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This class is for quilters of all levels of experience who want to know how to make their own digital fabric. The goal of this class is give you an easy system for taking your digital images and printing them on fabric using modern pigmented ink printers. We will use a professional printer in class for speed but you can duplicate what you learn in the class on less expensive home printers. In addition to printing your own images from your digital camera you may also want to bring images of your original artwork or old photographic prints that you have scanned.
The goal of this course is to demystify the technology behind digital photography and printing on fabric. The number one question that we get from our students that have tried to print on fabric before is, how do I get good color on fabric?
You do not need to have any experience with digital image processing software; we will teach you how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 from start up to making digital files that we will print on fabric with our professional printer.
We call the first half of this class “Digital Boot Camp for Quilters.” Kerby shows you how to create the best digital files for printing on fabric using the inexpensive Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 program.
In the second part of this class Lura shows you her techniques for punching up the fabric using an assortment of colored pencils, textile paints and fabric inks. Then she shows you how to merge your digital fabric with other fabrics to produce an art quilt top.
While there may be other programs for processing digital images, the one we use and teach is Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. If you have an older version of Photoshop Elements you need to be aware that there were major changes between versions 4 and 5. If you want to use a PC Laptop with the Windows XP operating system and Photoshop Elements 5.0 that is OK, just remember our onscreen demonstrations will be with Windows Vista and Elements 6.0. If you have Elements 4.0 or earlier you need to get Elements 6.0 for this class.
MAC USERS – Regrettably, Adobe has not kept up with upgrades to Photoshop Elements for you at the same pace as for the PC users. Currently the only version available for the MAC is Elements 4. Reportedly, Adobe will release a new version of Photoshop Elements for the MAC in 2008. If they release it in January you will need it and you should have it loaded on your computer for our class during the first session at Empty Spools. If they do not release it in January, we seriously question whether or not you should take our class this February. If you have any questions regarding this, please, contact us at class@thedigitalquilt.com.
PREREQUISITES:
While this class is for quilters of all levels of experience, you must have intermediate computer skills for this class. The first prerequisite for this class is for you to fill out the student survey. Filling out the survey is how we determine the best ways to meet your needs in the class. Click here to fill out the survey.
The other prerequisite is that YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR LAPTOP COMPUTER.
The number one thing that we have seen frustrate students in our class is that they do not know how to use their laptop computer. Many quilters may have a desktop computer at home and know how to use it to send their e-mail or surf the web but the laptop PC is a strange beast to them. While it is OK to bring a desktop computer to the class, most of our students have chosen for convenience to come with a laptop.
Unfortunately, the laptop they bring to the class is either a “hand me down” or brand new. And while some students know how to use their home computer, those that have problems in the class do not know how to use the strange laptop they brought with them. All computers are not created equal.
If the laptop is a “hand me down” it is often slow and students are frustrated as they wait for the computer to process the next step on making a change to their image, saving it or copying it to a flash drive for printing.
One way to tell if you have a newer PC laptop is to see if it has the high speed USB 2 ports on it. If it has the older, slower original USB ports on it you might want to upgrade the laptop before the class. See our computer recommendations on our website www.thedigitalquilt.com.
If the laptop is a brand new PC, make sure you know how to use the new Windows Vista operating system and do basic computer tasks. If you have a PC laptop that uses Windows XP, that is OK.
For this class you need to know where your files are located and how to get to them in either Windows XP or Vista. You need to know about directories and file folders. You need to know how to move a file from one folder to another folder. You need to know the difference between copying files and moving them. You need to know how to rename files.
As digital photographers, you need to know how to move your pictures from your digital camera to your laptop. Once you have done that you need to know where the pictures are stored on your laptop and how to move them from file folder to file folder.
The touchpad that substitutes for a mouse on a laptop is different. We have seen students very frustrated trying to use the touchpad to move the cursor around on the screen. But the minute someone loaned them a wireless mouse they had no problem and their stress disappeared. The easy solution for this is before class to purchase an optional wireless mouse that plugs into one of your laptop’s USB 2 ports.
If any of the above seems like it might be a problem for you contact us with questions at class@thedigitalquilt.com. Remember, the conferences offer a lot of great classes and until you are more familiar with your laptop computer you might want to switch to another class.
If all of the above is old hat to you then you will have a great time learning how to process your digital images in Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 for the best results in printing on fabric.
MAC users, we are concerned that Adobe's development of Photoshop Elements is now two full versions behind the PC version. We understand that a new MAC version of Photoshop Elements is to be released in 2008.
If it is released in January before the class, you will need it. If Adobe does not release the new MAC version of Elements, we are concerned that you might have a problem following our demonstrations in class and we need to discuss this with you. We do not want you to be frustrated with version 4 of Elements for the MAC. It may be better for you to take our class later. |
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