How to Insert and Customize Star Shapes

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This guide will walk you through the process of creating, customizing, and editing star shapes in eXPerience 8. The software includes a versatile tool that allows you to create perfect stars and then fine-tune them to your exact specifications.

Part 1: Creating a Star Shape

Follow these steps to insert a new star into your design.

Step 1: Select the Star Shape Tool

Navigate to the “Shapes” section on your tool palette.
Place your mouse cursor over the Shapes icon to reveal the library of available ready-made shapes.
Click on the “Star” shape to activate the tool. The tool is now active and ready to use.
- Tip: The icon in the “Shapes” section will always display the last shape you used, providing quick access to your frequently used tools.

Step 2: Adjust the Tool Options (Optional) Before drawing the star, you can define its appearance using the tool options bar:

Number of Rays: Set how many points the star will have.
Ray Size %: Define the sharpness or length of the points as a percentage.
Start Angle: Adjust the initial rotation of the star.

Step 3: Draw the Star

Click your left mouse button on the design area where you want the star to begin.
Drag the mouse to define the size and position of the star.
Release the mouse button to finalize the shape.

Step 4: Finalize Your Work

Tip: After you draw a star, the tool remains active, allowing you to quickly insert as many stars as you need.
When you are finished adding stars, right-click anywhere on the design area to release or deactivate the tool.

Part 2: Editing an Existing Star Shape

After a star has been created, you can easily modify it using two different methods.

Method 1: Using the Tool Options Bar

Select the star shape you wish to edit.
The tool options bar will display the star’s properties.
From here, you can change the Number of Rays, Ray Size %, and Start Angle of the existing shape.

Method 2: Advanced Editing with the Node Editor For more interactive, on-the-fly adjustments, use the Node Editor.

Select the star shape.
Start the Node Editing mode. You will see that the star has several special, interactive nodes instead of standard curve nodes.

These special nodes have specific functions:

Inner Node: Click and drag this node to adjust the Ray Size (the sharpness/length of the points).
Outer Rotational Node: Use this node to change the Start Angle or rotation of the star.
Bounding Box Nodes: Drag these nodes to change the overall Size and Proportion of the shape.
Center Node: Click and drag the node at the very center of the star to re-position it on the design canvas.

Part 3: Converting a Star to Curves for Manual Editing

If you need to manually edit the outline of the star point-by-point, you must first convert it into a standard curve object.

Select the star shape you want to edit manually.
Use the “Convert to Curves” function (typically found in the right-click menu or under a “Tools” or “Arrange” menu).

Important Note: After you convert the star into curves, it is no longer a special shape object. The unique nodes for adjusting ray size, angle, and rotation will disappear and be replaced by standard curve nodes. This action cannot be undone.