Infinite Triangle

[NightHawk]

Most of you are aware (especially George  ) that Kathy and I have been designing graphics for a lot of years now, and occasionally we like to share some of the work we do on the Forum.  The graphics we show are appropriate to a particular ongoing topic, e.g. Remembrance Day, Easter, Christmas, etc., so we don't use the Forum as a showcase for our work (we have our own graphics web site for that) 

Anyway, I recently came across a tutorial to design an 'Infinite Triangle' in Adobe Illustrator, which is a kind of optical illusion but a structure that could not be constructed in real life.  I thought it would be nice to share this little 'conundrum' with you.

I prefer to design graphics in Vector format as much as possible, because they are scaleable up and down in size without losing quality.  Normal graphics are in Bitmap (also known as Raster) format, and are usually saved as a .jpg.  Without getting into technicalities, vectors use mathematical formulas to calculate their design, whilst bitmaps use a series of coloured square blocks (or pixels).  So when you enlarge a bitmap graphic you see what is referred to as 'jaggies' which are the jagged edges of the blocks, which are not as obvious when the graphic is small.

To fully appreciate a vector graphic, it must be saved in .svg format (scaleable vector graphic), but not all browsers will display them.  If you save a vector graphic as a .jpg it will be converted to a bitmap graphic.
One simple way around this, which I use to show vectors to other people, is by creating a PDF document.  This embeds all the correct formatting for the graphic, plus any fonts that I use are actually shown.  If you don't have that particular font installed on your computer then you normally wouldn't see it - Windows would show a generic font to represent it instead.
As Adobe offer a PDF Reader for free, then anyone can read PDF documents.  All you have to do is zoom in on the document to see the vector as big as you want, and all the lines and curves are completely smooth.

If you have computer software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop CS5, then you can create simple vector graphics yourself.  Although I have both of these, Adobe Illustrator CS5 is the industry standard tool for creating vector graphics, which is what I use the most.  The benefit of using vector graphics (for me anyway) is that you may at some point wish to make a certain graphic bigger for a particular project.  Instead of having to design it again as a larger size, as you would in bitmap format, you just open it up and pull out the 'bounding box' around the image to the size you want.  You can then resave that larger image in .jpg format to display in web pages, or on Forums, as the increased size quality has already been preserved.

Most of the time though I'll still show my final graphics as a .jpg, because I've already decided on the size I wish it to be viewed at.

Anyway, that's enough of the background information on the graphics, now to the actual 'Infinite Triangle'.

Below is the finished product saved as a bitmap image in .jpg format.



If you wish to view the PDF document and experiment with enlarging the triangle to enormous proportions, then let me know.

You could then save the PDF to your own computer to view offline if you wish.

The credit for the excellent tutorial I followed to create this masterpiece goes here - http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/impossible-shape-illustrator/
(I'm not a 'Premium Member' on this site so I couldn't use the supplied source files - I had to do everything from scratch.  A good learning experience anyway  )

Enjoy 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

I can just about the simple things I need in Photoshop Elements to design CD labels and CD case inlays, but I'm learning each time I get time to play with it.
This is a very good insight to the many things we take for granted when we visit websites - the graphics. Great article Laurie, and very much appreciated.

A link to your home page is in order:
http://www.pixiemouse.com/

[NightHawk]

Thanks for that George.

You're so busy with developing your own software that you probably don't have the time for much else computer-wise anyway 

It's still nice to have the graphics software in your arsenal for when you need it though.  And as they say, practice makes perfect.

The graphics you see on our web site are all created by Kathy and are primarily pixel-based, because they were intended for a specific purpose.  A lot of people like to have graphics as signature tags for their email programs and for posting on Forums, so Kathy designed those accordingly.  Small in size to load quickly.

Kathy doesn't design as much now though, as other interests have evolved over the years.  We keep a small selection of graphics for sale on the web site as people still need them from time to time.

A lot of the graphics I do are not as yet on our web site.  I'm currently designing 3D characters and composite fantasy scenes, using a combination of my various software programs for the particular effects I want to achieve.  I use DAZ Studio 4 for the 3D work, and Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Illustrator CS5 for the other graphics effects.

I'm not interested in doing any designs for selling though.  There's too many other people out there doing just that to compete with, so they're all creations for my own satisfaction.

I may at some point get around to putting some of my fantasy scenes onto our web site to just share with other like-minded people, but as it's just a leisurely pastime I'm not under any time constraints 

I enjoy following tutorials from other people as a way of getting to grips with aspects of the software I've not used before.  Although books are a useful addition to have, hands-on experience is the best way to learn.

The 'Infinite Triangle' is a good example.  In that tutorial I'd not used a lot of those techniques in Illustrator before, so they can now be adapted to use in some of my own projects.

Kathy did a similar thing on our web site.  She worked with Jasc Paint Shop Pro at the time and learned how to do various techniques through following other people's tutorials.  When she became more proficient with the program, she designed her own graphics and did a tutorial for other people to follow along with for them to design their own creations.
When you design a graphic exactly from someone else's tutorial, it's proper etiquette to credit that person with how it was achieved; hence the link I gave for the 'Infinite Triangle'.
If you then use those similar techniques to design something completely different, then the finished graphic is your own and you can claim the credit for it.

Over the years we've seen some people 'steal' another graphic designers' tutorial and post it exactly on their own web site and claim it to be theirs.  Other people have posted an exact graphic taken from someone else's tutorial and again claimed it to be their own, without making any alterations to personalise it.
Unfortunately, this is a common practice (and still happens now), but I can't see the satisfaction they seem to get in claiming the credit for someone else's work    .  My satisfaction is from achieving something I've put time and effort into, and that is a unique design that no-one else has.

Anyway, I enjoy the work I do, and maybe I'll get around to designing a virtual fantasy Ideas Genie flower garden.  George could be the Head Gnome, secretly hidden amongst the flower-beds, and our other members represented as Elves and Fairies, who are faithfully supporting him as the garden develops  .
But for the time being, we will support George in the 'real' world and put his software to the best possible use 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Keep up the good work Laurie!

Its downright pathetic that some people can pass off the hard work of someone who is creative as their work. Unfortunately, the internet makes it all to easy to do that, and I accuse the major players for providing the tools to make that possible, yet offering no protection or respect for intellectual copyright of others.

Do you have any links to good Photoshop Elements tutorials Laurie?

If I manage to get to finish that Garden Design program which is still in "rough cut" stage, then I could do with quite a lot of graphics to represent plants etc.

[NightHawk]

Do you have any links to good Photoshop Elements tutorials Laurie?

You could give this one a try George - http://www.photoshopcstutorials.co.uk/html/photoshop_elements_tutorials.html.

I've not followed any tutorials for Photoshop Elements so I don't have any recommeded links as such.  I've not used this site before, but from what I've seen it seems to have a good structure to it, similar to the one I followed, with screenshots of the menus and tools to use.  And there are a good range of general features of the program covered for you to try out.

If you like it (or not) and want to try out other tutorial sites, I just searched in Google for photoshop elements tutorials.  You could add the version of Elements you are using to narrow down the search results.  Different sites focus on specific projects to create something, so if you have a particular objective in mind someone may have covered that already.

Laurie.

P.S.  My original offer to you behind-the-scenes George to help with any graphics designs still holds true, so you only have to ask 

[ideasguy]

Thanks for the links, and thanks for renewing that offer. Problem is, I dont know exactly what I want.
I usually start off with something and it gets chopped and changed as my ideas evolve.

[bossgard]

Laurie:

Don’t blow the whistle on me yet!

I did a lousy job on that last posting on this topic of yours, but I’m going to try again. When I mentioned having George create a Garden Design, I thought that you, as a graphics design person might be well aware that graphic images were the mainstay of a CAD (Computer Assisted Drawing) program.

When George stated he didn’t know what images he wanted, I thought what a combination these two talented people would make. Laurie would furnish the graphic images and George the programming know how for a Garden Design program.

Further explanation, the CAD vegetable software program that I use, has 182 graphic (not photo) images of ‘edibles’ which include vegetables, berries, trees, flowers, etc. My personal plant inventory contains 516 entries. A professional CAD software Landscaping program that I just starting using has a 3,600 plant list. The IG Data Master contains 36,348 entries.

I’m just trying to put a ‘bug in your ear’, as I see a great potential here for you and George to have a working arrangement. The Landscaping software program I have just started to use indicates they use ‘FreeImage.open source image library’ and ‘Ruby open source library’ for its libraries. Perhaps you might Google them, and do a little research.

In a CAD program, its Library also contains other images for constructing pathways, garden furniture, garden art, etc. It all depends on how far George goes with the program as to what images he will need.

The object to the whole CAD procedure is that you ‘Copy and Drag and Release’ these images into garden beds, on your terrain, or on your deck or patio, driveway, etc. Where ever you want the image to appear.

Perhaps ErikP might give us the name, author, publisher, etc. of that book he mentioned. You will probably want it, and I think I might too.

If you feel that I’m sticking my nose into your business, just delete this posting, I’ll understand.

-Toby

[ideasguy]

Your posting is just fine Toby, and you are spot on about the type of graphics we need for such a venture.
I don't think we'll need an exact image for each of the 36,348 plants in the Master Database 
The graphics are usually a representation of the plant, and certainly never a true image. We have photos for that. We can continue that theme in the new topic I posted on the Garden Design Project.
It will be fun when we get to the stage of needing those graphics

[NightHawk]

Thanks for your posting Toby, I completely agree with George.

As this topic is graphic-related, and it is relevant here, I just want to qualify the point you have just raised about the use of third-party graphics.  (Further discussion on George's garden design module can continue in the Garden Design Project section).

Using your examples Toby of the CAD software you have for your vegetables and landscaping, they do indeed come with a set of graphics for completing your specific gardening project/s.  Some third-party graphics designers create images that are compatible with those types of programs, and they may offer them royalty free.  However, there's a caveat to that.  Usually they are only to be used for your own personal needs.  You sit at your computer over a cup of coffee, design your garden, then go out and buy the materials to actually build your masterpiece in your garden.

For this particular purpose, you are not gaining any financial rewards from the use of the graphics you've downloaded for free. 

In the case of George's Garden Design Module, and George will be aware of this, those FREE graphics could not be used. 

Although they are not being offered for sale as stand-alone designs, they would be used in software (IG, IG Pro, Flower Genie) that IS being sold to people.
Unless the designers specifically state that the graphics can be used for this purpose, then it is illegal.

In my experience, if you want to use someone else's designs you must carefully read the usage policy on the web site offering them.
Usually they are offered for personal use on your own web site for illustration purposes only, and they may just ask you to link back to their web site to credit their work.  You may also be allowed to use them on a commercial web site as long as the images themselves are not being offered for sale.  For example, you could use an image of a flower on a gardening web site that sells equipment - lawnmowers, spades, hoses, etc., so no financial gain is being made from the flower graphic.

You also need to be wary of web sites that are offering lots of free graphics.  I have known cases where unscrupulous people have downloaded graphics from the rightful owners web site and then offered them for free download on their own web site.  This is completely disregarding the true owners intellectual property rights, so although the 'thief' may not be making any money from this, they are infringing the copyright of the true owner.
We may just be talking about a simple black-and-white clip-art design, right through to a fairly complex design.  Either way, time and effort has been put into that project for which the designer may be quite happy to just have a textual acknowledgement on a users' web site.  They are being denied that satisfaction too.  The problem is then perpetuated when more and more people download these graphics as they get 'passed around' from web site to web site.

Research is required to try to weed out the doubtful sources of 'legal' graphics.  Established companies and sites recommended to you as legitimate are the best choices, but it's still a minefield out there.  If you use a 'FREE' graphic on your own web site where a credit in return is not asked for, either avoid using them or at the very least put a link back to the web site you downloaded it from.  If any problems arise at a later date regarding the use of said graphics, then at least you've taken reasonable steps to credit who you thought had the rights to them.
 
On a more extreme case, I have known whole web sites being cloned by some low-lifes who literally duplicate the whole thing and place it on their own web site, then claim it to be all their own work.  Apart from changing contact links from the true owner to themselves, nothing else is different.  It sounds unbelieveable, and you may wonder what they get out of doing such a thing.
I don't think anyone has an answer to that one.  The original web site owner did start legal proceedings in one particular case I'm aware of, but I don't know what the outcome was.
 
I think we're all aware of  the problems of protecting ownership of anything we put on the Internet.  Graphics and photos are a particular concern.  Unless you are a big company who can afford to copyright your designs in legal documents, and have a barrage of lawyers on hand to sue any infringement of your copyright, then you've not got a leg to stand on.  Even if you could prove ownership, the cost of legal proceedings are beyond most of us, and there's no guarantee you'd win the case anyway.

Copyright law is a big topic on its own, full of its own pitfalls, so I'm not going to get into that.  This subject has been, and continues to be, discussed at length in many places - Internet, the media, books, etc., so check it out if you're interested.

For most of us, all we can do to anyone using our images wrongly is to nicely point out to the transgressors the error of their ways, and ask them to stop doing it.  Reasonable and law-abiding people will respect that and rectify the situation.

Sorry if I appear to have rambled on a bit here about this subject, but it's so easy to fall foul of using someone else's work incorrectly, and I at least want our members to be aware of the dangers and hopefully avoid them.

[ideasguy]

Frightening, depressing and soul destroying - but absolutely true Laurie and a very well composed posting.

We will be able to do this without resorting to those foul tactics.