New Discovery

jteague · January 11th, 2009, 12:00 AM

I am a beginning digitizer, with that said, alot of you seasoned digitizers may can remember way back when you first started and how many tricks you've picked up along the way. Some of which you found though trial and error. This board is helpfull in many ways, so much so, that I have neglected to read my instruction manual that came with my software. That was until today!
Before today, I thought of it like those assembly instructions that come with my kids toys, but it's not nearly as generic as I thought. There were tons of info that unlocked the magical potential hidden from my designs. One for instance was the use of short stitches. The proper use of this works wonders for small text.
Now I find myself wanting to go back and see if I can improve on some past designs that I've done. I've had so much trouble at times and wasted hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I feel like there may be a little hint of light at the end of the tunnel, or at least its not pitch black anymore.

Robert Young · January 11th, 2009, 09:57 AM

Congrats on your new discovery! There are several resources that might be worth looking into:

A). Look up old issues of STITCHES or EMB or IMPRESSIONS magazines. (many can be found online now). Stitches, for example has been around over 20 years and they have covered many many digitizing issues.

B) Attend your local tradeshows whenever possible, ASI, ISS, NNEP shows, Roadshows, EXPO, etc... And go to the digitizing classes they offer

C) Buy some quality stock designs, just a few here and there, from the main players like Great Notions , Balboa, and Dakota ... then watch them sew out... see what they are doing that works and what doesn't.

D) Search online for digitizing houses and send 5 of them the exact same design, with the same instructions...etc. See how they come back different and what worked better than another.

E) Pick a niche that interests you the most... redo a design or two in that niche... if it is something you are passionate about you will pay more attention and not get as discouraged as simply redoing the local chamber of commerce logo over and over as a learning exercise.

F) Have fun!!! Digitizing is an art form, with very little formal education available... so it has to be something you really enjoy. By sticking primarily to things you love to digitize you will be around for a much longer time instead of giving up and moving on to something else.

Hope this helps, and congrats again!

Worn Id · January 15th, 2009, 12:26 PM

HI!! I too am new to this and I agree! I have come so far and know I can do and WANT to do more!! I too have thought about redoing certain things, now that I have gotten a bit better at certain things. I have been fortunate enough to attend a trade show and take some digitizing classes - which helped a lot!! I also worked with a gal one day, who has been doing this for years and picked up some pointers jsut WATCHING her!!
I love this work, it is so fun and rewarding!! Good luck to you and have a great day!!

Laurie