SuperUser Account

Digitizing Animals

We are going to look at this subject with a rather broad brush. This article will handle the basics of how to approach digitizing for animals.

I use Wilcom as my primary digitizing program so most of my specifications will focus on this software although Pulse can be used in a similar fashion.

The first thing is to determine how complicated you are going to make it. Are there going to be a lot of thread colors? Do you want to tackle blends in areas? I find that the more thread colors in an animal’s fur, the more a more difficult time I have in mapping out strategies. It looks better but is more difficult. If you don’t have a lot of experience in digitizing creatively, I recommend you keep fur down to one main color, a highlight color, and a shadow color. Leave black and white for things like white for eyes, black for outline of eyes and nose.

Overlap satin stitches to mimic the pattern of feathers. It does not have to be identical. Do not use this technique if the feathers have a narrow width. You want approximately 2.5 mm to 7 mm in width. Order is crucial to make the feathers look believable. I prefer not to represent shading in feathers because it can look like feather color and not shadow.

 

 

Since I started digitizing way back when there were tablets and pucks involved, I like the idea of mapping out stitch direction. I try to keep my stitch direction relevant to my rule: vertical stitches look higher and horizontal stitches look flat. Add that to the rule: foreground is closer than background, you will have a starting point. Background fill will be closer to horizontal stitching and foreground (the animal in this case) will be with angled and near vertical stitches. Now consider how the fur lays and you should have an idea of how to map your stitch direction.

Fur

When dealing with fur, I like to make my own random pattern. In Wilcom, your default object properties for Tatami (Ceeding or fill stitch) are Stitch Length: 4.00mm and Offset fraction of A: 25 B: 25 and finally a random of 0. With short hair fur, try a Length of 4.00mm and Offset fraction of A: .5 B: 0 and a random of 50. With long hair I will vary the stitch length between 4 and 6 mm and an offset fraction of A: 1.0 B: 0. This is a sharper delineation of a pattern, so the random pattern needs to be greater, from 70%-90%.

 

 

 

Using fill patterns, you may be used to creating an edge run underlay to keep the fill to be sharp and clean. You want to do the exact opposite with fur. Let it be rough. You may even want to use a jagged edge for a rougher look.

Another thing that helps give realness to embroidery is color order. If there are patches of fur that are darker due to shading, I prefer to embroider the darkest color first and each following color get brighter or whiter in succession.

If you are doing detail such as stripes or spots on an animal, keep in mind this is fur. The rules you have learned before about proper underlay or keeping edges clean do not apply here. On the cheetah I have no underlay in the spots. Roughness is okay and even preferred in approaching fur. When dealing with a lot of spots such as the cheetah, try to limit your trims. You can do so by keeping your jumps in the same direction as the fill lays, thus eliminating a ton of trims. Your embroiderer will thank you.

 

Birds

8
Fig 5 – One Shape Fill

I’ve seen a lot of people digitize birds with one shape being a plain fill(fig 5). This is the easiest way to do it, but definitely the least attractive. I like defining the bird’s individual feathers if possible. If the bird is small and has many tiny feathers, feel free and simplify the feathers. Most people will not count and compare the number of feathers between the picture and the embroidery. If you do a bird that has 1 mm wide feathers and you are overlapping the feathers with 1.5 mm wide satin stitches, this becomes a lot of stitches in a small area. Too many stitches can cause the thread to break or fray and can often warp in the area concerned.

Direction of stitches counts. Try angling the satin stitch to go the same direction as the barb of the feather. Also, vary the angle slightly from each adjacent feather so as to keep the stitches from feathering (irony.) An edge run underlay will help too.

Order means a lot when doing wings. If one feather is behind another, try keeping the order the same way. If a feather is supposed to be on top, don’t digitize it first. As always, try things out and see what you prefer. Experiment with textures and angles and you will only get better.

 

 

Previous Article Corners and Capping
Next Article Digitizing Landscapes
Print
21747 Rate this article:
5.0

11 comments on article "Digitizing Animals"

Avatar image

Janet

It's a really good way to make understand about digitizing services.


Avatar image

Embroidery Digitizing Services

Thank you so much for such a wonderful blog, I saw Embroidery Digitizing Services in different styles your Embroidery style is a unique way, and the same pattern use in Digit IT please visit this site I hope you gain great knowledge of Embroidery Digitizing relates.


Avatar image

andrew

I have read your blog. Honestly, I've never read this type of blog before. Appreciate your work and will love to read your incoming articles too.

We provide free online digitizer service that can also fulfill your embroidery needs.


Avatar image

John Edwart

I've read your blog. It was really fantastic and the way you described it is also professional. Will love to read your incoming blogs too, really appreciate your work and dedication. We have https://crystaldigitizing.com/usa-digitizers-embroidery/ to fulfill your embroidery needs.


Avatar image

davidluis

I've read your embroidery article. This is really an amazing content you have described complete things about embroidery. This is really special for beginners to develop their embroidery skill.This is really special for beginners to develop their embroidery skill. We have free online digitizer that can also fulfill your embroidery needs.


Avatar image

8 ball pool

Thanks for posting such a great blog or article. It contains wonderful and helpful information. Keep up the good work!





Avatar image

fall guys

This is an excellent article! I am very eager to see your quite beneficial information. Other than that, this is a great blog with tons of useful information. Keep up the great work you're doing here!


Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Theme picker

Pre-Press Services and why we can’t provide them

Pre-Press Services and why we can’t provide them

There are several reasons why we can't provide this service. The most important ones are: 1. Every production shop has its own way of processing art. They all have different programs and different pre-press processes specific to their shops used...

Continue Reading →​

Optimizing your Vinyl Orders!

Optimizing your Vinyl Orders!

What is the best way to place an order for Vinyl? Placing a vector order for Vinyl application can be a tricky thing. A solid set of instructions when you place the order can help us narrow down exactly what...

Continue Reading →

How to use G-mail as a tool to view EPS/Ai/PDF files

How to use G-mail as a tool to view EPS/Ai/PDF files

Attachments have been used right from the early days of the email. Now-a-days people share more and more stuff online, rather than sending them through attachments. However it is still a part of many email users daily experience, since it...

Continue Reading →

How to Read Run Sheets

How to Read Run Sheets

Run sheets are a way to know how to program your colors in the machine without having the software directly wired to your embroidery machine.  A run sheet has the breakdowns of how many color stops there are. Some run...

 

Continue Reading →​

Embroidery Glossary Stitch Types

Embroidery Glossary Stitch Types

Run Stitch This is your basic stitch. This stitch is common in both embroidery and sewing machines. Look at the seam of most jeans and you will see this stitch. Most run stitches in embroidery are between .8 mm to...

 

Continue Reading→

Digitizing Trees, Leaves, Grass and Bushes

Digitizing Trees, Leaves, Grass and Bushes

In a previous article, I showed how stitch direction and stitch type can be used in a creative way to make more realistic landscapes. Now we will focus more on individual areas, mainly trees, bushes, and leaves. A lot of...
 

Continue Reading→

Digitizing Landscapes

Digitizing Landscapes

Approach is everything when you want to digitize realistically. In this and upcoming articles we will be discussing how to approach digitizing so your work comes out looking more realistic and dynamic. Your typical landscape will often have the following:...

Continue Reading →

RSS
12345