In Degrafa Beta 3 we introduced a new text object called RasterText. This object allows you to add text to your graphics compositions just like any other geometry. You can also have multiple text objects inside something that normally allows for one. For example, you could use RasterText to create 2 text items in a Button skin, rather than relying on the default single label of a Button, kinda like the example below. Click here to view the source.

RasterText is like other Degrafa geometry objects in the way it can be composed using fills, transforms, etc. RasterText renders as bitmap data, so things like Decorators and strokes around letters won’t work because there is not path defined. That’s what VectorText will take care of in the future.

Below is an example of several Degrafa fill types being applied to RasterText objects. As you can see, you’ll no longer be limited to solid-colored text. Click here to view the source

The ability to add these kinds of fills will be coming soon in Degrafa Beta 3.1 along with some other really great updates. Now that the core feature set is defined we’ll be looking to push out smaller updates more regularly. In the meantime you can still do some neat stuff just composing RasterText object together, like the CS4 Icon Previewer below. Click here to view the source

For those of you interested in learning more about Degrafa and all the new features in Beta 3, you’ll have a chance at Adobe MAX Europe. Jason Hawryluk and I (Juan Sanchez) will be giving a presentation on Tuesday during lunch in the Community Lounge. There will be a board with the exact time in the Community Lounge, so keep an eye out for it.

Jason and I are super excited to be giving this presentation. We’ve been working on Degrafa from the beginning for almost two years. It’ll be the first time we’ve met face to face, so if you’re attending MAX Europe you’ll be getting a presentation from the founders of Degrafa.

Degrafa has become super powerful, flexible and extensible for creating graphics for pretty much anything you can imagine, like mapping, graphics editing, dynamic graphics, rich UIs, artistic explorations and more. People at MAX North America got some awesome insight into Degrafa Beta 3, but it’s been a week and we’ve got even more to show. I think people will be amazed at what they can do with such minimal code.

This presentation is not to be missed and if you’ve got an example of how you’ve used Degrafa we’d love to see it. Also, be sure to grab other people at lunch and bring ‘em over. We hope to see you there.

Just a quick not that we’ll be forwarding Degrafa.com to Degrafa’s new home here at Degrafa.org. We’re looking to start adding a bunch of new content and posting it to the blog including screencasts, samples, presentation recordings and more. Stay tuned and update your feeds and bookmarks as necessary.

This screencast walks through a couple basic examples of using the new GeometryRepeater class introduced in Degrafa Beta 3. GeometryRepeaters are a revamped form of the Repeaters introduced in Beta 2, but much more powerful and flexible. Be sure to check it out in HD.

The GeometryRepeater class allows you to repeat any geometry you compose with Degrafa and alter properties for every time the geometry is repeated. With GeometryRepeaters you can create things like bar charts, tick marks for a gauge, artistic explorations and a lot more.

In future screencasts we’ll explore using GeometryRepeaters mixed with other features of Beta 3 as well as different use cases and more complex examples. You can grab the latest release of Degrafa on the Degrafa Code page.

Thanks to all who attended the Degrafa talk at the 360|MAX set up for the Unconference at Adobe MAX and the Degrafa Birds of a Feather. Tom Gonzalez and I (Juan) weren’t really sure what to expect with the turn out, but it was really great. We started with one person who was really amped to see the new stuff to a packed room by the time we finished.

There was a ton of stuff to cover with the new Beta 3 release and the new site. I was making samples right until we had to go up on stage and having a blast doing it. This new release makes things so easy, whether you’re a designer, developer, artist, etc.

Below are the slides from the talk and I’ve uploaded the majority of the samples from the talk to the Degrafa Samples page. We’re going to try to see if Jason Hawryluk and I can give the same talk at MAX Europe. With Jason there, if we can set up a talk it will probably be the best Degrafa talk ever. Or, if there’s a user group who’d like to help us get set up, that would be great. Enjoy the slides.

Degrafa.org is the new site for Degrafa, a declarative graphics framework. Formerly hosted at Degrafa.com, here you’ll find new things like better organization of information, a new “Learning” section and a focus on community. We’re excited about the new site and the things we have planned for the future.

Pretty soon degrafa.com will be forwarding here, so update your bookmarks and feeds. And, as always, we’re looking for feedback on what you’d like to see here.