Designing in GIMP
Just a quick post to show you what I did today...
It's been cold and I looked out the window to the balcony and it was covered in icy spiderwebs. They were so pretty! I took pictures, most of which show the webs well enough, but none artistic. I did think one had potential, though. Actually, this one was on the deck, not the balcony. This is the inside of the trellis arch. It was late afternoon and I used a flash to capture the sparkle of the web.
I put it into GIMP, cropped off the right half and squared it. Then I did some copy and paste to give it a bottom "frame."
Then I played with it forever.
I played mostly with colors and modes. Eventually, I'll have them posted somewhere here at Airy Nothing.
The next thing I thought I'd do was make a pattern. The sketch script-fu and edges weren't working, so I took a posterized version and simply drew the lines on new layers. That came out like this:
I wanted to see how it would look if I actually make it into needlework -- fabric and embroidery. This is one example. I turned some fabric scans into GIMP patterns and filled some sections (frame, background and branches) with those. Next, I used the embroidery setting in GIMPressionist for the leaves, buds and web. This comes out like machine embroidery for the leaves and buds, but the fine web comes out looking like silver thread. (Be sure to click on all the pics and view them in the orginal size to see the detail.)
This isn't how it will really look if I do it. I don't plan to do machine embroidery for the leaves and buds, though I suppose it's an option. I'll play with it a bit more in GIMP, and then I'll probably print my favorites and paste them into my studio journal. Unless I come up with something that WOWs me, I don't think I'll actually do this one. (But I've learned never to say "Never!") One thing I know -- I don't like the black lines in the frame. I also want to scan some other fabric I have. I have some wood planks fabric... and maybe I can find something better for the stems. Or I could embroider them, too. If I make this, I don't think I'd do it any bigger than an 8" x 10".
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cross posted from Airy Nothing