Model App

I use Inkscape quite a bit. You can find tons of tutorials on Youtube.

Noah

I've got a question and I want to know if anyone has an answer.  I've seen a lot of modelers using apps and desktops to make decals, stencils, ...etc.  Now I can't seem to find any that are good for this purpose.   So, my question is does anyone have any suggestions or favorite apps or desktops they like to use.  Any answers or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

-Noah

 

When you say app rather than program, do you mean something that runs on a smartphone, as opposed to doing it on your computer?

That my fault, I forgot to mention program.  I would like something that will run a computer or phone, meaning I don't care if I have to a phone app or a computer program.

-Noah

Noah

That my fault, I forgot to mention program.  I would like something that will run a computer or phone, meaning I don't care if I have to a phone app or a computer program.

-Noah

 

I do all my graphics on my computer.  The program I use is called Paint Shop Pro. It is very powerful and does everything I need for decal creation.  It usuallt sells for between sixty and eighty bucks.

There is a shareware program called GIMP, which is also powerful, but not as easy to use.  There is a book  published that substitutes for a manual.  The embedded help is pretty limited.

GIMP isn't Shareware, it's open source software. Shareware gives you some of the program and makes you pay for the rest. Open source gives you the software and all the code that made it. It allows you to make your own versions if you know how to code by modifying the original or making something entirely new. Shareware is someone giving you half a hamburger and saying you have to pay for the top bun. Open Source is them giving you the whole burger, the recipe and a bag containing the ingredients.

GIMP is a good general image editor. If you're image editing this is one of the best options out there. It's interface is a stumbling block for a lot of people but I found it easier than Photoshop these days and it manages basic image editing just fine.

Inkscape is a vector tool and is open source too. It's about making really hard crisp images. If you're making a symbol decal this is the one to go for. While GIMP can do vectoring it does about 1% of the stuff Inkscape does with vectors.

Krita is also worth looking into depending on your needs. It's more of a sketch and painting program but it's also quite powerful. It would be good for doing graffiti decals. It's also open source so it's completely free like the rest of them.

I don't know much about phone apps, just desktop programs. Some of these should be on the app stores though. I've used all 3 for quite a while and never found I couldn't do what I wanted if I was willing to find a tutorial and follow it. The in program help is usually limited as said or it's a bit out of date but people are really helpful on forums and search engines usually have the answer or a tutorial made by users.

For what it's worth, I've cranked out some fairly elaborate decals on my PC over the years using nothing more complicated than MS-Paint...which used to come pre-installed on most Windows platforms (not sure it still does). It's very basic, but surprisingly versatile; but its greatest asset of all is that it may be the only MS program ever that's actually intuitive. (Which testifies to the fact that they 'branded' it...but didn't invent it!)

It's a great way to get started without having to digest an entire manual for a 'real' drawing or art program.

I actually have GIMP 2 on my PC, just never thought of using it.  However, after using it for a couple of hours, I really like it.  The only problem with it is it only does jpg., gif., and one or two more obscure ones, so I have to rewrite the thing I'm working on to one of this to get it to work.  (Also, it takes a while to learn.)  Other than that it works great for what I need to do

-Noah

I've made decals with Word. Simply import an image and resize it. Then print. The decals oon this Albatross were all done that way. I may have cleaned the edges in Photoshop Elements. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206314462474989&set=pb.1069413028.-2207520000.1564092161.&type=3&size=2048%2C1536 

GIMP should have like 20 different formats to save in. It's under the export image option.

Noah

I actually have GIMP 2 on my PC, just never thought of using it.  However, after using it for a couple of hours, I really like it.  The only problem with it is it only does jpg., gif., and one or two more obscure ones, so I have to rewrite the thing I'm working on to one of this to get it to work.  (Also, it takes a while to learn.)  Other than that it works great for what I need to do

-Noah

 

I don't see why you can't just print the jpeg.  Your printer driver should understand jpeg.  I am not sure converting to word format would maintain size accuracy as well as the jpeg format. During the printer window, just be sure that you print as 100% scale.

I just realized my problem.  I was trying to open old corrupted documents. (Documents that I destroy testing out stuff and forgot to delete.)  So, I can now open up all my thing in GIMP.  Guess we have here just a lesson of clean as you go.  :)

-Noah