control panel artwork

[Silverwind]

Ok.. here is my problem:

How do I start a CP graphic?  I can load up any image editor and easily add graphics and such... but how do I lay it out so it's to scale?

lets say I want a 2 foot by 1 foot image.  How should I go about starting the file? What DPI, what resolution, etc?

Are there any WYSISWG image editors that allow me to create a 1 & 1/8" diameter circle for a button cut-out.. and have it print out that size etc?

I have been reading up for a while on artwork.. but most things I've learned are about obtaining graphics, where to print, what to print on, etc..  very little on actual image creation..   please help me shed some light on this subject, thanks!

[GodSend25]

when I created my marquee and overlay graphics in Photoshop all I did was start a new image (file->new) , and when it prompted me for the size of the image I wanted to create I simply put in size I wanted it to print in inches (so for example, I put 36 inches for width and 7.5 inches for height).  

With the image canvas the right size, it was easy to then just cut and paste and scale all my clipart into the image canvas.  (You really need something like photoshop/paintshop for this kind of stuff).  Its really easy, but a bit beyond the scope of ms paint.

[Brad Lee]

Photoshop is what I use also

When creating a new image like above it also asks for the DPI, if you create a 10"x10" image at 300dpi, it'll be 3000x3000 pixels, at 600dpi it'll be 6000x6000 pixels.

Depending on where you're printing it, go with either 300 or 600, but be warned.. these things can be huge, 36" @ 600dpi is 21,600 pixels across, 10" is 6000, 36x10 would be 129,600,000 pixels which can make for some heavy memory use depending on what youre doing with filters and so on.

[Silverwind]

ok great.. thanks for the tips..

I have photoshop at work on one of the computers.. I can probably get some time on it to create an image..

So after you create your photoshop image (and specify the size) can you create a circle of say 1 & 1/8" using the "circle tool"?

I probably will print it at Kinko's or similar...  so what would be higher quality?  I would imagine 600dpi would be higher quality?

[Darkstalker]

Since you'll be working with actual printing measurements, you can switch the info display to provide inches instead of pixels.  In the Navigator/Info box on the right, you should see a small triangle next to the co-ordinate readout.  If you left-click the lower left icon (It looks like the prescision cursor, or a '+') you will see a pulldown list of unit types.  Pick inches (Or Centimeters if you're one of those metric people) and it will be much easier to make selections and see how large things will be in the end result.  

So after you create your photoshop image (and specify the size) can you create a circle of say 1 & 1/8" using the "circle tool"?

The size of your circle selection will also be shown in the same info window, but in the lower-right portion.

If the window is not there, goto Window in the toolbar, then click Info.  Then you should have the tool window available.  It's defaulted on when you install Photoshop, and it's the uppermost tool window on the right side of the desktop.

I probably will print it at Kinko's or similar...  so what would be higher quality?  I would imagine 600dpi would be higher quality?

Yes, 600dpi will be higher quality, but the end result will only be as good as the source material.  If you are creating the entire overlay in Photoshop without using any outside pictures, it will be 600dpi.  Otherwise you may be limited to 300dpi, or even 72dpi which is what monitors are.  Keep in mind what you get during printout will be MUCH higher quality than what you see on your monitor.

The other concern is file size.  A 28"x14"@300dpi picture is ~97MB, at 600dpi the file size jumps to ~386MB.  Unless you have a LOT of system memory, a scratch drive for Photoshop, and a hefty CPU to go with it, you are going to feel the hurt when you want to start applying filters like Brad Lee mentioned.


I'm using a combination of Visio and Photoshop to plan out my control panel.  I grabbed the Visio template from the main site here, and imported my Photoshop created pic to see what the end result would be.  Since it's easier to work with premade objects in Visio as opposed to re-creating controls in Photoshop it will save me a lot of time in the end.  Might be an avenue you want to explore as well...

[SNAAAKE]

make sure you work on a 300 dpi file because i was working on(a 600dpi file) my brother's computer(xp 2000,1.5gb ram) and my marque is like 400 something MB and i wanted to get a .JPG out of the marque file and my own computer cant even open the file(memory low) and my brother is away and his computer is password protected .

So work on a 300 dpi file and you wont have any trouble like kinkos cant open file or anything like that.

Looks great on 300 DPI and MUST MUST take my word and print on vinyl(TRUST me,vinyl is the best and cheapest for this kind of work).
Show pics when you are all done.

[Silverwind]

ok.. i got photoshop started up.. haven't used it much so learning how to use it.. hehe

I'm sure i'll have some more questions later..

now if I just want to see how my "to scale" overlay looks.. can I print it out on an inkjet/laserjet on 8.5x11?  It may take several pages.. but just to see what it looks like?

[neuromancer]

ok.. i got photoshop started up.. haven't used it much so learning how to use it.. hehe

A much better tool, if it is also available to you, is Adobe Illustrator, a vector based program which will also work with your Photoshop "bitmaps". But you *could* do everything in PS. With illustrator you can "place" a graphic on the page and rotate or resize it. With photoshop, every time you do one of those things, the image needs to be "resampled" to whatever the resolution of your image is.

Bob

[Howard_Casto]

ok.. i got photoshop started up.. haven't used it much so learning how to use it.. hehe

A much better tool, if it is also available to you, is Adobe Illustrator, a vector based program which will also work with your Photoshop "bitmaps". But you *could* do everything in PS. With illustrator you can "place" a graphic on the page and rotate or resize it. With photoshop, every time you do one of those things, the image needs to be "resampled" to whatever the resolution of your image is.

Bob

Not exactly true.... Illustrator treats raster images exactly like photoshop does, it just has a different interface for it so it seems different.  Now if you have vector images to work with then it's helpful but as most of the quality artwork on the net is raster this doesn't matter.  Also illustrator has a much steeper learning curve, in my opinion at least.  If the guy is just now learning how to use photoshop then he better stick with that.

Also the major key to working with images in photoshop... start with images and an area at least twice as big as the actual layout you wish to make... only when you are completely finished should you scale down.... then any resampling issues are eliminated.  

[Silverwind]

Sounds like a good idea.. i'll make the image larger than neccesary?

Basically what I want to do is:

Lay down a template for the buttons/joysticks using photoshop circle/rectangle tools etc..

Then import various jpeg images and arrange them how I want in the background..  Now the jpegs that I have are only 640x480.. but I will use several of them to cover the overlay with..  

[Smittydc]

I used both as follows:

Photoshop to cut out and touch up art/characters from clip art and screen captures -- which I would then copy and paste into Illustrator -- where it is easier to resize and layout everything.

One way of thinking of it is that photoshop lets you manipulate the individual pixels of a picture, while illustrator organizes different pictures/objects to make something new(though there's a lot of overlap between the two).

Regarding printing, in Illustrator you need to define the page size both in your document properties and your printer setup.

Have fun!

ps - it's really worthwhile to go through one of those "Illustrator Bible" books sometime when you have a chance.  Some of the controls are confusing at first, but amazing when you are shown how to use them right.

[Frostillicus]

Sounds like a good idea.. i'll make the image larger than neccesary?

Basically what I want to do is:

Lay down a template for the buttons/joysticks using photoshop circle/rectangle tools etc..

Then import various jpeg images and arrange them how I want in the background..  Now the jpegs that I have are only 640x480.. but I will use several of them to cover the overlay with..  

Illustrator and photoshop can be daunting to learn for total newbs - you should just stick to one if you are committed at all(go with photoshop).
Here is my professional advice: good luck.  heh no really - say your panel will be 36in by 15in(or whatever).  Make your file RGB 36in wide by 15in tall with no more than 300dpi.  
Anything higher is a complete waste of time.  Don't make a huge size canvas then shrink it down in the end - nobody does that - huge waste of resources plus it's pointless.  Can kinko's even print true 600dpi?  It's not like this is giclee(fine art inkjetting).

Anyway - I think it was Darkstalker who said it will only be as good as the source material.  This is correct - so unless you use very hi-res images in the first place, you're going to have to transform/scale them to the desired size - which even if you use bipolar interpolation will look pretty blurry/bad.  No amount of sharpening or level adjustment will change that.  At work we place tiff's that are ~600dpi at 8x10in originally, so then when they are scaled down they don't lose quality.

Also if you're concerned about file size, when it's time to take the file to kinko's, save a copy as a tiff and select 'flatten image' in the checkbox.  That will flatten the layers and save some space.  Keep in mind there is no acccurate formula for photoshop files( like 8.5x11in at 300dp=75megs) due to the layers.

[rhd]

The best tool depends a lot on your source material. Illustrator is primarily a vector graphics system. By vector graphics I don't mean Asteroids, but rather a system that stores line segments and curves rather than a grid of pixels. Vector is nicer when you scale it up large because it stays sharp and doesn't get grainy. If your source images are also vector then you're better off with Illustrator, but if you're importing bitmaps then there's no advantage. Adobe does have a tool that converts from bitmap to vector called Streamline and Flash can also do it. But the images do not look the same...more like a cartoon drawing than a photograph. Both tools have a pretty steep learning curve so if you know one and not the other then you should consider that as well.

[Silverwind]

I have had previous experience with photoshop 4/5.. but not a whole lot...

doesn't look like it's too hard.. the basics at least..  work on computers all day too so familiar with how things work in general...  it's not intimidating at all..

the test image I made was 24" by 12" 300dpi.. I'll just burn it to a CD when I go to take it to Kinko's..  (not complete with the artwork though)

now on a 24x12 300dpi... 640x480 image probably won't be very large right?  I do plan to maybe size it some.. but not too much overall.. because i'll draw from dozens of 640x480 images to create sort of a collage..

http://www.avault.com/reviews/avscreenshot.asp?pic=images/fall1.jpg&width=640&height=480

http://www.avault.com/reviews/avscreenshot.asp?pic=images/fall9.jpg&width=640&height=480

Those two images.. while not exactly what i'm going to use.. are similar to the size/style of images that I'm going to try to use..

[MixTracks]

Here is my professional advice: good luck.  heh no really - say your panel will be 36in by 15in(or whatever).  Make your file RGB 36in wide by 15in tall with no more than 300dpi.  
Anything higher is a complete waste of time.  Don't make a huge size canvas then shrink it down in the end - nobody does that - huge waste of resources plus it's pointless.  Can kinko's even print true 600dpi?  It's not like this is giclee(fine art inkjetting).

Good advice, the only thing different that I did was use CMYK (4 Color Printing Process).

My CP graphic was something like 37" X 17" and 150 dpi.  The smaller dpi helps save CPU time and looks VERY close to 300 dpi when printed at full scale.

The marquee is a different story though, I feel that needs to be 300 dpi.

I work for a multimedia and print design studio and all of our print work is 300 dpi, FWIW.

[naomi+]

"smaller dpi helps save CPU time and looks VERY close to 300 dpi "

First I must agree with MixTracks, since my expertise lies in digital art

Pixels have more power than dots! Try to keep in mind, dpi is not ppi(pixels per inch), which every seems to confuse. Huge Side art graphics hold up quite well at 150 pixels per inch(units used in PS to measure raster images). Most ppl are using graphics(ie comic/anime chars) and  they don't need the same resolution as a photo.  I'm not gonna get into it here, but lets just say that you can print graphic side art with an image at 150 ppi, and print on a 300dpi printer.  It will look nice, you will love it.  have fun