(*** Note - not sure if i technique like this is already documented before, please let me know if it is! )
Either this was glaringly obvious ( like DUH! obvious ) or a hidden secret that might be helpful to some - but one day it dawned on me that there is a “Vector Smart Object” in the Robin Woods clothing templates. When clicked on the icon thingy it opened as a vector object in illustrator. YES! It had the anchors and paths and all.!!!….. I could now make a new layer, use smart guides to click with a pen on the points! I could also drag anchor points of old outlines i had drawn and could snap them right to to the vector object! YES!
Previous to this realization , seams (for me ) were a living nightmare. My first clothing attempts had some crappy approximate seams. Once i realized this wasn’t acceptable, an insane amount my time was spent zoomed in at 600%, poking with the pen tool, nudging, importing back and forth thru PS and Illustrator, uploading, staring, groaning, nudging, more uploading..some swearing, more nudging etc …with varying degrees of success.
After i figured this out this simple discovery with the smart guides, i was able to start having fun with designing! Outlines were a matter of few clicks. I could spend time doing creative and interesting stuff, thank god.
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*****THIS ONLY APPLIES TO ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR CS2 / CS3******
Here is a quick breakdown of the method i have been using to connect straps:
1. Open the Robin Wood Template CS2. Click on the smart object to open in illustrator. Here is an example of the files i made for myself that i use: (posted with her permission) DOWNLOAD IT HERE!
2 Make sure SMART GUIDES ( view > smart guides should be checked ) are on. Snap is probably good, as well.
3. Make a new layer for your outline.
4. Decide if you want to work with the “UV” layer or “Subdivided UVs” layer and then unlock it. Then return to your outline layer.
5. Click the pen tool where the smart guides say ANCHOR on the anchor points of the “UV” layer. Make sure you are placing these new anchor points on the corresponding places on the front, back and sides. Counting on the “Subdivided UVs” layer is a good idea!
6. TIP: I usually get rid of the stroke, to make sure the paths are the exact boundaries. For narrow straps I usually draw all 4 point of the strap as a fill rather than using a stroke to insure accuracy.
7. Use the “CONVERT ANCHOR POINT” tool (found on the same palette as the pen) to draw in the curves. Make sure these don’t extend outside “SIZE GRID” layer or it will mess up the height and width ratio of the document.
8. Alternately… you can draw an object first, then select the anchor points and drag them into position. The guides will help you snap them to the exact places on the UV.
9. Hide all the layers except the outline and the size grid layers.
** The rest of the steps is optional, it’s how get the outline into original photoshop template. i am not sure if there is a better way of doing this!
10 Save the illustrator document, and then export to an EPS.
11. Go to photoshop, open the EPS. Import settings should be 1024×1024 to match the actual robin wood photoshop template.. (download those here ) If the height + width of the image is not the same, it usually mean you accidently drew something outside the “SIZE GRID” layer which is throwing the proportions off.
12. Once the EPS is open, i usually drag that onto the photoshop doc… free transform.. then on the upper toolbar thingy manual set the regPoint to upperleft and X:0 Y:0. Now your outline should be perfect!
Then making sure you are on the outline layer, Select.. load Selection.. choose that layer. The outline should now be selected. Then go Select>Save Selection … new Alpha. There is the alpha channel.
So that is how i have been doing my seams.. and it has greatly helped my fun-to-irritation ratio when making clothes for Second Life. What are your techniques? How do you do the seams?
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