DA Theme 025: It Looks Like Fabric

[cat bounds]

This challenge was suggested by Lyle.
Sometimes we'll make a piece of digital art that looks like fabric, tapestry, tie dye, batik, embroidery, quilting, etc. Let's see your "fabric art".

Here's the one I posted that caused Lye to come up with this idea:


And here's one I did quite a while ago that looks like batik to me:

[Jin]

Hi Cat,

Thanks for another great idea, and fun!


I've been collecting fabric since I was 12 and began to sew. It seems that habit's slopped over into digital life.

These were done so long ago the date and Painter version are just a vague memory, but I dug around in the closet as soon as I saw your post.


Taffeta




Drapes




Collar





This Tapestry is dated and it must have been Painter 5 or Painter 6 (file too large to display here).



..................................

[cat bounds]

Jin, these are beautiful. You've been using Painter for a while now, haven't you? If you run across any other fabrics I hope you'll share them with us.

[Jin]

Hi Cat,

Thanks! I'm glad you like 'em.

Yes, I've been using Painter for 12 years, since Fractal Design Painter 4, almost every day since the first night I installed Painter 4.

I created all of these "fabrics" myself, from scratch, and you can do it too.

For "ready-made" fabrics, one site is Mayang's Free Textures and I'd guess you'll find others that are free for anyone to use by doing a Google search.

Personally, I like making my own and hardly ever use anything made by someone else, unless it's something that came with Painter (Patterns, Papers, etc.), items downloaded from the Corel FTP server (only available occasionally) or custom items shared by other Painter users. Even then, the only Painter art materials I use much are those found in the Papers libraries and more and more I'm using my own custom Papers and Patterns. Brush variants are another story. I create custom brush variants all the time and thoroughly enjoy that process. Some wonderful surprises are in store for anyone who digs in and begins to understand Painter's brush controls and the ways Painter's brush variants can interact with Paper texture.

After all, if we can create with what Painter gives us to use, it seems logical to make use of those features. Again.... it's more fun to make our own things. (At least for me it is.)


Thanks again, Cat.

[cat bounds]

Thanks for the link, Jin. For those of us who have been using Painter for a much shorter time, your insights are always welcome. When you were exploring Painter 4, I was still into traditional media, and I don't often set out to create fabric effects. Sometimes it just happens, but that's what makes a forum like this so interesting. We're all coming from different experiences, training and points of view. Feel free to jump in here whenever you think of something else you'd like to share.

[Jin]

Hi Cat,

When I began exploring Painter 4, I'd only recently begun doing my work (illustration/graphic art/writng) using a computer. Before that, it was all done "on the board" using traditional media, pencil, pen and ink, or typing on one or another of whatever typing machine was current at the time. Since early childhood I loved to draw and in high school and later, as a stay at home Mom, played a little with watercolor and pastels. In some community college classes before going back to work, I did more drawing, graphic design, and in my favorite classes did zinc plate etching, paper lithography, and other printing that involved photo chemicals and exposing in the sun.

Believe me, it took a while to even begin to scratch Painter's surface. As one of my first Painter instructors said, "Painter is a dense program.", and it is!

Dense, complex, rich, exciting to use, and never boring.

When I look at my first painting done in Painter 4, it's evident I hadn't explored much. It was all done with default brush variants. Still, I was pretty pleased as it only took me about 3-1/2 hours one Sunday afternoon, painting only from imagination. I guess that says something about Painter and it's way of letting us do more than we thought we could.

Here's my first little Sunday afternoon painting, named: "Path"

Thanks for the invite. If you travel the Painter community, you know I don't hesitate to jump in when there's time and something to offer. My fingers will testify to this (typing all day and night).

[phyllis stewart]

Jin, terrific fabric pieces! And I love your old Painter 4 painting "path."

[Jin]

Hey, thanks, Phyllis!

I'm glad you like my "fabric" pieces, and "Path".

That little painting was fun to do as I was in one of those spaces where everything was peaceful and seemed to fall into place.

The fabric things were a bit more technical, but still fun.

[cat bounds]

Thanks for the invite. If you travel the Painter community, you know I don't hesitate to jump in

Yes, I know. And if you know anything about me, you know that I'm Southern, and we give invites. We can't help ourselves

[Jin]

I hope you won't regret your invite to me, Southern gal.

Some of my family grew up in the South, Georgia (father), Alabama, then Texas (mother in law), Helena Arkansas on the Mississipi (step father), Texas again (uncle by marriage), Florida (aunt and cousins), and my mother lived in Alabama when she was a tyke. She used to put me to bed with stories of her advenures as a four year old, dirt roads, wooden sidewalks in town, bare feet, sitting on the corner with her best friend asking college students for a nickel to buy something at the drug store. Wonderful stories, it was way back in 1919 when she was four.

I've lived in the South a little myself, but only for short periods.

Ahem! Now back to our regular programming.

[cat bounds]

Six Degrees of Separation; my mom's family were from West Helena.

[lylejk]

Well here's my first foray into this one (thanks for the PM Cat). Used my Impressionist preset and a few other things. The reference image is located here.



Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

[cat bounds]

Hi, Lyle I knew you wouldn't want to miss this one since it was your brain child. This would be a really cute child's blanket.

[lylejk]

Just fooling around. Now for bed.



Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

[cat bounds]

Your texture really works well here, Lyle.

[Swampy]

This was one of my very first art pieces. It turned out looking like it was a woven design. I can't remember all the details, but I think I used two textures on this, PS screen and lambswool.

[Tyeise]

That's very pretty, lovely flowers!

[cat bounds]

Dee dee, I like the texture a lot, and yes, it looks like fabric. Sometimes when I look back at my early stuff, I wonder how I did them.

[Swampy]

Cat... At my age I can't remember what I did 5 minutes ago! LOL Yesterday I was working on a display ad and created a really cool background. I had saved at one point, but in tweaking further I hit the perfect combination and before I could save again, the lights went out. When I got back up and running a few minutes later, I couldn't remember just what I had done to get that sweet spot look...sigh

[cat bounds]

Cat... At my age I can't remember what I did 5 minutes ago! LOL

Ha! We must be the same age, Dee Dee!
Sorry to hear you lost your work. Been there, done that, lost the T-shirt, too..............

[Swampy]

Cat... At my age I can't remember what I did 5 minutes ago! LOL

Ha! We must be the same age, Dee Dee!
Sorry to hear you lost your work. Been there, done that, lost the T-shirt, too..............

All I will say is.. I made it to Medicare!! LOL

[cat bounds]

All I will say is.. I made it to Medicare!! LOL

I haven't quite made it yet, but darling hubby has. I figure by the time I get there, (which isn't that far away) there won't be any Medicare of Social Security or anything left!

[Sonya]

Er, may I interrupt?

Age is only relative, and nobody looking at your art can possibly say you ladies are, ahem, senile (or even near it). About losing memory, well, less said the better for what I do with my work... And I don't qualify for Medicare for a long while yet!

Some pretty fabrics here. I have one too (well, I need a smiley for a little kid jumping up and down with excitement with hand in air) Would it be ok to post something done for another website's challenge, or do I need their permission first? (Seems to me I do).

[cat bounds]

Hi, Sonya. Of course you can join in the discussion. I've always been forgetful and a bit absent minded, but finally I can blame it on my age!! No, actually, when I was working, it's as if I had trained my brain to remember schedules and deadlines and important stuff, but when I stopped working, my brain said Woo Hoo! No more pleasing anybody but me (and occasionally my hubby)! And promptly went on indefinite leave of absence!

Would it be ok to post something done for another website's challenge, or do I need their permission first? (Seems to me I do).

Yes, please post it! We'd love to see it!

[phyllis stewart]

Dee Dee, what a beautiful fabric design! Pretty good for an old lady...lol! I need a few more years to get medicare, but at least I get my first SS check this month. Yay... the benefits of being an old lady!

[Swampy]

Congrats, Phyllis! Trust me, the governent will find a way to take some of it back. LOL

[Sonya]

Thanks Cat, now I can put the blame on you when someone complains about the lousy job!

Ok, here it is - from the post processing challenge at POTY a while back now (damn; I can't connect to the site just now - will post link to thread later.) I saved only the for-web version then, so what you see is what it is! I had to re-position some of the hills to get the effect I wanted, but I thought it sort of looked like painted on fabric - or maybe handmade paper.

[cat bounds]

from the post processing challenge at POTY

Do you mean Paint Outside the Frame? It does have a fabric feel to it, Sonya, and looks Japanese. Very pretty.

[Sonya]

Nope. Sorry, shouldn't have used the acronym. Its Photo-of-the-year. But for the life of me, I just can't find the challenge I participated in. Checked all my entries, and the forum, so either I didn't submit, or the site lost it in a recent glitch. The original photo is dated Jan06, but I can't find that either

And did I say thanks?

[cat bounds]

Hey, no problem. I was just curious. I'm glad we got to see this version of it.