Computer Aided Drawing: My Pasttime

 

Rather than wailing I've decided lately to spend pleasant time that some psychologists call "Flow." I've picked a couple of things I enjoy doing---the kind of activity that occupies your whole brain and when you look up at the clock you realize 3 hours have gone by.

For me one of those activities is improving my Photoshop skills. I want to get more of the drawing decisions into automatic mode versus higher cognitive choices. Difference between driving a car and doing a crossword puzzle.

And as Malcolm Gladwell tells us it takes thousands of hours to get really good at something.  I have been racking up the hours lately---With a goal of writing a book/computer program of applique options that one could just pop into a composition. Maybe.

I've never been good at drawing 6-pointed flowers----they don't fit easily into a square so for the past week I've been working on that challenge. I've got three cheat sheets now where I can pop the florals into a pattern.

And I'll share them with you.

If you have computer drawing skills you may find them useful.

If you can cut and paste paper---ditto.

Print these 3 sheets on 8-1/2 x 11" paper or save the jpgs and pop the images into any ideas you have.

Looking for ideas?

I don't have a lot of 19th-century images with six-pointed florals.  As I say they are rather hard to draw.

But in the 1920s modern quilt designers liked the look.

Modern Priscilla's 1925 Horn of Plenty

Paragon did a simpler version.

I'll try drawing this 19th century example.

Florals based on six---19th century.

Tattered & torn but inspiration

Redrawn!