Need to create transparent Scrabble tiles

I'm a newbie when it comes to creating my own objects in PI; I've just been using it for basic photo re-touching. I'm using version 8. So, my daughter is on her school's yearbook staff and was tasked with designing the front cover of the yearbook. One of the things they want to do is to super-impose transparent Scrabble tiles over a collage of student pictures. The tiles need to be transparent/translucent in order to see the faces underneath. Can this type of object be created in PI? Would I have to create individual objects for each letter that I need or could I type a phrase, such as the title of the yearbook, and then add effects to it to make it look like Scrabble tiles?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

:confused:

You can make any object transparent. You have drawing modes, in the normal mode, just drag the slider and you will get varing levels of transparency. This will not work on the bottom layer, but on any other.

In regards to the tiling, PI will want to make an object and place them on individual layers. But you can group your layers and they will behave as one, or you can merge them. But merging will make you tiles ineditable, your text will be turned into an image and you can't get it back.

Grouping is better, usually.

I'd suggest finding out how they are printing it. If it is being printed in CMYK or Grayscale or in Spot Color. And if the cover has a bleed. (Extra area the printer needs to print past the crop line to insure you don't have little white lines on the edge of your cover.)

If they want you to do a color separation, you can't do one in PI, it is only RGB.

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any instructions/pointers/tutorials on how to get started with creating the objects?

Thanks!

:)

Hi!
The easiest way may be to download a "Scrabble tile font" and use that in PI to create your lettering.
http://www.thepixiepit.co.uk/scrabble/download.html


Just highlight and set the transparency you desire.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...bblexample.jpg

Very cool! Thanks!

:)

Nice to see you are out there monitoring, Kiwi. So how are things at the PI Board on Stephanie's site: East of the Sun?

Unfortunately .. Quiet?
Even GrafixMan seems to be suffering from creators cramp lol
Pity the "Views" don't ever turn into "Posts"

The only sites I see that really "buzz" seem to be those that offer "Free Siggies/Tags
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...kisss-anim.gif

:) .
Creative block. It happens to everyone. This time of the year, I should have been bombarding the forums I visit with Christmas cards, snowglobes and decorations, but I have no idea what to do. :eek: . Christmas blues, maybe?

We were talking about being Nerds in the Xara Gallery, and some one mentioned that if we got off topic we could get wiped. That's enough to give you a creative block.

The world is a scary place these days. Find a little shelter from the storm among those we feel comfortable with and at ease.

But the snow globe idea sounds great, are we up for a challenge?

That looks real great Sally! :)
You're really putting the pressure on now lol

I have been asked to do an animation for our local council so am up to my ears but will try to combine it with a globe later. Dunno about snow though! It's coming into summer here so may need to be a santa wearing shorts :) :eek:

:D
Snowglobes, yeah. No fair, Sally. I think you have this one finished and stored for the season a long time ago. :D . Gotta come up with something novel. :) .
But yup, this should shake things up a bit here.
Kiwi, how about a Santa on surfboard? Maybe you could substitute waves for snow. That'll be cool. Hey, that's even a good idea for novelty manufacturers. You know those liquid filled paperweights could use a Christmas makeover...

I made this last night, really Grafixman.

When I rework someone else's artwork and do it in another program, I don't take credit for the idea, just the experimental part.

I made the snowglobe in about an hour and a half last night.

I was thinking I'd paste a print screen and prove I did it last night right out of Windows Explorer. But you'd be thinking that I sliced and diced it altogether in a a favorable manner to my own point of view. Man I could be one heck of a good forger I suppose.

But I'm a quick draw. On other things I spend more time, this wasn't that hard. I found a picture which comes stock with PI for the background that wasn't available in PI 8 for the background, so if I did it a couple of years ago, how come the picture is from PI 10? If I was going to subtract the background out and rework it that way, it would take a long time.

Maybe I found it on another forum, ... but maybe I just did it last night.

Maybe I am just what I seem to be.

This sort of animation isn't hard. The globe is out of the materials palette. And I drew Santa. Used some stock PI stuff for the chimney and snow topped lettering for the snow on the chimney mouth. I drew in some of the snow and also used the particle filter on Santa himself and the star filter for some extra twinkle. The Merry Christmas is drop in banner text. And it was optimized at the highest quality though I reduced the size to the pixel width you see here because the banner text added so many frames. I split the banner text up so as to adjust the snow falling in the various frames.

Honestly, I can't remember what I had for dinner two years ago, least of all exactly how I made it.

But Merry Christmas anyway. I want to have a happy end to this year. No amount of Bah Humbug makes me feel that way.

Cheer up and DRAW, you're good at it. Come on, no excuses, now!

:D .
Just pulling your leg, Sally. ;)
I never doubted your ability. You see those smileys all over my message? The problem with forum discusssions is that a lot of things gets lost in the process, like facial expressions, for example. You could say the exact same thing with different tone and facial expression in an actual conversation and the meanings would be different each time....
Yep, I gotta post something soon. Michelangelo did manage to carve David out of his gigantic block...

I didn't end my post in an angry way. I know you are a good guy and a good artist. You just love the smorgasbord we have around here and sample this and that and then when you finally spit out some work, it is very good.

So I am waiting.

If I hold my breath, will I turn blue???

To Kiwi,

"A Santa wearing Shorts", or on a surf board, a water globe, scooba diving. Get inventive.

I make tranparent tiles and could send a set to you. Walt

[QUOTE=walttiles;229519]I make tranparent tiles and could send a set to you. Walt[/