Vector Workshop 2024

[Randy]

23 hours ago, Julie Magerka said:

Just hang in Randy. You will see how it's done in the workshop. Carole will set you straight.

thank you

 

[Julian Adams]

12 hours ago, Cassel said:

I am still using PSP9 daily too, even though the workshop tutorials use PSP2023.

I am surprised to hear that.  I keep PSP9 installed and use it often for things I find easier / faster to do there although I have 2020 and 2023 installed also.

There is one thing I have been meaning to ask you (and/or this group) - I find it so much easier to zoom to the exact portion of an image I like using PSP9 than any of the more recent versions I have used.  For some reason to get to edges or corners I end up needing to use the scroll bars but almost never in PSP9.  Am I crazy or does the mouse wheel zoom really work better in PSP9?

Edited June 17 by Julian Adams

[Cassel]

7 minutes ago, Julian Adams said:

There is one thing I have been meaning to ask you (and/or this group) - I find it so much easier to zoom to the exact portion of an image I like using PSP9 than any of the more recent versions I have used.  For some reason to get to edges or corners I end up needing to use the scroll bars but almost never in PSP9.  Am I crazy or does the mouse wheel zoom really work better in PSP9?

I don't remember in what version it changed, but in PSP9, if your cursor is in one location and you zoom with the scroll wheel, it will zoom where the cursor is. In recent versions, it does not. So it is nothing wrong you do, but just a way that PSP has changed. I have no idea why it was changed, if it was on purpose or "by mistake".

Also, the reason I use PSP9 daily is not because it is better or simpler, but because I do scripting, and it is the best way to get the script forward-compatible for all versions than working on a recent version as that would require much more work to make them backward-compatible.

[Mara Kincade]

I'm here, too.  I have done a number of tutorials over the years in PSP, but find with some things I have to look them up again to figure out how to do what I want to do.  Hopefully I will retain more knowledge id I use it more often.

[eddie k]

Ready to go. I am saving all the lessons in a special folder after converting them into Word. I also would like to say Hi to all our fellow members. Furthermore, I have PSP 2023 Ultimate and even PSP 9 because it has a unique animation feature., My son goes around the world setting up computer systems, and I am talking him into getting PSP 2023 Ultimate. He has been using Gimp. Thank you, Carole, for your time Eddie

[Cristina]

I have done this workshop before, as well as tutorials and master classes, but it's always good to review them. Thanks to these lessons, I don't struggle with the nodes as I used to.

After choosing the arrow shape, I changed the node type of the arrow to symmetrical. I added the Text to a separate layer.

 

Edited June 18 by Cristina

[Emerald Jay]

Lesson 1 - On the heart, I used no stroke and the fill was a gradient.  The arrow is white stroke and a pattern for the fill.

[middie]

Second time round for me on this workshop..... vectors are soooo very hard to remember let alone use. I didn't use any special fill or lettering as I am still trying to concentrate on node manipulation so my imges are recognizable. Did try a bit of extra manipulation in getting the heart through the arrow but it looked flat so I grabbed a brush to add some irregular marks around the entrance point of the arrow hoping to create the effect of a bruise. Sometimes additional "play" takes the edge off those pesky nodes. I am no artist so I doubt that I will be drawing many vector images but I really want to master text on a path. As for other members comments on PSP9, I still have my old WXP with PSP9 & AS on it and it is my favourite combination by far. I kept it primarily for the seamless integration with animation shop and for its ability to use all of the older free plugins that hate 64 bit installation. I use PSP 16 & 18 but 22 is waiting for me to stop avoiding installing it. I don't mind them adding new features with each release but I just wish that they would leave the old features alone. Change for the sake of change is so annoying and don't get me started on the fine print online manuals. I still have and use the paper manual that came with PSP9, a copy of a "Paintshop Pro for Dummies" book, and , of couse, Cassels own great publication. 

[Louyse Toupin]

I think I need to practice!

[Randy]

Here are my heart and arrow.

I hope to use this in future.

[Randy]

2 minutes ago, Randy said:

Here are my heart and arrow.

I hope to use this in future.

I think I should have added some colour and pattern 🙂  I think others figured this out. Maybe next lesson for me.

[Julie Magerka]

This time around (my second at Vectors), my heart actually resembles a heart! The first go-around it resembled a molar! The arrow went OK too. Maybe not either is perfect, but I'm OK with how much smoother I was able to manipulate the (#@%^&) nodes. For some reason, Carole's explanations this time seem more detailed and I can follow without feeling that I have a blazing headache! 🙂 But let's see how it goes....

[Julie Magerka]

11 minutes ago, Randy said:

I think I should have added some colour and pattern 🙂  I think others figured this out. Maybe next lesson for me.

Sure, colour is nice, but it works just as well without.

[Alicia Garbelman]

stylized arrow, and a heart

[Louyse Toupin]

I have done some effects.

 

[middie]

1 hour ago, Julie Magerka said:

This time around (my second at Vectors), my heart actually resembles a heart! The first go-around it resembled a molar! The arrow went OK too. Maybe not either is perfect, but I'm OK with how much smoother I was able to manipulate the (#@%^&) nodes. For some reason, Carole's explanations this time seem more detailed and I can follow without feeling that I have a blazing headache! 🙂 But let's see how it goes....

 

[middie]

Maybe we should use #@%^& instead of the word "nodes"?????

[Corrie Kinkel]

This is my 2nd time and that makes it easier, but nevertheless it took me a while. After I had created the shapes I played a bit with textures, some of which I normally don't use. The heart has the texture glowing edges and the arrow has plastic texture. Maybe I should use those once in a while instead of a bevel, gradient or pattern!

[Randy]

Well, I had to try something different. 

(1 - Heart4) (I wasn't sure if this would work with a layer that was not raster which is what I have used it for in the past.)  I ran a script I created to take copies of the layer, decrease the size of the copied layer. Repeat. Then merged the layers.

Then I flood filled with red in some areas.

(2 - Heart3) I then took a copy of Heart4 and applied the Colored Foil. I did not show this.

I then took a copy of this layer and used the blend mode to get Heart3.

(3 - Heart2) Then I used Heart3 layer with blend mode against Heart4 and ended up with Heart2.

(Conclusion) I liked the variations that I was able to produce. 

I like it when it gets to be fun.

 

Edited June 17 by Randy

[Jeni Simpson]

Oh my goodness, some of these vectors look so good.
Mine are simple, this topic freaks me out!
I'm happy with my first vectors, I hope they are okay. I saved them as .pspshapes, I need to build up my preset shapes library.
Jeni

[Donna Sillia]

I started to make an arrow, but then began to play with the nodes and ended up with a pencil. I converted the pencil to a raster and filled it in with different textures. The heart was harder than I remembered, but I finally got it to look like a heart using a lot of guide lines. I used a lined stroke, duplicated the stroke and made it smaller to fit inside the bigger heart.

[Jeni Simpson]

5 hours ago, Louyse Toupin said:

I think I need to practice!

Me, too, Louyse

[Cassel]

A big welcome to all the participants. Of the 150 registrants, I hope to see a lot of posters in this forum. Don't be shy. We are all here to support you as we have all been beginners too, and we have all struggled with those vectors.

Welcome to our newcomers to the Campus: @James Morris, @Patty Swinimer, @Trevor Andrew, @eddie k, @middie.

@Randy Yes, we will cover the text on path during one lesson in this workshop. Your arrow and heart show that you are good at handling those nodes! Colors and fill are just extras. Add them if you want, or not. Nice to see you play around.

@Trevor Andrew That is probably why vectors are confusing: we usually use other tools and features, and not so much with vectors.

@Doska St. Yes, vectors are so convenient when you need different sizes.

@eddie k Just in case you are interested, DIAMOND members do get a written handout for each lesson. You can join for one week for $1 and have access to all those handouts and extra assignments when there are some. 

@Cristina I am glad you are feeling more comfortable with vectors now. Thank you for detailing how you added to the assignment you posted.

@Emerald Jay Great start. That is exactly what the assignment asked for.

@middie Yes, the assignment is just about manipulating those nodes and that is just what you did. After that, you are allowed to "play" a bit more!

@Julie Magerka A heart CAN look like a molar! 😉 But this time around, you did great with both shapes.

@Alicia Garbelman Great shapes! Simple but you were successful. That is the goal.

@Louyse Toupin It is nice to see you still have energy to play with the shapes. 

@Corrie Kinkel There are many options you can use, but of course, you will often have to convert those shapes to Rasters to apply most of them.

@Jeni Simpson Don't freak out. The lessons are going step by step and you will be able to follow. When starting out, just stick to the basics and you will get more comfortable over time.

@Donna Sillia Great work. Yes, you can start with one shape and create another one. You know that many tutorials inside the membership use vectors too!

Come post your projects, ask your questions, and encourage others. Share your success and your struggles. We are here to help.

[Trevor Andrew]

Now I have a better understanding, not very intuitive, I mean why select the pen tool.

I draw a shape on a vector layer, the next step I would imagine is modifying the shape, i would have thought the nodes would be available and not having to activate those.

So a new day and I managed to draw the shapes without referring to the video.

Bit of trial and error but I got there, found grid lines helped to keep things uniform

 

Just tried attaching a png but only Jpeg allowed which is larger than the png, 15kb to 65kb.

(post updated typo)

Edited June 18 by Trevor Andrew

[Daniel Hess]

Not great getting it actually symmetrical editing cusps...that will take some practice.