Vector Workshop 2023

[Linda J Walker]

Day 5/Lesson 5-Thank you Carole for finding the glitch with viewing the videos! I still can't download the guidebook tho...

Had a little bit of time this afternoon, but had to break it into 2 work periods. I think I learned some of this before, but it didn't 'stick' in my brain....maybe it will this time? Or not!

 

[Corrie Kinkel]

I like to make things that I will be able to use again. The Christmastree is a preset shape and I adorned it with Christmas bows. Next to it is a symmetric shape, a 7 pointed star that I changed using those lovely nodes and it has a spiral garland. Then my initials and their picturetubes are my own pearls and a hibiscus flower photo that I made into a tube.

Unlike some of you I do not have had any problems with downloading or viewing the lessons and videos. My PSP2023 is behaving normally too! fingers crossed!

[Anita Wyatt]

Thank you Carole for your help with working around the glitches in PSP23 Ult. That helped me a lot. I also appreciate the cheer--up messages in the forum to keep me going. I really want to be able to get to know the vexing vectors. I may not finish the workshop in time, but I will keep trying.. Carole showed me a neat trick: if you place a stroke (border) around your object, you will be able to see the nodes better. So that is what I did. I managed to export the shape and realized it still had the stroke, but it can removed easily when one uses the shape. I felt happy to be able to export it without any problems.

[Cindy Lawrence]

Lesson 4, I am feeling more comfortable with the program every day. 

[Marvin Fojtasek]

For Lesson 6, I am submitting my monogram made with a gold rope picture tube.

[Linda J Walker]

8 hours ago, Cassel said:

For the DIAMOND members who are having issues with the videos playing, it looks like it is UNEXPECTEDLY linked to the number of downloads. I made a temporary change for now so you should be able to see them. I will look for a more "permanent" solution. @Linda J Walker @Dorothy Donn

Thank you. That helps and I guess I don't need to adjust any of my settings. I am able to view the videos, but still unable to download anything. So were we charged 'download credits' for viewing the videos...which may explain why I can't download any more guidebooks, or anything else...I keep getting the 'opps' page.

[Cassel]

1 minute ago, Linda J Walker said:

Thank you. That helps and I guess I don't need to adjust any of my settings. I am able to view the videos, but still unable to download anything. So were we charged 'download credits' for viewing the videos...which may explain why I can't download any more guidebooks, or anything else...I keep getting the 'opps' page.

I really don't know but I suspect it did, in a way. I am not really sure because it is the first time it happened and the number of downloads is a piece of data that is very deeply hidden in the database (I hate databases). I am inquiring from the plugin owner if there is a "simple" way to access that data so I could display it on each member's account page. Still waiting on him.

[Mary Solaas]

You all are going great guns!  I'm just finishing project 2.  I had fun with changing the stroke and making a kite and a kite string (the kite and kite string had to be separate shapes because the kite string is a rectangle added to the kite).

Edited July 23, 2023 by Mary Solaas

[rjay segura]

Hi Vector tubes tut ...very interesting.. enjoyed this a lot thanks. I have not used tubes before this tut. 

[sharon thompson]

Yes!!!! Completed lesson 6 on time!!!!!! I think that I deserve rhubarb cobbler as a reward as soon as I shut down the computer.

I went with the popcorn tube for a frame but it ended up with lots of small gaps despite tweaking the settings and mirroring and flipping the frame on top of each other (created shadows for some reason) so I just plugged the holes with a single click of the tube.

 

[Royanne Hewko]

lesson 4 coffee cup.   I do not know why my edges are not smooth.   I used the heart from Lesson 1 and used the pen tool to create some steam and applied gaussian blur.

 

 

[Cassel]

@Mary Solaas Why couldn't you save as a preset? Using Line Style for the stroke gives interesting effect. Beware that the effect will not necessarily show the next time you use that shape because, unless you "Retain style", the shape will be drawn with the settings active at that time, so if the stroke is set to 0 or the line style is set to something else, it won't display the same! So if you reuse the shape later, know why it might not show.

@Dorothy Donn You certainly have had fun with those four shapes!

@Carolyn RyeIf you clarify where you are stuck, we might be able to point you to any particular detail. It seems like many participants stumble on the same details.

@bina greene I am glad things are going more smoothly for you now.

@Sharla Even without an image, you can definitely practice and show your work. So far, it looks great!

@MicheleI thought I was the only one with gremlins. Maybe they just like to pay everyone a visit! Happy to see you learn more about the Pen tool. It can be quite handy when we tame it. Wonderful results and hopefully you will remember all that!

@Cristina I love the effect of those strings. I am actually surprised that NOBODY else had ever made them!

@Sheila Hogg I love seeing those different picture tubes used!

@Lynda DiGregor Great work. Is it getter easier?

@Anja Pelzer Fantastic results. 

@Susan Ewart Yes, text on path can be so versatile and used in many ways in layouts.

@fiona cookI bet those little details in the article will make more sense now than it might have before this workshop. As for turning a shape into a vector, I so wish something was available, but no. You still have to do it manually. There are some convoluted ways to get something close to a path, but not something I would dare trying to explain!

@Jnet Allard I am sure you will do well when you do your own shape.

@Donna Sillia I am glad this lesson turned out to be more familiar for you. One day to breathe!

@Art Kuiper You will catch up pretty soon. Good work. And the more you understand a tool, the easier it gets and you will discover even more possible uses for it.

@Gerry LandrethYes, taking a break sometimes help. And you have the coffee for it too!

@James Brady What seems to differ between 2022 and 2023? Maybe there is a default setting you can just change in 2023?

@Linda J Walker Now that you might have "re-learned" some of those techniques, you will at least have notes to refer to in the future.

@Anita Wyatt I am glad to have found a workaround for you. As mentioned, I forwarded my findings to the team. Crossing fingers it will be addressed.

@Cindy Lawrence That is the goal of any of these workshops: to get more and more comfortable with the program. I am happy to hear that it works for you.

@Marvin FojtasekAlthough it was not specifically part of the assignment, if you ever use something like that IN A PROJECT, you will be able to add a shadow and make that rope really stand out.

@rjay segura If you have never used picture tubes before, you are missing a whole world!!!! Maybe I will need to do a workshop just about Picture tubes! ?

@sharon thompson Did you try reducing the step for the popcorn tube? That should make them appear closer together.

@Royanne Hewko There are two possible explanations for the jaggied edges: (1) Anti-alias was not checked when you drew the shape or (2) you used the Pixel resize when sizing it down (or a combo of both).

I am truly thrilled to see all the results you have come up with. I am also very happy to see how many of you overcame some frustration to finally succeed. And as you are getting more and more comfortable with the vectors, and nodes, you will likely be more willing to use them in your future projects. I am looking forward to them.

So, tomorrow will be the last lesson of the workshop. But if you have started late or had some delays, don't worry. You should have time to catch up.

[Mary Solaas]

@Cassel I couldn't save it as a shape because the outline (or stroke) was circles from the paint brush.  If I could have made it as a separate line, I could have used it then.  However, I have forgotten how to make a new line - I know you showed us how to do that in one of the workshops or lab tutorials, but I couldn't remember which one.

[Bonnie Ballentine]

Day 3

 

[Bonnie Ballentine]

Day 4

 

[Dorothy Donn]

12 hours ago, Cassel said:

For the DIAMOND members who are having issues with the videos playing, it looks like it is UNEXPECTEDLY linked to the number of downloads. I made a temporary change for now so you should be able to see them. I will look for a more "permanent" solution. @Linda J Walker @Dorothy Donn

I was able to get into Lesson 3 video about an hour ago, but lesson 4 and 5 are still blacked out for me. 

Here is my lessson 3 finished.

[Bonnie Ballentine]

Day 5

 

[Bonnie Ballentine]

Day 6

All the outlines are pickleballs. The lighter balls and small size makes it difficult to see that.

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Bonnie Ballentine

[Cassel]

8 minutes ago, Dorothy Donn said:

I was able to get into Lesson 3 video about an hour ago, but lesson 4 and 5 are still blacked out for me. 

Could you clear your cache? I checked and the code SHOULD let you watch. If nothing, watch it logged out for now.

[Royanne Hewko]

Hi Cassel, thanks for your comments I will try that tomorrow.

Lesson 5 Text to Path

 

 

[James Brady]

Here is Lesson #6. I had to reduce the size and resolution to stay within the size limit. Great Script. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Suzy]

Meh. I wanted to make a fish instead of a coffee cup.

Here's my new idea - My Pen tool options menu has a button for Pentool presets - but I have no pen tool presets (it's empty). I need a circle preset for this eye because I cannot get a round smooth curve. Shouldn't a circle only need three nodes? How do I get some pen tool presets - maybe basic shapes?  or even make some, because me trying to make one is NOT working! And I tried a bunch of times, and you know I have a low threshold for things not working right the first time.  ISN'T THERE A SCRIPT FOR THIS?  Or some preset pen tool shapes in the store? LOL!!!

[Susan Ewart]

Lesson 6 

This is a fun script to play with.  And a nice low pressure lesson.  

[Royanne Hewko]

Lesson 6 Vector Tube.   I really wanted to say thank you Cassel for arranging this for us.   Giving your time to help us learn about these darn vectors, they can be a bit tricky.

 

[Michele]

17 hours ago, fiona cook said:

How did you make your steam from the cups?

I used Particle Shop which is a plugin from Corel. I purchased a bunch of brush packs in the past, but I haven't been able to restore them all on my newer laptop yet. So instead of using the smoke brush, I used the flame brush in white and added a little Gaussian blur. I have smoke brushes in PSP, but I wanted to give Particle Shop a go.