Since I'm just getting started with tapresrty weaving I'm curious to know where you find your inspiration for your cartoons. 

Comments

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 00:48

Robweaves (not verified)

I have almost no drawing skills and have found using collage techniques helpful -- cutting out colored paper, arranging and rearranging.  Lately I have photographed the collages and played with the images online.  That's about technique.  As for where I get inspiration for my cartoons -- I look at lots of nature photography and lots of images of other people's artwork.  A friend is weaving a lovely small tapestry based on a painting she saw -- a New Orleans painter did a series of paintings of San Antonio, where we live, and she selected one to interpret in a tapestry. 

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 11:16

MRD (not verified)

I also don't feel comfortable with my drawing skills.  I use photographs mostly.  I also don't have very good skills with Photoshop so I tend to print out the pictures and then cut and paste them to my needs. I then rescan them and print them in both color and in grayscale.  Next I take my copy to Kinko's (if necessary) and have them enlarged.  I then trace the main lines of the image and use the tracing paper image to mark my warp.  

I fine the grayscale allows me to see the lines of the image better and decide how to work my colors.  It really helps to see it without the distraction of colors.   I plan to take a course to get acquainted with the Photoshop software since it will make the whole process much easier but for now I use this combination.

I take inspiration from just about anywhere.  The lines of a tumbledown shack at a craft school, an interesting sewer grate or people walking through Penn Station.  I keep my camera in my purse and pull it out whenever I am inspired.  I write down ideas when they strike me and keep them in a file and I tear pictures out of the paper or magazines.  These I also keep in an ideas file. 

Inspiration is everywere it is just a matter of training yourself to see the art in your own environment.  Good luck and keep your eyes open, you will be surprised at what is right in your own community.

 

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 07:54

Erica J

I mostly use photshop fo rmy designs or other's cartoons. I've only done a bit of sampling at the moment, and scaled up the cartoon from the video I'm working from. I've made a few cartoons in photoshop at the moment, though printing these out is difficult for anything of size. i often use this same method for embroidery and project the image that is then traced on to paper for actual use.

I hope this helps.

Jahanara

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:46

Cheekyredhead (not verified)

How y'all do things is a help to me except that I don't have photoshop but I can draw.  Once I get some yarn spun up (see my post on Color for Tapestry) I'm going to try my first sample.

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 14:06

Robweaves (not verified)

I have absolutely minimal skills with programs like Photoshop.  What I hvae done is upload photos of absolutely anything to flickr, and then edit then in Piknik.  Piknik has all kinds of filters I play with to radically change the images in the photos.  Take a look at one of my experiments here:  roberta.typepad.com/robknits/2009/01/push-to-start.html

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 15:50

jemwork (not verified)

While it is very 21st century to use a computer to create images, there is nothing wrong with tried & true methods of drawing & collage. Doesn't this help with the tactile element you'll be working in? I use a wide variety of yarns in my pieces. I do have some experience with Photoshop, but I don't think it would reflect what I might get into doing.

I do have to confess, I keep my cartooning to a minimum. Half way through something, I'll get a hint of what the piece is saying & off I'll go in that direction. I know this is not the way tapestry is traditionally done, but so far its working for me. My biggest complaint is how slow I am. One loom has been sitting there for weeks waiting for me to carry on.

Joan in Jamestown

Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:33

Robweaves (not verified)

It is not necessary these days to own graphics software to play with images.  I uploaded photographs of my collages to Flickr.  If you then click on the Edit button, you will be taken to Piknik, an online image editing program.  That's how I generated some of the images I am using as the basis for my weaving.

I find I am using combinations of pencils, pastels, paper collage, fabric collage and digital imaging.  I like doing that because I can get a basic idea down with traditional media, though in a limited way because of my limited skills, and then i can play with that basic image -- and always go back to it to try something else.  I got very interested in pastels because of their intense color and texture, which relate (for me) to tapestry weaving.  I don't try for a finished image though -- that's what the waving is about, for me.

Sat, 07/25/2009 - 17:29

jemwork (not verified)

What a great approach. I should do more of that - often, when I wing it, I end up looking at the loom & wondering what was I thinking of. Where do I go now?

Funny thing is I have all the materials you mention. I have no excuse.

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 15:15

MRD (not verified)

All,

I just started a new tapestry that is going to be quite large (at least for me).  I found that creating the cartoon the way I normally do just didn't work this time.  Normally I manipulate a photo and then blow it up at the local Kinko's.  Although I did blow up some elements of the piece, the entire cartoon was much too large to do it that way.  So I took the pieces I blew up and cut them up and pasted them on a piece of paper the size of the proposed tapestry.  II liked the process and found it a bit more flexible than relying on what I can get my laptop to do (I am still learning Photoshop and am not very good at getting it to do what I want it to do).  I put it on butcher's paper rather than on tracing paper and tied it to my loom.  I normally ink every bit of the cartoon and work off of that but this time I am trying to only ink the more complicated element and just rely on my eye for the rest.  I find I rely too much on the lines and not enough on my eye when I have everything inked.  We will see how it goes.

So I'm with Robweaves and Jemworks, the old fashioned approach works well for some pieces.  I will still work with the photos I take in my daily travels but I am trying to branch out as I get more comfortable with the process and my skills.

Mary

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 16:38

tommye scanlin

 Mary,

I also blow up portions of a larger design with Photoshop and tape those together for the cartoon.  Sometimes I use that assembly as the cartoon and other times I use mylar and ink the cartoon as outlines onto that, using the taped together design to copy from.

I began to stitch my cartoon to weave from a few years ago, rather than inking onto the warps.  I find that much more satisfying to work from and I also don't have to spend the time with the inking.  

Tommye

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 14:49

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

My mentors Betsey Snope and Rita Landau (long time Wednesday group members) agree with your process, in fact we were discussing it the other day.  I meet with a group of tapestry weavers each week and the subject of  sewing the cartoons to the back as you outlined here came up.  Rita is trying it that way on her next piece. 

I am not confident enough to forgo inking the warp altogether but I am experimenting with only inking the more complex elements.  We will see how it goes.  I like the idea of the Mylar, it does not cut off the light as much as butchers paper or even tracing paper does.  I will have to give it a try next time.

Mary

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 16:23

tommye scanlin

 Hi Mary,

Please give my regards to Betsy and Rita next time you're talking to them!  Another good thing about the Mylar is that it has tooth enough to color upon with colored pencil (probably marker, too, but haven't tried that).  So sometimes if there's a complicated spot I need to keep track of I can go to the back of the loom and add pencil color in that shape(s) onto the Mylar. Doesn't have to be the color I'm weaving, just something that lets me see the difference.  By doing it behind the Mylar that's attached to the back of the warp I don't have to worry about any residue from the pencil rubbing off onto the warp.

It's really surprising how easily you can adhere to your design without having it inked onto the warp.  I hesitated for literally years to try it because I thought my design would get out of control.  Actually, I feel I have more control since I'm responding more to what's actually being woven rather than slavishly trying to keep myself to the inked outlines.

Since I build shapes as you probably do, as well, I stitch the cartoon to about 1/2" away from the top of any area I'm weaving within.  So the stitch (a big running stitch that I do with a curved needle) might meander along, just like the edge of the tapestry.

Good luck with it!

Tommye

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 16:41

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Does anyone here use a graph?  I chart my designs on a grid on my computer, having already tested the sett/yarns/beat to determine the number of picks per inch I will get.  Then I alter the aspect ratio of the "image" so that one row on the grid eqals 4 picks of weaving.  Then I just follow the grid with a magnet strip.  Of course, this method works best if weaving row-by-row, as I do.

Bonnie.

 

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 20:49

tommye scanlin

 I've only used graphing of designs when weaving double and triple weave pick up.  Since my tapestry imagery is based on nature the organic quality of the images and the way I do them don't lend themselves to graphing as much as other things might.  I also don't weave row by row but, instead, build shapes.

Kathe Todd-Hooker developed a grid paper for tapestry weavers that she sells at her Fine Fiber Press site <www.finefiberpress.com>.  I have a package of that but didn't find it as useful for my own work although I point it out to students, if they ask.  The grid of  is a flattened hexagon and shaped like the way the two picks of a pass nestle together, so would more easily represent what's happening in weft faced tapestry.

Tommye

Tue, 01/12/2010 - 00:00

tommye scanlin

 I'm just about ready to begin a new tapestry for which I've been developing the design.  I completed the cartoon process today and just posted these last stages to my blog at 

http://tapestry13.blogspot.com/2010/01/cartoon-development.html

Earlier posts show several drawings being done to work toward this design.  The warp is 24" wide and sett at 8 epi, using 30/18 cotton seine twine.  I'll be using wool as weft, a Norwegian yarn called Vevgarn and used two fold.

Tommye

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 12:04

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

Thanks for the encouragement.  I too wonder if I can stick to my vision without inking the warp.  I decided to try because I am always putting the cartoon on backwards, upside down or inside out and not noticing it until I have inked the warp. Then I have to change colors and ink again, it gets complex and confusing when that happens. 

I also need to trust the shape more rather than slavishly adhering to the line just because it is there.  if I work more intuitively I think my curves and shapes will be more true.  Is that what you found? 

My question is, where do you get large sheets of mylar for your cartoons?  I like working in a larger format so I will need something like a roll of it to work with.   I haven't gone looking for it but I suspect Pearl Paint might have it? 

Mary

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 12:08

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

 

I loved the blog on your process.  I learned from your text and images.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Mary

 

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 17:11

Bonnie Datta

Your presentation about cartoon development is very generous.  I can see how on a vertical loom you can hang it behind and keep referring to it.  But on a horizontal loom, which is what I have, it's not so convenient.  

I guess it's because I did a lot of charted embroidery and needlepoint, plus the fact that I work on a horizontal loom, that I am stuck on following a charted design.  It eliminates the need for a full-size cartoon, the mylar, and inking the warp.  And most importantly for me it ensures that I stay on the grid so that the geometry comes out right all through the piece.  Sometimes I have many charts, one for the "background" and others for areas of particular detail.  An example is when I wove this blanket.  I needed to ensure that the tumbling blocks and hexagonal background came out exactly all the way through, and for the pictorial images within the "windows" I needed close-up charts.  This piece is 5 ft X 8 ft (appr), woven Navajo-style on a horizontal loom.

 

Sun, 01/17/2010 - 16:43

tommye scanlin

Beautiful piece, Bonnie!

Tommye 

Sun, 01/17/2010 - 16:45

tommye scanlin

Hi Mary,

Been out of town so didn't see your question until now.  I get the Mylar at an art supply store.  Pearl should have it, I think.  I got a roll at Sam Flax in Atlanta a few years ago--enough on it to last a long time but I'm almost out now and will be getting more soon.  When I do I'll mention where I got it and the mil. on my blog.

Tommye 

Fri, 01/22/2010 - 13:57

MRD (not verified)

Bonnie,

This is a beautiful piece. I wish I could control my image this well.  Thanks for telling how you did it.

 

MRD

Fri, 01/22/2010 - 13:58

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

Thanks.   I will check Pearl Paint next time I am there to see what they have and share what I found here.

 

MRD

Sun, 01/24/2010 - 16:44

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Thanks Tommye and MRD.  I should have apologized for the poor photo -- it was taken outside and the wind was blowing.  I just never have a good place to hang stuff to get proper pictures

Bonnie.

.

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 00:48

Robweaves (not verified)

I have almost no drawing skills and have found using collage techniques helpful -- cutting out colored paper, arranging and rearranging.  Lately I have photographed the collages and played with the images online.  That's about technique.  As for where I get inspiration for my cartoons -- I look at lots of nature photography and lots of images of other people's artwork.  A friend is weaving a lovely small tapestry based on a painting she saw -- a New Orleans painter did a series of paintings of San Antonio, where we live, and she selected one to interpret in a tapestry. 

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 11:16

MRD (not verified)

I also don't feel comfortable with my drawing skills.  I use photographs mostly.  I also don't have very good skills with Photoshop so I tend to print out the pictures and then cut and paste them to my needs. I then rescan them and print them in both color and in grayscale.  Next I take my copy to Kinko's (if necessary) and have them enlarged.  I then trace the main lines of the image and use the tracing paper image to mark my warp.  

I fine the grayscale allows me to see the lines of the image better and decide how to work my colors.  It really helps to see it without the distraction of colors.   I plan to take a course to get acquainted with the Photoshop software since it will make the whole process much easier but for now I use this combination.

I take inspiration from just about anywhere.  The lines of a tumbledown shack at a craft school, an interesting sewer grate or people walking through Penn Station.  I keep my camera in my purse and pull it out whenever I am inspired.  I write down ideas when they strike me and keep them in a file and I tear pictures out of the paper or magazines.  These I also keep in an ideas file. 

Inspiration is everywere it is just a matter of training yourself to see the art in your own environment.  Good luck and keep your eyes open, you will be surprised at what is right in your own community.

 

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 07:54

Erica J

I mostly use photshop fo rmy designs or other's cartoons. I've only done a bit of sampling at the moment, and scaled up the cartoon from the video I'm working from. I've made a few cartoons in photoshop at the moment, though printing these out is difficult for anything of size. i often use this same method for embroidery and project the image that is then traced on to paper for actual use.

I hope this helps.

Jahanara

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:46

Cheekyredhead (not verified)

How y'all do things is a help to me except that I don't have photoshop but I can draw.  Once I get some yarn spun up (see my post on Color for Tapestry) I'm going to try my first sample.

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 14:06

Robweaves (not verified)

I have absolutely minimal skills with programs like Photoshop.  What I hvae done is upload photos of absolutely anything to flickr, and then edit then in Piknik.  Piknik has all kinds of filters I play with to radically change the images in the photos.  Take a look at one of my experiments here:  roberta.typepad.com/robknits/2009/01/push-to-start.html

Fri, 07/03/2009 - 15:50

jemwork (not verified)

While it is very 21st century to use a computer to create images, there is nothing wrong with tried & true methods of drawing & collage. Doesn't this help with the tactile element you'll be working in? I use a wide variety of yarns in my pieces. I do have some experience with Photoshop, but I don't think it would reflect what I might get into doing.

I do have to confess, I keep my cartooning to a minimum. Half way through something, I'll get a hint of what the piece is saying & off I'll go in that direction. I know this is not the way tapestry is traditionally done, but so far its working for me. My biggest complaint is how slow I am. One loom has been sitting there for weeks waiting for me to carry on.

Joan in Jamestown

Fri, 07/24/2009 - 14:33

Robweaves (not verified)

It is not necessary these days to own graphics software to play with images.  I uploaded photographs of my collages to Flickr.  If you then click on the Edit button, you will be taken to Piknik, an online image editing program.  That's how I generated some of the images I am using as the basis for my weaving.

I find I am using combinations of pencils, pastels, paper collage, fabric collage and digital imaging.  I like doing that because I can get a basic idea down with traditional media, though in a limited way because of my limited skills, and then i can play with that basic image -- and always go back to it to try something else.  I got very interested in pastels because of their intense color and texture, which relate (for me) to tapestry weaving.  I don't try for a finished image though -- that's what the waving is about, for me.

Sat, 07/25/2009 - 17:29

jemwork (not verified)

What a great approach. I should do more of that - often, when I wing it, I end up looking at the loom & wondering what was I thinking of. Where do I go now?

Funny thing is I have all the materials you mention. I have no excuse.

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 15:15

MRD (not verified)

All,

I just started a new tapestry that is going to be quite large (at least for me).  I found that creating the cartoon the way I normally do just didn't work this time.  Normally I manipulate a photo and then blow it up at the local Kinko's.  Although I did blow up some elements of the piece, the entire cartoon was much too large to do it that way.  So I took the pieces I blew up and cut them up and pasted them on a piece of paper the size of the proposed tapestry.  II liked the process and found it a bit more flexible than relying on what I can get my laptop to do (I am still learning Photoshop and am not very good at getting it to do what I want it to do).  I put it on butcher's paper rather than on tracing paper and tied it to my loom.  I normally ink every bit of the cartoon and work off of that but this time I am trying to only ink the more complicated element and just rely on my eye for the rest.  I find I rely too much on the lines and not enough on my eye when I have everything inked.  We will see how it goes.

So I'm with Robweaves and Jemworks, the old fashioned approach works well for some pieces.  I will still work with the photos I take in my daily travels but I am trying to branch out as I get more comfortable with the process and my skills.

Mary

Sat, 01/09/2010 - 16:38

tommye scanlin

 Mary,

I also blow up portions of a larger design with Photoshop and tape those together for the cartoon.  Sometimes I use that assembly as the cartoon and other times I use mylar and ink the cartoon as outlines onto that, using the taped together design to copy from.

I began to stitch my cartoon to weave from a few years ago, rather than inking onto the warps.  I find that much more satisfying to work from and I also don't have to spend the time with the inking.  

Tommye

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 14:49

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

My mentors Betsey Snope and Rita Landau (long time Wednesday group members) agree with your process, in fact we were discussing it the other day.  I meet with a group of tapestry weavers each week and the subject of  sewing the cartoons to the back as you outlined here came up.  Rita is trying it that way on her next piece. 

I am not confident enough to forgo inking the warp altogether but I am experimenting with only inking the more complex elements.  We will see how it goes.  I like the idea of the Mylar, it does not cut off the light as much as butchers paper or even tracing paper does.  I will have to give it a try next time.

Mary

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 16:23

tommye scanlin

 Hi Mary,

Please give my regards to Betsy and Rita next time you're talking to them!  Another good thing about the Mylar is that it has tooth enough to color upon with colored pencil (probably marker, too, but haven't tried that).  So sometimes if there's a complicated spot I need to keep track of I can go to the back of the loom and add pencil color in that shape(s) onto the Mylar. Doesn't have to be the color I'm weaving, just something that lets me see the difference.  By doing it behind the Mylar that's attached to the back of the warp I don't have to worry about any residue from the pencil rubbing off onto the warp.

It's really surprising how easily you can adhere to your design without having it inked onto the warp.  I hesitated for literally years to try it because I thought my design would get out of control.  Actually, I feel I have more control since I'm responding more to what's actually being woven rather than slavishly trying to keep myself to the inked outlines.

Since I build shapes as you probably do, as well, I stitch the cartoon to about 1/2" away from the top of any area I'm weaving within.  So the stitch (a big running stitch that I do with a curved needle) might meander along, just like the edge of the tapestry.

Good luck with it!

Tommye

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 16:41

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Does anyone here use a graph?  I chart my designs on a grid on my computer, having already tested the sett/yarns/beat to determine the number of picks per inch I will get.  Then I alter the aspect ratio of the "image" so that one row on the grid eqals 4 picks of weaving.  Then I just follow the grid with a magnet strip.  Of course, this method works best if weaving row-by-row, as I do.

Bonnie.

 

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 20:49

tommye scanlin

 I've only used graphing of designs when weaving double and triple weave pick up.  Since my tapestry imagery is based on nature the organic quality of the images and the way I do them don't lend themselves to graphing as much as other things might.  I also don't weave row by row but, instead, build shapes.

Kathe Todd-Hooker developed a grid paper for tapestry weavers that she sells at her Fine Fiber Press site <www.finefiberpress.com>.  I have a package of that but didn't find it as useful for my own work although I point it out to students, if they ask.  The grid of  is a flattened hexagon and shaped like the way the two picks of a pass nestle together, so would more easily represent what's happening in weft faced tapestry.

Tommye

Tue, 01/12/2010 - 00:00

tommye scanlin

 I'm just about ready to begin a new tapestry for which I've been developing the design.  I completed the cartoon process today and just posted these last stages to my blog at 

http://tapestry13.blogspot.com/2010/01/cartoon-development.html

Earlier posts show several drawings being done to work toward this design.  The warp is 24" wide and sett at 8 epi, using 30/18 cotton seine twine.  I'll be using wool as weft, a Norwegian yarn called Vevgarn and used two fold.

Tommye

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 12:04

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

Thanks for the encouragement.  I too wonder if I can stick to my vision without inking the warp.  I decided to try because I am always putting the cartoon on backwards, upside down or inside out and not noticing it until I have inked the warp. Then I have to change colors and ink again, it gets complex and confusing when that happens. 

I also need to trust the shape more rather than slavishly adhering to the line just because it is there.  if I work more intuitively I think my curves and shapes will be more true.  Is that what you found? 

My question is, where do you get large sheets of mylar for your cartoons?  I like working in a larger format so I will need something like a roll of it to work with.   I haven't gone looking for it but I suspect Pearl Paint might have it? 

Mary

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 12:08

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

 

I loved the blog on your process.  I learned from your text and images.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Mary

 

Sat, 01/16/2010 - 17:11

Bonnie Datta

Your presentation about cartoon development is very generous.  I can see how on a vertical loom you can hang it behind and keep referring to it.  But on a horizontal loom, which is what I have, it's not so convenient.  

I guess it's because I did a lot of charted embroidery and needlepoint, plus the fact that I work on a horizontal loom, that I am stuck on following a charted design.  It eliminates the need for a full-size cartoon, the mylar, and inking the warp.  And most importantly for me it ensures that I stay on the grid so that the geometry comes out right all through the piece.  Sometimes I have many charts, one for the "background" and others for areas of particular detail.  An example is when I wove this blanket.  I needed to ensure that the tumbling blocks and hexagonal background came out exactly all the way through, and for the pictorial images within the "windows" I needed close-up charts.  This piece is 5 ft X 8 ft (appr), woven Navajo-style on a horizontal loom.

 

Sun, 01/17/2010 - 16:43

tommye scanlin

Beautiful piece, Bonnie!

Tommye 

Sun, 01/17/2010 - 16:45

tommye scanlin

Hi Mary,

Been out of town so didn't see your question until now.  I get the Mylar at an art supply store.  Pearl should have it, I think.  I got a roll at Sam Flax in Atlanta a few years ago--enough on it to last a long time but I'm almost out now and will be getting more soon.  When I do I'll mention where I got it and the mil. on my blog.

Tommye 

Fri, 01/22/2010 - 13:57

MRD (not verified)

Bonnie,

This is a beautiful piece. I wish I could control my image this well.  Thanks for telling how you did it.

 

MRD

Fri, 01/22/2010 - 13:58

MRD (not verified)

Tommye,

Thanks.   I will check Pearl Paint next time I am there to see what they have and share what I found here.

 

MRD

Sun, 01/24/2010 - 16:44

Bonnie Datta (not verified)

Thanks Tommye and MRD.  I should have apologized for the poor photo -- it was taken outside and the wind was blowing.  I just never have a good place to hang stuff to get proper pictures

Bonnie.

.