Learning Adobe Illustrator

[Latergaters]

If you are learning Adobe Illustrator I would highly recommend using the lynda.com website to learn. Videos are step by step and if you follow along with your own project you figure it out in no time. I've been playing with using it since I'm more of a computer person than a pen and paper person. I know there are those of you out there shuddering at that statement but I'm younger and grew up with computers, I'm good with them. I am also practicing my drawing so I know what the rules are when creating a design.

Anyway, I love using the layers feature to layout backbones and general ideas. I've only been playing with it one evening but this is what I was able to do.

This is a cheap knife I'm using to practice start to finish design and engraving with. I don't think I'd ever use Adobe for something this simple but it made a great learning piece with its curves and lines.

I just threw the monogram in there to see what it looked like. I know it's screwy.

 

[Choppers_rule]

when you sign up at Lynda, can you download the videos in your PC or you can only watch it at their site?

 

[Latergaters]

I think there is an option to watch offline but I didn't look at it. I did download the practice files so I could follow along.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Sam]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

Please turn off the tapatalk announcement. Thanks.

 

[Latergaters]

I didn't even notice it since it's probably the default setting. Didn't realize it was an issue. Turned off all tags.

 

[Sam]

I didn't even notice it since it's probably the default setting. Didn't realize it was an issue. Turned off all tags.

Thank you. It's not an issue other than I just don't want their advertisements on my forum.

 

[Thierry Duguet]

I am among the people who do not use computer to draw scrolls but I have a question, unless you actually 3D scan a curve surface how do you account for its convexity when you go from a 2D drawing to a 3D surface?

 

[Dani Girl]

Thierry... my guess is you don't. I used to scan knives and work on the scan. Fixing any issues as I went. If your knife is very curved this method won't work.

You could trace the knife shape on tracing paper or drafting film and the scan that and continue with his method. Then you would have the accurate knife shape and the computer's tricks and advantages

 

[Thierry Duguet]

Thierry... my guess is you don't. I used to scan knives and work on the scan. Fixing any issues as I went. If your knife is very curved this method won't work.

You could trace the knife shape on tracing paper or drafting film and the scan that and continue with his method. Then you would have the accurate knife shape and the computer's tricks and advantages

Thank you for your answer. If you do not mind may I ask why doesn't one use 3D scanner they are becoming much cheaper and use a CAD program instead of a 2D editor, wouldn't that make the transfer more accurate, faster and useful?
To tell you the truth I never bother with transfers because I find them to be too inaccurate to be useful but one can revise his point of view if technology make it possible and useful, what CAD program, if any, would you recommend?

Followup, Hummmm, I look at some YOUTUBE video about 3D digitizers obviously they are still not good enough to be of any use, too bad, it would have been fun.

 

[dhall]

Hi Thierry,

Interesting questions you pose. One complication in working in 3D, either by scanning or working in a CAD modeling program, would be that if you can create and apply your desired image/scroll/whatever on a 3D surface, you'd then have to "unroll" or flatten out the image to print it out on paper, thus converting it to a 2D image. You'd then try to apply this 2D image back on to your real 3D surface. There are inherent errors in converting some images from 3D to 2D (not all), so even if you did have a process that could accurately create an image on a 3D model, there's a good chance you'd end up doing what Dani described, making adjustments as you go along.

Developable CAD surfaces generally curve on a single axis (cylinder, cone, etc.). Undevelopable CAD surfaces would curve on multiple axes (synclastic or anticlastic). They're easy surfaces to make, but not accurately convert to a 2D format. Synclastic surfaces have both curve axes either positive (dome) or negative (concave). Anticlastic surfaces have one curve axis positive and one negative (think of a concave groove cut with a lathe). The cylinder in the lathe has a positive curve going around the cylinder, but the groove has a negative curve (cross-section), so that portion of the curved groove would be described as an anticlastic surface.

Best regards,
Doug

 

[Thierry Duguet]

Hi Thierry,

Interesting questions you pose. One complication in working in 3D, either by scanning or working in a CAD modeling program, would be that if you can create and apply your desired image/scroll/whatever on a 3D surface, you'd then have to "unroll" or flattenso that portion of the curved groove would be described as an anticlastic surface.

Best regards,
Doug

Thank you, I was not aware of the limitation from 3D to 2D, I thought that unrolling would give a very accurate dimension of the surface to work on.