Hi all,
Does anyone know a good software I can use to design graphics for a Madbean Zero point micro II I'm building soon
Much appreciated,
Joshua
I use Photoshop, some people swear by Gimp... anything with layers works, really.
Gimp is awesome too. Has a lot of the same features as Photoshop but it's FREE. I think it's also a bit easier to use, personally. I've used paint before too (for basic designs)
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Photoshop is also free. You can get CS2 version from their site that's free and fully functional.
It has more features than you'll ever need designing pedals.
Tried Gimp, felt weird.
I use Inkscape. Free and vector based which is a little different than Photoshop/Gimp pixel based platform.
Chad
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) is a free and open source vector graphics editor that's available on a variety of platforms. (I've used it on Windows and OSX.) I think it's supposed to compare to Adobe Illustrator. There's a not insignificant learning curve and a few glitches, but I think I've used it for almost every waterslide graphic I've done -- and there are MUCH better examples of Inkscape graphics out there than mine, trust me. It's fairly easy to import PDF enclosure layouts and drill guides and design around those.
Man... Inkscape... I knew I was forgetting a big one. ::)
No wonder, though! I tried to get to grips with that thing several times and it just didn't click with me. But yes, if you want/need vectors and free, this is the way to go.
Quote from: mgwhit on August 26, 2014, 07:15:15 AM
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) is a free and open source vector graphics editor that's available on a variety of platforms. (I've used it on Windows and OSX.) I think it's supposed to compare to Adobe Illustrator. There's a not insignificant learning curve and a few glitches, but I think I've used it for almost every waterslide graphic I've done -- and there are MUCH better examples of Inkscape graphics out there than mine, trust me. It's fairly easy to import PDF enclosure layouts and drill guides and design around those.
This is what I use too. I use GIMP if i need to edit an image, but then i import it into inkscape for a pedal layout. I wish they would develop a native Mac version like GIMP has, but the X11 version is fine.
I agree that Inkscape is one of the best free layout tools for pedals. If you need to alter the pixels of an image, GIMP is great. Inkscape's vector layout keeps things looking great no matter how much you scale them. Easily import graphics, use layers to keep organized, drill holes, etc.
Be sure to grab the "pedal vector pack" which has a lot of enclosures, knobs, switches, etc so you can mock up your graphic.
I since have migrated over to CorelDraw! and it works essentially the same as Inkscape. Corel is a little more "polished" but then again its not free. :) Vector based software also works excellent with laser engravers (bonus).
Did you do it because of your laser etch setup or you just liked it better?
Like others have mentioned, i use Gimp for tweaking certain things, use a cad program to design the layout of pots, jacks switches, etc., but everything eventually ends up in Inkscape to bring all the elements together, try different colour combinations, play..
I tried Inkscape but the place I used to get my labels done needed CorelDraw files, and they were kind enough to give me a crash course on how it works. I find it's so much easier and quicker to use then Inkscape, and highly recommend it.
Quote from: rullywowr on August 26, 2014, 07:32:21 AM
I agree that Inkscape is one of the best free layout tools for pedals. If you need to alter the pixels of an image, GIMP is great. Inkscape's vector layout keeps things looking great no matter how much you scale them. Easily import graphics, use layers to keep organized, drill holes, etc.
Be sure to grab the "pedal vector pack" which has a lot of enclosures, knobs, switches, etc so you can mock up your graphic.
I since have migrated over to CorelDraw! and it works essentially the same as Inkscape. Corel is a little more "polished" but then again its not free. :) Vector based software also works excellent with laser engravers (bonus).
How was your experience laser etching with Inkscape? Some folks at work tried it with the Epilog and were a bit frustrated by the print driver. Actually using the software for design work was fine.
I only use Illustrator, so I haven't felt the pull to mess too much with Inkscape.
Quote from: pickdropper on August 26, 2014, 08:22:53 AM
Quote from: rullywowr on August 26, 2014, 07:32:21 AM
I agree that Inkscape is one of the best free layout tools for pedals. If you need to alter the pixels of an image, GIMP is great. Inkscape's vector layout keeps things looking great no matter how much you scale them. Easily import graphics, use layers to keep organized, drill holes, etc.
Be sure to grab the "pedal vector pack" which has a lot of enclosures, knobs, switches, etc so you can mock up your graphic.
I since have migrated over to CorelDraw! and it works essentially the same as Inkscape. Corel is a little more "polished" but then again its not free. :) Vector based software also works excellent with laser engravers (bonus).
How was your experience laser etching with Inkscape? Some folks at work tried it with the Epilog and were a bit frustrated by the print driver. Actually using the software for design work was fine.
I only use Illustrator, so I haven't felt the pull to mess too much with Inkscape.
Great question! To sum it up in one word...horrible. I have never had good luck printing directly from Inkscape even just to print out on paper. When I used Inkscape, I always used to export to PDF first - then print the PDF out from Adobe Reader. Even importing SVG files from inkscape to Corel is a total crapshoot...mixed results.
The Epilog designers like Corel Draw so I have been becoming more accustomed to using it not only for etching but for general graphics use - and it's growing on me. I'm sure Illustrator is awesome too :).
I've been using paint.net, but I think I need to try something better. Paint.net is very simple, not a lot of stuff going on. I think I'll look into inkscape and gimp.
Quote from: rullywowr on August 26, 2014, 09:02:12 AM
Quote from: pickdropper on August 26, 2014, 08:22:53 AM
Quote from: rullywowr on August 26, 2014, 07:32:21 AM
I agree that Inkscape is one of the best free layout tools for pedals. If you need to alter the pixels of an image, GIMP is great. Inkscape's vector layout keeps things looking great no matter how much you scale them. Easily import graphics, use layers to keep organized, drill holes, etc.
Be sure to grab the "pedal vector pack" which has a lot of enclosures, knobs, switches, etc so you can mock up your graphic.
I since have migrated over to CorelDraw! and it works essentially the same as Inkscape. Corel is a little more "polished" but then again its not free. :) Vector based software also works excellent with laser engravers (bonus).
How was your experience laser etching with Inkscape? Some folks at work tried it with the Epilog and were a bit frustrated by the print driver. Actually using the software for design work was fine.
I only use Illustrator, so I haven't felt the pull to mess too much with Inkscape.
Great question! To sum it up in one word...horrible. I have never had good luck printing directly from Inkscape even just to print out on paper. When I used Inkscape, I always used to export to PDF first - then print the PDF out from Adobe Reader. Even importing SVG files from inkscape to Corel is a total crapshoot...mixed results.
The Epilog designers like Corel Draw so I have been becoming more accustomed to using it not only for etching but for general graphics use - and it's growing on me. I'm sure Illustrator is awesome too :).
OK, that pretty much mirrors the experience here as well. Exporting to PDF made it work.
Corel Draw is pretty much the industry standard for laser engravers. I *think* that started out because it was so much cheaper than Illustrator. These days, they are much closer in price. I'd like to play around with Corel (and still might), but since I already own Illustrator, it doesn't seem like the best use of funds.
Thank you all for your help,
I think for now I will use GIMP and someday (when I have the money) will move onto using Photoshop
And also does anyone have any enclosure templates made up for GIMP?.
Thank you all again for your help
Joshua
Another +1 for Inkscape. Gimp is good for photo editing, but if you need to scale up/down vector graphics are preferable.
For enclosures and parts there's a vector pack that is great with Inkscape and i would assume other vector programs.
http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=47294
dave
just FYI, I think you can use Photoshop for $10 a month ... FWIW
again, photoshop cs2 is f.r.e.e.! :)
like, completely and utterly without monetary requirements.
Here...
http://www.techspot.com/downloads/3689-adobe-photoshop-cs2.html
Vivids work for me ;) 8)
http://www.warehousestationery.co.nz/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WSL-B2C-Site/en_NZ/-/NZD/ViewOfferDetail-Product?ProductRef=51202@WSL-B2C&SLIParameters=&w=Permanent%20Marker&view=list&isort=score&champ=1 (http://www.warehousestationery.co.nz/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WSL-B2C-Site/en_NZ/-/NZD/ViewOfferDetail-Product?ProductRef=51202@WSL-B2C&SLIParameters=&w=Permanent%20Marker&view=list&isort=score&champ=1)
When you're feeling posh:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_ink (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_ink)
When you're feeling truly artistic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_paint (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylic_paint) 8) 8)
Getting your hands dirty painting a pedal, that's where I draw the line.
I don't have an artistic bone in my body and I'm amazed at people who can pull anything of that sort off (Jon is of course the equivalent of unobtanium), even if it's just stamps and sharpies. Hat's off, all y'all!
I use Inkscape and gimp
Just having a rant.
My Fuzz pedal is wired and waiting to go in, but I'm still working on prettying up the box.
Have been trying for the past couple of weeks with no progress with GIMP.
I'm at the point where I'm about to take to the box with a Sharpie.
At least it's got a nice coat of paint.
Yeah! You tell 'em Steve Dave!
I know what you're saying, when it's winter and really cold, I can't get a decal to dry right to save my life, and when it's raining out, painting is a bitch.
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+1 for paint.net, irfan view, and Inkscape. Have also used illustrator, Photoshop, gimp. Depends on my mood but agree on the Inkscape exports and prints being flaky. Print to pdf works well.
One that hasn't been mentioned that I've used since it's original Shareware days is PaintShop Pro. Corel owns it now and it's a nice (and much cheaper) PhotoShop wanna be with a few tricks of it's own. Opens PSD files with layer structure intact.
Hard to beat the free CS2 as well.