Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns

KnittingLadybird

buttons are small pics made by layering other things like pictures and text on top of a base or background.

we can see that we have our base...our small image and text...

all 3 images are opened up in your programme. then the small image and text block are then copied and pasted onto your base.

click this picture to show you a screen shot of these images in image ready, to give you a better idea.
Notice at the bottom of this picture you can see a small picture of the finished button and to the side all the layers separately.

Now you have seen how a basic button is made....i'm going to try and explain how to turn your button into a blinkie.

We will be using 2 background images to make this button...if you look at the 2 images above you will notice that they are slightly different.
(this is done by drawing a series of dots onto your basic base...i did this in paint (light <white> and dark <black>) and then saving the image, then flipping the image to make the dots go in the opposite direction and then saving again).

As before, all images and text are opened into your programme...one base is copied and pasted onto the other.

Now to animate our button..as i said before you can see a small image at the bottom of our screen of the finished button. In this "animation bar" we are going to create a new 'frame'.
We now have 2 images of our finished button...but not quite.
On frame 2 we are going remove layer 2 (layers are on the right handside of the screenshot). This will give frame 1 with dots going from black to white and frame 2 will have the opposite, going white to black.
As the little picture and text are layered on top, these will not be affected and will appear on BOTH frames in the same place.
You will be able to set the time delay (ours is 0.5secs) between the flicking of one frame to the other. Always save your buttons using the save optimised as selection...And hopefully we should be seeing a simple 2 framed animated gif image!

Phew! lol

This was my tutorial from Bloggers Paradise, which is going to close at the end of next month (I think?) So I asked if i could put it here for all of you may want to try it.

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jessica · Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 1691

oh how exciting, what programme do you open up in, of am i being thick.

Piglottie · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 12:50 pm Post subject:

Oh my word Linz! I bow to your techno wizz genius Smile

(

You know that thing where your other half starts giving you directions and you switch off after the second turn left? My brain sort of did this half way through the technicalities of it all Embarassed

)
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melody yarns · Site Admin Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 8688 Location: UK

Flipin' eck! I'm going to make this into a sticky so we don't go and lose it, if that's hokay?
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carolinne · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:24 pm Post subject:

blimey girl that is amazing
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carolinne · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:26 pm Post subject:

......mind you when i first read the title i thought you were being impatient with us for not knowing how to animate .....then i realised that tut means tutorial........dooooh
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Princess Sahara · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:36 pm Post subject:

Wow! Thanks for showing us Very Happy

*wanders off to think what to put on her button*
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Sarah x
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KnittingLadybird · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject:

lol Carolinne

I use image ready/photoshop...but the same basics work for any programme that can frame and animate really.
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craftylady · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:18 pm Post subject:

Do these buttons need buttonholes cos I will need someone to make it for me as my sewing machine doesn't have a buttonhole function.....
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Ravelry id: cascade

craftybernie · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:04 pm Post subject:

I've always wondered how to do that!!! Thanks for sharing. This is so cool.

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