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One of the cool things about PowerPoint 2010 is that it comes with some handy new features for creating customized shapes. That's great news, because for some e-learning courses, I need to create a unique shape that's too tedious to draw with PowerPoint's freehand drawing tools. And though I might be able to find a workable shape by picking apart a clip art image from Microsoft's clip art library, that can be time-consuming too.
So, I often end up making my own clip art by using the Shape Subtract and Shape Union features. They're simple to use, and they allow you to build and then "sculpt" a shape into whatever you want it to be.
Check out the example and how-tos in this screencast:
If you're using PowerPoint 2010 but you don't see the Shape Subtract or Shape Union tools on your ribbon, it's easy to add them. This tutorial walks you through the steps:
328 posts
Posted Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 7:47 AM
Nice techniques Jeanette, I didn't even know about these new drawing features in PPT. Now I'm going to have to try them out!
405 posts
Posted Monday, January 31, 2011 at 1:58 PM
You may use the following link to add the shape subtract button to your quick access toolbar so you may access them easily from within Power Point or Word.
www.indezine.com/.../add-combine-shapes-in-qat-ppt2010.html
99 posts
Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 at 3:11 AM
Can you believe I was actually crazy enough to `sculpt my own clipart'?
Yes, I mean it, he he he... The result is my profile pic.
How do you do your caricatures? Pretty (and) cool!
2,055 posts
Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 at 3:50 AM
Wow Poornima, really? You made your avatar in PowerPoint? It looks great!! Maybe you could show how you did it by recording a short screencast at screenr.com, and then post in the forums for the folks here to see. :)
2 posts
Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Great post Jeanette! Just loaded PowerPoint 2011 on my Mac so I'm assuming a lot of the same features exist.
Posted Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 2:18 PM
Just wanted to point out that you may use Adobe Fireworks CS3, 4 or 5's by creating shapes, applying Modify -> Combine Paths -> Punch to do the identical same effect.
9 posts
Posted Saturday, March 05, 2011 at 8:06 AM
Very useful, I didn't know these existed in ppt.Thank you!
Posted Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 7:18 AM
@ paul lush - did you find these features in 2011 for mac Paul? Having problems trying to find this useful tool!!!
BTW thanks Jeanette
56 posts
Posted Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 7:39 AM
This is so useful - am learning so much today
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1,739 posts
Easy tips, tools, and how-tos for using your Articulate software.
Written byJeanette Brooks