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creating a rhinestone template

Forum|Forum|14 years ago
January 8, 2012
4 replies
61356 views

Does anyone know if there is an ability/plug-in for illustrator cs5 to allow for creating a rhinestone template? I make custom apparel and use illustrator to create the vector artwork. When I need a design in rhinestones, I have to send out the art to have the template created (the template is the material with the holes in it where the rhinestones will be placed.) Rhinestone creation software lets you "place" the stones in the on screen design, choosing size of stone, etc. and then allows that design to be sent to a cutter to cut the holes in the template. If I could do it in-house, it would save me some money. I know there are plug ins that are compatible with CorelDraw, and there is stand alone software out there for apparel decorators, but I would rather not invest in more software if I could accomplish it in illustrator.

Correct answer JETalmage

It would help if you posted a sample image to eliminate guessing about what you're needing.

Based on what I think you've described, you just want to draw shapes and then have them filled with an array of same-sized, uniformly-spaced circles.

This is one way to do that:

That's the basic idea. You could semi-automate this by recording the steps in an Action. With a little care, you could build yourself a template that would contain a few Graphic Styles and a few Actions for specific-size circles. You could then design more elaborate patterns by running the various Actions on different elements.

JET

J

Jesslc08

Participant

Hi, if you ever need to do rihinestone letters, google dotted fonts. I came across the fonts by accident while looking for marquee letterrs for an invitation i was making for a hollywood theme party . I found a bunch that were free to download. I used my Cricut design space program to figure out the stone size. I just uploaded a circle and sized it to whatever stone size i was using.

(link removed by moderator)

P

Pavel Mishakov

Participating Frequently

Hi.

here is solution:

http://illustrator.e-cut.ru/index.php?view=function&functionid=19

Pavel.

A

artswearAuthor

Participating Frequently

Pavel,

The macro shown in your response is rStones, which is what I currently use, but I use it in Coreldraw. Does it now work with illustrator?

P

Pavel Mishakov

Participating Frequently

Hi.

Yes, I ported it to illustrator - almost all features (some functioms are not compatible with AI, and some features i had to write by my self). And now it is testing time :)

I made some changes in bitmap fill feature, but i think people will like them...

JETalmageCorrect answer

Inspiring

It would help if you posted a sample image to eliminate guessing about what you're needing.

Based on what I think you've described, you just want to draw shapes and then have them filled with an array of same-sized, uniformly-spaced circles.

This is one way to do that:

That's the basic idea. You could semi-automate this by recording the steps in an Action. With a little care, you could build yourself a template that would contain a few Graphic Styles and a few Actions for specific-size circles. You could then design more elaborate patterns by running the various Actions on different elements.

JET

A

artswearAuthor

Participating Frequently

Wow, Carlos and Jet, you have no idea how happy I am right now!! You have both addressed exactly what I have been trying to do.

Carlos, I can use your solution when I want to create a rhinestone design for outlining objects, and Jet, you hit on exactly what I have been trying to do... you didn't even need a picture from me, I'm quite impressed. With your solution I will be able to create the artwork that gets sent to a laser cutter which produces the rhinestone templates that get filled with rhinestones, and heat pressed onto a garment. I can save the artwork setup fees that rhinestone template makers charge, and eventually, when I get my own cutter, be able to produce the templates myself. There are many rhinestone software packages out there for the apparel industry, that basically sit on top of existing programs such as coreldraw. I knew this was possible in AI and was reluctant to purchase add on bells and whistles.

And Carlos, the suggestion to record the steps into actions for each rhinestone size is so exciting and practical, can't wait to give it a try.

I have a trade show in February for which I need to produce many rhinestoned garments, and with your suggestions, you have saved me money and time!!!

Thanks so much!

Patrice

Hue & Me Apparel

CarlosCanto

Community Expert

for the line art, you don't need actions, once you have your stone sizes, drag them to the graphic styles palette, then use them as needed.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

Like this? http://forums.adobe.com/thread/732621

Can also be used with circles of even size IIRC

You could also take a look at the plugin Phantasm CS, which has a vector halftone function.

A

artswearAuthor

Participating Frequently

Interesting, but this seems to create circles that are touching. In rhinestoning, there needs to be space in between the stones, so that when it is sent to the cutter, the circles will remain intact to accept each stone. I'm not sure if there is the ability in this software to change the space between the circles, but if so, it may work. I will check out Phantasm. Thanks.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

You can enter a distance. Why don't you just download and try if it suits your need. It's easy to install and use.

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