My template to share bitmap brushes without their weight !!!

[ivan louette]

Before sending my bitmap brushes to the XaraXone, like Gary has proposed, I have asked me some questions an here I try to solve them.

Bitmap brushes are heavy, and thus relatively difficult to share, particularly for those who (like me) don't have a high bandwidth connection to the web.

In some case it's necessary to create bitmap brushes because some features like bevels, feathering and others are lost when you convert objects to brushes.

I show here an image and will send in the next message the corresponding template which should facilitate sharing of bitmap brushes made exclusively on base of XaraX features.

The basic objects of the brush I have figured here will stay in the "kit". Their weight is 14,2 Ko, and the weight of the final brush is ...288 Ko !!!

When you would share some brush, replace simply:

a) the objects with those you have used
b) the settings in the text
c) the thumbnail image (256 colors without transparency is the smaller)

How could you group several brushes in the same file ?

Simply copy and paste the template in several layers !!!

Regards,

ivan

[ivan louette]

Before sending my bitmap brushes to the XaraXone, like Gary has proposed, I have asked me some questions an here I try to solve them.

Bitmap brushes are heavy, and thus relatively difficult to share, particularly for those who (like me) don't have a high bandwidth connection to the web.

In some case it's necessary to create bitmap brushes because some features like bevels, feathering and others are lost when you convert objects to brushes.

I show here an image and will send in the next message the corresponding template which should facilitate sharing of bitmap brushes made exclusively on base of XaraX features.

The basic objects of the brush I have figured here will stay in the "kit". Their weight is 14,2 Ko, and the weight of the final brush is ...288 Ko !!!

When you would share some brush, replace simply:

a) the objects with those you have used
b) the settings in the text
c) the thumbnail image (256 colors without transparency is the smaller)

How could you group several brushes in the same file ?

Simply copy and paste the template in several layers !!!

Regards,

ivan

[ivan louette]

And here is the template file zipped.

Please if you have any problems to unzip it, tell me it; I will send it directly in .xar format.

Enjoy,

ivan

[Christine Farrelly]

Ivan I think you will find that if you send a .XAR file with a small sample of the brush in it, like the ones in the brushes folder you can send people the brush without them having to re-create it. That may not be what you want of course. The brushes can still be edited if necessary. See the attached file, it is 20k but has 5 brushes in it.


Christine

[ivan louette]

Hello Christine,

Of course, your system is the best if the brushes are only constituted of pure vector shapes like those of your file.
But sometimes it is necessary to create bitmap objects if you will use very sophisticated effects in your brushes. If you try to create a brush with a beveled object you will see that the bevel is lost in the brush. This is the same for other effects like feathering.

That's why I have used bitmaps copies of my vector objects to create some things like the "Glass Snake" in my example, or the velvet ribbons for "velvet Rose" and the more recent "3D fillings with bitmap brushes".

But it is very important to convert these bitmaps into editable shapes with a single tile filling before creating a brush with them (otherwise you will have multiple copies of your object around your brush when you decrease its size).

It is also important to work with oversized objects (100 pts or more) if you will use very wide brushes.

Sometimes my brushes are not constituted of only one bitmap but three (like in velvet rose) or more (like in glass snake).
Thus if you add the weight of all bitmap objects constituting glass snake for example you obtain a weight of 288 Ko !!! This is much more than the 14,2 Ko weight of the only two vector objects on which these bitmaps were based.

Thus I have remembered the numerous little airplanes models I have constructed step by step when I was a child. The nicest were the longer to assemble !!!

And the result is the template I distribute here. If you use the objects resulting of the blend which is inside and follow the steps you will obtain exactly the result shown in the thumbnail.

Kind regards,

ivan

[Christine Farrelly]

You are right to a certain extent Ivan, but if you open a new file and create just a short line with the brush Xara will save with it only those files needed for the brush. This can make quite a difference if you have say applied a bit map then bevelled it than created a bitmap copy to apply again. only the final bitmap would be saved with the file. I will try it with your example and see what happens - wont be today though got to go earn some money...

Christine

[ivan louette]

Hi Christine,

My basic objects (like the blend in my template) don't contain any bitmap; thus I have only the final bitmaps (288 Ko png images when compressed by XaraX in this case).
No bitmaps to share is better I think.
Of course this is a little bit annoying having to copy all these settings but this is worthwhile !!! The best should be if XaraX permits to stock these settings into a kind of "macro". Then, they could be shared between different brushes.

Kind regards,

ivan

[Christine Farrelly]

Hello Ivan,

I have tried your glass snake template and after saving just a sample of the line I finished with a file size of 129k larger than you 14k but not as large as the 288k. I bow to your better judgement. Perhaps we could have the option to submit brushes in both formats if the sender has the bandwidth to do that.(Sorry but I have).

As you say a macro facility would be nice - so long as its a better implementation than that other package.

Christine

[ivan louette]

Christine,

I have sent 18 brushes to Gary in two collections of nine and have mixed vector and bitmap ones. I didn't use this template but if I put them on a future site (mine) I will propose the two solutions you said.

The bigger of the two collections is about 1Mo, but is worthwhile (I think).

Thanks,

ivan