Excerpted from InDesign FX on lynda.com.
Using just InDesign—not Photoshop, not Illustrator—you can create amazing visual effects. But to enjoy the application’s full power, you need to know your way around InDesign’s Effects panel.
For example, were you aware that InDesign has the same 16 blending modes as Illustrator? Did you realize you can apply transparency effects to just a stroke, fill, or the contents of text and graphic frames?
In this tour of the Effects panel, you’ll see how targeting a blend mode can make sunglass lenses transparent without affecting the glasses frame. I’ll show you how controls within the Bevel and Emboss effect can turn a two-dimensional object into a realistic beach ball shining in bright sun. And that’s just the beginning. By the end of this tour, you’ll know how to adjust object opacity; change blending modes; apply effects; target the effects to different levels; and clear effects when you don’t want them.
Visit InDesign FX to watch more videos of effects projects you can complete in ten minutes or less.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on August 22, 2011
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