Category: Communication Technology

Illustrator Cutlines

How to add cutline in Illustrator to print/cut in Roland VersaWorks?

I. Create the sticker “cloud” outline,

II. Add the outline to the original,

III. then add a cutline.

I. Create the background cloud outline

  1. Live trace in 3 colours (create swatches)
  2. expand so paths are visible
    (look for unnecessary paths outside the area and delete them)
  3. select all and copy to a new layer
  4. locked original layer
  5. paste in place on the new layer duplicate layer
  6. pathfinder->unite
  7. effect->path->offset path
  8. Object->Expand Appearance to get rid of more little bits in the shape
  9. pathfinder->unite again to be sure only a single solid bounding shape
  10. change fill colour to inspect for bits, (notice you may knock out the fill and only a cutline remains)
  11. Inspect and try again trashing paths that interfere until a good solid bounding shape

    12. Trouble?

  12. During the live trace, an extra path may be encircling the whole, ungroup the paths, and trash the extra paths while drilling down in the layers tab.
  13. Object->Ungroup to be able to select paths
  14. Change fill colour after pathfinder unites
  15. Round corners during path offset

II. Add the cloud outline

  1. Instead of rearranging the two layers, unlock the original layer and “drag down” the top layer to the original layer as another object (takes practice), watch the video at 2:28 for how/where the pointer grabs the top layer to drag onto the original layer (the little “selector square” lights up on the right when you drag the coloured sure from one layer to the little sector sure in the next layer. If you do it right it is a “undo move selected” in the edit undo menu
  2. Object->Arrange->Send to Back

III. Create a cutline

  1. Select All and Object->Group
  2. Copy all and paste in place on a new layer again
  3. Pathfinder->Unite
  4. No Fill
  5. Single pixel stroke in the Versaworks colour swatch

    6. Trouble?

  6. Add Versaworks swatches to Illustrator
  7. Versaworks cutline colour: CYMK: C:0 Y:0 M:100% K:0

Simplified Create a Sticker from a JPG/PNG:

  1. New Document
  2. Open Palettes: Swatches(open Versaworks library), Trace, Layers, Pathfinder
  3. Place
  4. Live Trace and Expand to Paths
  5. Edit Colour (so whites are white and blacks are black)
  6. Copy and Paste in place on a new layer duplicate layer
  7. Pathfinder Unite
  8. Effect Path Offset
  9. Object Expand Appearance
  10. Remove Fill and one point Versaworks swatch line.(swap fill/stroke clicking double curved arrow)

Save As *.eps

Beta Test TypingWeb

I need some, err, Guinea pigs to test a “free” online typing program. It looks good so far, I just need a few sample students to simulate the process to see if it will work for us at STJ.

What I am able to determine so far is as teacher: I can maintain groups of students, collect data, monitor results, and test. That’s all good stuff from my end.

I really do not know what the app looks like from a student point of view, so before jumping in to the deep end with it I’d like a few industrious, curious students to give is an honest try.

Let me know if you would like to be a tester of this online keyboarding course.

http://www.typingweb.com

Inspect CSS Elements in Safari

I enabled the following “Advanced” Safari CSS Inspect Element trick so long ago, I forgot I had done it. Of course on my own machines, I enabled this once, and haven’t had to since. In the school MacLab though, students wanting to edit/inspect CSS will need to re-enable the Safari Develop menu each time they log in. C’est la vie.

After enabling the Develop menu, a right-click on any element of a web page should cause the Inspect Element contextual menu to appear.

There you go, infinite design possibility enabled.

Combine 2 Images PhotoShop Tutorial Vid

[youtube video=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UWUB7QfeW8]

An in-depth, beginner Adobe Photoshop CS4 tutorial covering how to blend two images with faces into one image. The example takes the eyes and smiles from one image and merges them into a second image. Tools used: layers, layer mask, brush, move, align layers.

Example Photography Assignments

Inspiration needed? Try these assignments . . .
from Digital Photography School
from About.com
from photoassignments.net
from Goshen College
from Eisenhower Middle School
from Masters of Photography
from The Photo Forum
from The World of Eliot Porter
from The Digital Story
from Corporate Photography
from Bethel High School

Mac Lab Equipped, Software Installed, Resources Readied

Installed hardware:
25 new iMacs, Promethean Board and projector, MacPro server, MacBook Pro, 5 Canon Rebel XSI with Sigma 200 lenses, 5 Canon FS10 digital video cameras, tripods, monopods, Pelican cases, SD readers, and an m-audio keyboard.

Installed Software:
Adobe Master Suite CS3(CS4 arrives n November, 2008): InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Contribute, After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Soundbooth etc.

Apple: iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, Quicktime, iTunes, iPhoto, PhotoBooth etc.

Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Online Services:
STJ Google Docs
STJ iBlogs built from Wordpres Multi-User
STJ Forums built from PunBB
STJ Gallery built from Menalto’s Gallery2
Adobe lesson plans
Student ePortfolios in Acrobat PDFs
Exemplars by Adobe Students

Next? I’ll be meeting with students, individually and small groups to set up Introductory level Student Learning Guides for at least three of the following courses:

Students will be keeping a “Learning (b)Log” to chronicle new learning in ComTech. The blog will also be evaluated for credit towards Information Highway 2 INF2200. Students must have at least one credit in Keyboarding (minimum goal of 30 WPM) before attempting the remaining courses.