How to draw lines of rivets in PSP?

[Chompy]

Having looked at other pages on this site, I've seen how easy it is to get a nice straight, evenly spaced row of rivets using Photoshop, but for the life of me, I can't get anything similar in PSP. I've tried making custom brushes and custom lines, but just can't seem to get a consistent or straight spacing on 1 pixel rivets. Does anyone out there have a method that works?

Chompy.

[adlabs6]

I am not sure on this one, so any help from a PSP user will be helpful.

[Serval]

Maybe this is usefull. I bumped into this accidentally:
http://gryphon.users3.50megs.com/Tutorials/Rivets.htm

[adlabs6]

A very nice tutorial, we should keep that link handy.

[Chompy]

Thanks for the link Several! Yes, that is a useful tutorial with several methods of painting in rivets, but none of them are as simple as the photoshop method in Adlabs' tutorial, where you click between two points and automatically have the rivets perfectly spaced.

It seems that this is one area where PSP isn't as good as PS? Which is a bugger because I was perfectly happy with PSP until I saw Adlabs' tute

[adlabs6]

Well I tried the lines using the "shapes" (as suggested in this PSP guide) in my Photoshop Elements, and I actually prefer it to using a brushed line. So on that count I'll say PSP wins, and I may use shapes for panel lines on my next project. I figure I can just copy the finished shape layer and simplify the copy, from there treat it as normal.

Now for the rivets. I was doing some quick tests in Elements, and found that painting (with a one pixel brush) using a one pixel size checkerboard "pattern" comes close to making the same rivet effect as brush spacing.

Try a test by defining a custom one pixel checkerboard pattern, and using it as your brush paint to see what kind of results you get.

Another option that may be useful, text on a curve. Just make a row of periods .............. then assign them along a custom text path to form them as rivets. My PS Elements doesn't let me custom assign a text path like PSP does, so PSP will be ahead on this.

[Chompy]

Thanks for the tips Adlabs. I've been using custom brushes that make a row of 10 or so rivets, but thought that your method sounded easier!

I finally got it to work - sort of. The funny thing is that 1 pixel rivet lines work in PSP7 with the lines tool, but they screw up completely in PSP8 and 9 using the pen tool . For anyone interested here's how I got it to work.

Create a new Raster Layer and call it Dark Rivets
Switch to the Lines tool, and in the tool options box set it to Single line, Width 1 pixel, on the drop down box set you line style to #1 Solid, with Antialias CHECKED (optional), Create as Vector UNCHECKED, and Close path UNCHECKED.

Now click the CUSTOM line style button and the Styled lines window will appear. Ensure that all the Caps are set to Flat. You should see a plain green line in the display window. OK? now with Add dash set to 1, click the Add button twice, which places a green arrow at the bottom of the style window, indicating the length of the dash, and a red arrow at the top indicating the length of the gap. Click on the red arrow and drag it to adjust the gap to your preference - about 3 is OK.

You only need one green and one red marker. Extra repetitions only cause trouble. IMPORTANT!!

Now click the Save as new button, and give your line a name like Rivets 3 gap. You may want to make several different line styles with different gaps.

Finally use the Lines tool and black as your colour to draw your lines of rivets.

Limitations.
- Angled rows of rivets usually have big gaps in the line.
- Sometimes you will have a 'double rivet' at an end of the line.
- The first rivet of a line isn't always at the start of the line, so you may have to start your line a pixel or so left or right of where you want the first rivet.

With your rivets layer complete, hit Layers > Duplicate, then Colours > Negative Image.
Hit CTRL A to select all, pick up one of the selection tools and hold down the Left mouse button to move the entire selection 1 pixel to the left and 1 pixel upwards. From there adjust each layer's opacity sliders until you get the look you want.

I'll try your text idea and see if that's any better.

Chompy.

[Snake]

Helllo Look at my Tutorials in the Tut section, I think it will help you with teh lines and rivits drawing?
If not e-mail me or send me a message and I will do a Tutorial with lots of Pictures specifically for this problem.
I use both PSP 7 and 8 , both programs are essentially the same.
Let me know what you need

[Serval]

I think a tutorial on this subject would be very nice.

Your tutorials as linked on the site are very good, but also a bit long.
People tend to search for a specific problem, like here "how do I draw rivets the easiest way". So, small tutorials covering one subject or one trick will be popular. (Those youngsters don't like reading any more, you know )

So, chopping it up in little pieces might help here and there. And we can use somew nice PSP tutorials. If you publish them, then we can make sure that they are copied to the Tutorials section

[Snake]

Rgr I geter done