Interlocking
Rings
Software Used: CorelDraw 8
A
visitor to the site recently asked me how to make interlocking
rings such as those in the Olympic Games' logo. You don't have
to use this technique only for circular rings... use it for
text and other shapes to give the illusion of dimension. If
you have CorelDraw 9, there's another
version of this tutorial where the Artistic Media tool was
used to give the rings a rounded, 3D look.
1.)
Select the ellipse tool 
and hold the Ctrl key down as you drag to create a circle.
2.)
Click and hold down on the outline 
tool, then select a thicker outline.
3.) Right click on a color swatch to change the outline's color.
4.)
Switch to the pick 
tool, select the circle and hit the + (plus) sign on
the keyboard twice. This creates two duplicates of the ring
right on top of each other.
5.) Hold the Ctrl key down and drag the top duplicate to the right as shown. The Ctrl key confines the movements so the two circles remain aligned.
6.) Double click the pick tool to select all objects.
7.) Choose align from the property bar, switch to the distribute tab, and check the box to distribute horizontally to the center, as shown below.
Your rings should appear something like the image below. If the spacing isn't quite right, move the rings and adjust the alignment again.
8.) Select the middle ring, right click a different color in the color palette to change the outline.
9.) Select the far right ring, right click a different color in the color palette to change the outline.
Now each
ring should be a different color.
10.)
We need to make sure our PowerClip options are set properly
in order for the next step to work. Go to Tools > Options >
Workspace > Edit and remove the check from the box labeled "Auto-center
new PowerClip contents". 
11.) Select the ellipse tool and draw an ellipse where you want the left circle to overlap the middle one.
12.) Duplicate it and drag the second circle where the middle and right rings should overlap. Don't worry about the fill or outline for now.
13.) Select the ring on the left and hit the + key on your keyboard to duplicate it. While it's still selected, go to Effects > PowerClip > Place Inside container.
14.) Your cursor will become a thick black arrow. Point the arrow to the edge of the first circle you created above and click once. The left ring will be clipped inside the circle.
15.) Next duplicate the middle ring by hitting the + key and repeat the PowerClip so it overlaps the right ring.
16.) Select both PowerClipped circles and right click on the X in the color palette to change the outline to none.
17.)
The interlocking rings are complete! It's a good idea to select
all of them and group them to prevent them from being moved
independently.
Obviosly, the Olympics' logo has a few more rings, but you've learned the basic steps for how it's done.
If you enjoyed this tutorial, why not share it with a friend?
CorelDraw Tutorials from your Guide
Sue
Chastain
Your Guide to Graphics Software
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