Make Your Own Decals

[ruzlkampf]

Let's click these options and see what happens after hitting the Ok button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

it's still selected, so we can do the left mouse click drag over to a position we want. Now I know approximately how wide this is, or make it this wide, or whatever. I want to make this 'M' a bit wider for the coolness factor, but want to keep it within certain parameters. But if I was making something 3/4s of an inch square this would allow me to click and drag these marks anywhere around the page and get an approximate measurement for anyhing I slide it up next to. There's lots of litle tricks like this if ya use your imagination to compensate for the lack of technology and software.

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, using the methods I've described, I resized the 'A' %300 knowing it was going to be the same size as the 'M'. Using the select tool, I moved everything around on the page where I want it, and used the magnifying glass to drop it back to original size to see what I've got. SIZEWISE. The next step is to start making those letters not look like something a chicken scratched out in the front yard.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

Using the magnifying glass to zoom in a bit more, I decide I want that 'M' a bit wider. Use the select tool to grab half of it, and slide it out. I'm using that 3/4s of an inch 'ruler' above it to guesstimate about how much.

 

 

 

 

 

Whuh Oh! My Mickey Mouse watch says this class is almost over. Heh heh, I want to keep everybody in suspense here on doing the letters cuz I like the drama! Another reason is to show ya'll how to SAVE your image. It happens all the time,.....you're right in the middle of something and duty calls, or it's nap time....and ya just gotta stop. Here's what you do. Still remember where you put that folder I had you make up? This is going to go there for safe-keeping. Go to 'file', and then scroll down to 'save as'. Not SAVE dadgummit, 'save as' or it's the rack for you my little mud turtle. Like this.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

You'll get a menu like this. You're telling your 'dumb' computer what to do, where to put it, and what to save it as. I wanted to call this image 'uncloggable orifice', but this is a family friendly site so i desisted. 'Ready to paint' will do for this dummy. Call it whatever comes to you in your dementia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double check you got all the right info here, and hit 'save'. I prefer .tiff files, because it's more of a 'raw' file and has more info. .Jpeg and .pdf, and all those others will work, but these are 'compressed' formats and don't contain as much original info as a .tiff. No dummy wants to hear me quibble over the advantages, and disadvantages of all these formats, so i'm going to recommend this option and leave it at that. Tomorrows lesson will be making these letters and numbers polished and purdy. Might even get into doing the iron crosses too. OK, hit 'save as'? Your image is now safely in the folder you put it in awaiting your next command. Homework assignment is to play around with as many buttons and options as possible to see what they can do. I hear doing this with children is great sport, and with a little coercion you could probably teach THEM to design your decals for ya. Hey, we may be dumb,...but we're not completely stoopid, eh?!

Squawk at everybody tomorrow! later, Russ

 

CLASS DISMISSED!!!!

[ruzlkampf]

[Javlin1]

Thanks there russ for this will give it a try.I am doing a MK1 Stang for a group build and doing from photos with the chin guns and will have to go back and look at your scoop up top.Cheers Kevin

[PhilB]

Great work Russ, amazingly I'm still with ya Fella!

BTW,I still need to pee and when is lunch?

Phil

[ruzlkampf]

Whoohoo! OK, class is now in session,....and I hope everybody did their homework?! Bwahahahaha! Just kidding as usual. Thanks Kevin, if I didn't have a passion for doing things like this I wouldn't even be here flapping my lips,...the pleasure is all mine.(besides, how many chances do I get to kid around with modelers who are FAR more talented than I?) Things will be getting much more interesting once we get out of this Paint tutorial. Still haven't even touched importing images, scanning, or a plethora of any other cool things. Right now, we're still banging rocks together down in the basement just so everybody can go thru the tool-bars and even know what stuff does or even exists. I want to emphasize that there are hundreds of ways to do what I'm doing here in my own style, and everybody will do things their OWN way....and that's perfectly OK! I'm only standing here on my soapbox to generate interest and help empower anybody who has had an interest or desire to make that unique serial number or nose-art that is not commercially available. They have nothing to fear from us dummys,....it takes a masochist to even attempt what we're hammering on here. Ooooooh, but what a feeling when you see your decal on your build and know you did it.

But I digress; Tonights lesson will take us into actually painting those pesky codes I started, along with some kill markings and iron crosses. Sound like fun? Didn't think so, but hey!...we're dummys and don't know enough to quit while we still have any sanity left.....right? This is going to be the last of the paint tutorial also. We'll have pounded on enough buttons for ya'll to at least have a basic idea on how to go about doing things on that menu bar. If anybody has problems in the future, just bring up whatever unique situation you need help on, and we'll do our best to ignore you. OK, somebody wake up that Derek guy back there still sitting in his corner(sheeesh, did he sleep here all night?) so he doesn't miss the slide-show.

Left off moving things around on my letters to get them in a size and font that looked right to me. Now every time I do artwork like this, I'll do it a bit different every time.....as you'll discover as you practice and progress in skill. I'm just throwing out ideas, you'll have your own style and technique that fit your aptitude for doing this. This is art,....not science. I like pretty colored lines to help me keep things in a 'size-zone', and darn it.....it just looks cool having 'strategically placed lines' all over something to make it look like I know what I'm doing. Haven't covered drawing lines yet...so let's start there. I'm going to draw some more. Go where the pic says to open this up and choose your line width and color.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

Sigh, I haven't even started yet.....and there's a class interruption. You'll just have to go in your pants there Phil(I'm going to have to call your mother and tell her to include diapers in your lunch box.....oooooh, you didn't bring that EITHER?) , and as far as lunch.....Derek just left with some rope and a shovel muttering something about 'snaring some coneys' for lunch. Don't know what that means, but the way he was hopping around and doing his mime act....I think it's a rabbit. Have to consult my 'European Consultant' to get the gist of what's going on. Wait a minute, YOU"RE my 'European Consultant. Sheesh, What kinda show am I trying to run here anyway?!

Let's move on before the Aussies show up and start yet another ruckous. OK, I may be dumb but I'm smart enough to know I'd better make a copy of my image before I have so many strategically placed lines that I've forgotten what I'm drawing. Here's how to do that.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

Then you do this;

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

And then this magically happens. Whoohoo! Now this image will slide around to anywhere you want it with your mouse, BUT! As soon as you click anywhere outside that box,...the box disappears and the image covers whatever it happens to be over. Make sure you have it away from any of your other images before you click outside that box! Don't ask me how I know.

 

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

OK, now I go to that magnifying glass to get it at original size and place my duplicate AWAY from my other stuff and left click to move onto something else.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

Now, after 3 pages we finally get to draw something! Hey!, Somebody take those crayons outta Derek's mouth....ggggrrrrfff, no telling where those things have been. OK, if we're going to draw we need a pencil. Nobody panic! We're not going to let Derek have anything sharp and pointy.....this pencil is only virtual and uses your mouse to draw what you will. It only draws in one pixel lines or dots, and is quite handy. I'm going to outline my number with a different color (which you can choose on the color palette at the bottom) just for clarity.

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

You can also draw diagonal lines, which is a lot of fun. Here's a view of my 'chicken-pecking' method of using my 'pencil' to draw offset dots to measure number of pixels to keep everything the same width and distance apart on my 'strategically placed' center lines and whatever it was I put those other ones are there are for. They look cool though, eh?!

 

 

 

 

[ruzlkampf]

Feel free to doodle to your hearts content, and do things as they come to you. Yeah, we're going to make a huge pile of scribble, and you're going to be cussing a storm trying to manage that mouse to draw what you want....but that's OK. If ya ain't cussing, ya ain't trying, right?! Remember the 'undo' feature, it's your friend. I'll be showing ya'll how to go about cleaning up this mess in a bit. Here's what I ended up with.