specifics on how to save new brush strokes, since you're using a much older version.

BTW, CDGS X8 (a.k.a. version 18) has a gazillion more Artistic Media brushstrokes. You might want to think about upgrading. ;)

Do they still have "save as" in the menu, where you can save it to an older version?

I'd like to upgrade (well, sort of). But first, I'm just a personal user - so cannot afford software like this unless it's second hand. I've used nearly every version from v.2 through to 10. But second reason I hesitate upgrading is, I found it frustrating they would move/remove tools. I forget now, but there was one feature from about v. 7 - they moved into some obscure menu. It took me weeks to find it again, because I think they even renamed it! At 10 I found I could actually achieve passable results for family and friends. So I stopped seeking out newer versions.

The problem is, I'd like to do more than I currently can - and I'm sure most of these things can still be done in earlier versions. However, when you don't know what an effect is called - you can't look it up to learn it.

For example, I can draw a 1D treble clef, combine, and convert it into an object. But I would love to know how to turn things into the '3d' effect/shading(!?) seen in these two images:

http://imgur.com/a/wKyrq

And I can curve/scroll lines like the music staff in this image: http://imgur.com/8Af0jCF - but how to make them thicker in one section only like that, without thickening the entire line - escapes me. What I wind up doing instead, is duplicating the line, making it white, and rotating it slightly to cover the black. There's got to be a better way.

I have tried to use tutorial books. But rarely find the things I want to learn. On the other hand, most of what I have learned has been from watching over someone's shoulder. Unfortunately we are not in contact now to learn from.