Legend of Zelda project

[Nachstenliebe]

Very impressive! You weren't kidding when you said you were up for the challenge!
Faith

[Flying_V_Goddess]

My computer is STUPID! So I had to re-download PhotoShop Elements (took me another three hours to do) because the system restore deleted it. I had 29 days remaining on my trial version. But I just tried opening my file and all my remaining days disappeared and they want me to buy a serial number to activate it. PSE costs $99 so there's like no way. I'm gonna try a trial version of another PhotoShop....*sigh* Another 3 hours I could be spending on my chart wasted on download.

This is not the type of challenge I was asking for.

[Mabel Figworthy]

As you've got to get the software sorted out again, this may be the time to suggest that perhaps Photoshop is not the ideal program for this task? There are plenty of dedicated cross stitch charting programs out there, many with free demos and quite a few (like the Jane Greenoff one I use) available second hand for a few pounds --there's a whole thread with members' reviews of different programs here.
You would have to get ussed to a new peogram but in the end (especially as you are going to be charting quite a lot) it may save you time and hassle.
Just a thought

[Flying_V_Goddess]

I tried a couple demos of cross stitching software, but I hated the way the image came out after being automatically charted. Trying to fix it would have been too difficult since I would of had to bring the image up in a different program, look back and forth between the two, and basically "eyeball it" and hope for the best...at least with the trials I downloaded. With PhotoShop I can lay the grid on a separate layer over the image. I think I can chart a lot better with the grid being right over the image and I'm not guessing on where colors go a whole lot (except in trouble spots like the faded marks, but even that isn't so bad and I can fix that easily).

This is how I was going to do it anyway. Except I'm not printing like 60 pieces of paper to get the images and graphs (at actual size) and coloring it in by hand. Just doing it on the computer.

[Mabel Figworthy]

If it works for you, that's all that is important ! And you're definitely getting impressive results!

[Flying_V_Goddess]

Worked a little bit on it last night. Link's looking a little better. Took me forever to do because I couldn't find the Paint tool (where I could just click and it would fill the space automatically) on this version of Photo Shop so I had to take the Pencil tool and color it in manually. Finally found the Paint tool an hour later. It doesn't have every tool listed all at once so if you click and hold down one of the tool icons it will pop up a list of other tools that are in that spot. The Paint tool was just behind a different one so that's why I didn't see it.

But I ran into a snag. My Mom came back after being in the hospital for a week. She saw we were having Internet problems. What do you suppose she did to try and fix it? A system restore. I'm pretty sure I had a massive heart attack when I found that out. Yup, the new version of Photo Shop is gone. Still have the Installer for the 1st version of Photo Shop I had downloaded, but not the second. Going to try the installer just in case it works, but I highly doubt it will. In other words, I went through 60 days worth of trial versions in two days THANKS TO SYSTEM RESTORE!

If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

[Flying_V_Goddess]

I finally gave in and bought Photoshop and a scanner. In two weeks I'm buying a laptop. I got tired of sharing a computer with three other people (i.e. my family) and never having any large amounts to do my writing, artwork, computer games, or whatever else I please. My friends also moved a couple months ago along with their scanner and Photoshop so I haven't been able to do comics for a while. And with my cross stitch chart being on PS and the trial versions somehow keep getting killed off by system restores it was just easier to buy the thing and shell out $90.

So if everything goes right with the computer I'll be working on the charts and be able to show some more work in progress.

[pamelam]

Looking forward to seeing your work!

[Flying_V_Goddess]

Looking forward to seeing your work!

To tell the truth, same here.

[Nachstenliebe]

Sounds like the expenses are completely justifiable!
Faith

[Flying_V_Goddess]

For working at Wal-Mart for three months, they mailed me my discount card. Which means I'll get my laptop when I get paid this week (at 10% off, the $398 computer I want will be more like $377). Then I can get back to work on these charts...well, provided I don't get too sucked into playing Sims 3.

[ChicagoMay]

Love your project so far! I want to do some Zelda themed pieces too, but don't wanna spend all the time charting Can't wait to see your progress!

[Flying_V_Goddess]

Progress thus far on the first image I'm working on compared with the orginial image. Still needs some tweaking and the inner border is unfinished. All the writing on the right side still needs to be done. Particulary not happy with Ganon's bottom half. But its looking pretty good.

[karen4bells]

your charting is coming along nicely

[Flying_V_Goddess]

your charting is coming along nicely

Thanks!

[pamelam]

You do great work! Your chart looks so much like the original!

[Flying_V_Goddess]

I'm surprised how well its coming out too considering when I first started on it I thought it looked awful. But then I put in more work, fixed a lot of problem areas, and now its looking pretty sweet.