countrycrafts Posted February 3, 2009 Report Posted February 3, 2009 Hi guys I would love to learn to make patterns but I have a majer problem, I have a bad tremmer and when I have tried but I have trouble managing the mouse. Would also love a pattern program for my sculptured segmantation , does anyone no of a program that woud be of any use to me. Actualy I have tryed to down load inkscape but always have problems doing it and never managed it yet. Mal Quote
Travis Posted February 3, 2009 Report Posted February 3, 2009 Hi Mal, I split this post from the other thread because I figured others would be interested too. I hope you don't mind. As far as being jittery, there's a couple of things you could do to help. You could turn down the sensitivity of your mouse. Just choose Accessibility Options in the Control Panel of your computer. This might give you a bit more control. Some people like using a Wacom Tablet. Basically you have a pencil that you draw on a tablet and it acts exactly like a mouse. It takes a little getting use to, but some people really like it. As far as programs, I'm a big supporter of open source software like Inkscapeand GIMP. I know you said you had trouble with Inkscape. Did you have trouble downloading it, or installing it? A lot of times when I'm working from a photo, I'll use a photo manipulation program. I mostly use Adobe Photoshop because that's what I'm most familiar with. Unfortunately, it's terribly expensive. I'm trying to make a conscious effort to start using GIMP for my photo manipulations. GIMP is free and open source. Normally I'd bring in a photo, create a new layer above the photo, then trace the contours with a round brush. Here's a little secret that will help, especially if mouse control is a problem. Have your round brush selected and your new layer selected. Click once to put a dot on your drawing, hold down the shift key and move a little ways down and put another dot. That will create a straight line between those two dots. Continue to hold down the Shift key and keep adding dots. Before you know it, you'll have a drawing. Just like a dot-to-dot puzzle you did as a kid. The closer you put the dots, the more you can simulate a curve. I use this technique a lot and it really works great. If you need a video tutorial, I could certainly put one together for ya. Just let me know. You can also check out an article I wrote last year about creating Stained Glass and Intarsia patterns. You can read that here. Maybe somebody else has other suggestions? Quote
countrycrafts Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Posted February 14, 2009 Hi travis Sorry I havn't replied I have been as my sons down south. I am considering buying a tablet ,bamboo have one for £138-00 and it says it has photo eliments on it and I have been told that on some of the better models there may be soft ware to compansate for my tremmer. Mal PS do you use one what would you recermend Quote
Travis Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 I actually use a regular mouse that came with my computer. I've tried the tablets before (mostly on computers of other designers/editors), but don't have much experience with them. It certainly does take a little getting use to. I've been using a regular mouse for the last 15+ years and it works just fine for me. So I couldn't really offer any good recommendations. What you could do is check out the model you're looking at on Amazon.com and read the reviews there. That should give you a pretty good indication on if it's any good or not. Does anybody else use a tablet for designing? Quote
blame Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 i have the bamboo tablet but dont use it due to incompatibility with my distro but i know a few other people that use them everyday for doing pixel art and really like using them myself i use a microsoft track ball mouse i find it just as easy blame Quote
countrycrafts Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Posted February 16, 2009 Thanks travis I tried the dot to dot ,brilliant. I get as far as the line drawing but don't understand how you get the pattern after that.I also have Adobo Photo shop 6 is that what you use, also gimp and Inkscape just don't know how to use them help.Mal Quote
Travis Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 Hi Mal, What kind of pattern are you trying to create? Are you trying to make a intarsia/segmentation pattern? If so, the line drawing will work just fine. If you're looking for a portrait style pattern, you can outline the holes, then color in the area (without the shift selected). That's how I go about doing my patterns, anyway. I use Adobe Photoshop CS2. I think your version of Photoshop will work just as good too. GIMP will also use the dot-to-dot technique. Inkscape is a whole different animal and won't work using the technique I described. Let me know what kind of pattern you're looking to create and I'll see if I can come up with a tutorial for you. Quote
countrycrafts Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Posted February 16, 2009 At the moment Travis I am doing dog portrates but would be intersted in segmentation as well. Mal Quote
Travis Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 Hi Mal, Let me see if I can come up with a tutorial for you. I'll probably use the other dog picture you gave me. I'll do a screen recording so you can see the process I use to make a pattern. Hopefully that will give you a better idea of how I go about creating a portrait pattern. I might as well publish it on Scroll Saw Goodies, too. I think others might be interested in the process too. BTW...did you get the first dog portrait? Quote
countrycrafts Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Posted February 17, 2009 Hi travis yes I did thanks sorry I didn't thank you but I have been at my sons and since I came back I havn''t been well. Thaks again sorry for being ignarant.Mal Quote
Travis Posted February 17, 2009 Report Posted February 17, 2009 Well, I recorded the tutorial last night. I'll be posting it on Scroll Saw Goodies and here for y'all to see. Its a monster of a tutorial showing the ENTIRE process. So it's measuring in at a whopping 3.5hrs from start to finish. Normally my patterns don't take that long, but this picture was a bit challenging. Anyway, it'll be a 7 part series. You get most of the info in Part 1. The rest of the episodes are only there if you want to watch me convert the whole portrait. I'll let you know when they're ready! Quote
Travis Posted February 19, 2009 Report Posted February 19, 2009 OK. Well, I have the episodes for converting a photo into a scroll saw pattern. I want to publish these episodes with the Scroll Saw Goodies podcast. Unfortunately, I discovered my podcast RSS was broken. So I basically had to reconfigure the whole thing (you can read about that here). After a lot of bad words being said, I finally got things working again. But since its so late in the week, I think I'll wait until Monday to start posting those. I'll also start a new thread and post the episodes there too. Like I said, it's a monster of a tutorial. Those who like to see the whole process will enjoy it. Those who only want the bullet points will be bored to tears....LOL So stay tuned for the Pattern Designing Workshop starting on Monday! Quote
Christina Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 I have a Tooya Pro Tablet and Pen...............hate it! The pen is way too sensitive for me............you can adjust the sensitivity on it but not enough to suit me. You think you're moving it a tiny bit and you've moved it 10 miles!!! I like using the mouse myself.......I've turned the sensitivity down on it and I can really get what I want...........even if I'm having a bad hand shaky day. I don't have tremors but sometimes I'm more than a bit shaky. I wouldn't mind, if anyone is interested that is............I would be glad to review patterns and give honest CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM and use my red paint brush to show you problem areas and then give a corrected pattern to help you better understand pattern making. I've kind of "tutored" a few people and they seem to enjoy the learning process a bit more this way. I'm always kind and never will I ever put down your efforts!!! Anyone who is interested in this kind of help is welcome to email me at ellnbchristi@aol.com I probably check my email a hundred times a day and always respond. Just send me a copy of the pattern you are working on and I will take it from there. It doesn't matter what software you are using.......and it doesn't matter if you make them by hand. I start alot of my patterns with pencil and paper, scan them into the computer, clean them up and turn them into patterns. Most start out as little doodles that spark an idea. I hope this is okay Travis............guess I should have asked first! If not, feel free to delete this post........I will understand completely. I just enjoy helping out. Christina Quote
Travis Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 No problem, Christina. That is very helpful. Especially when first starting out, sometimes its nice to have a second set of eyes. Quote
Christina Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 Thanks Travis. I would love to see your video........however, having to use dialup makes videos almost impossible......I watched Handi's first one and it took me like 2 hours to open! It really blows not having high speed available here!!! Christina Quote
Travis Posted February 20, 2009 Report Posted February 20, 2009 I'll see what I can do about putting the series on DVD for those who are interested, but unable to download the episodes. I could put it out for a couple bucks to cover costs. This series is a bit of an experiment and like I said, it ran really long (2.5 hrs). But its sometimes nice to see how someone else works. The process I used is only one of hundreds out there. In fact, its not even the one I normally use. If this one is well received, I'll demonstrate how I prefer to work. Quote
Christina Posted February 23, 2009 Report Posted February 23, 2009 That would be cool Travis. Nothing but dialup is available here and I miss out alot! I appreciate you. Christina Quote
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