Provide your feedback on the main site (besides the patterns).
User avatar
By BigScience
#88285
Hey Patchmaster!

I know you are really busy this time of year, but if you ever get time I would love to see how you create a stencil pattern from idea/source image to putting it up on the site. A video would be awesome!

Thanks!
#88292
My dear boy, do you ask a fish how it swims? Or a bird how it flies? No sirree, you don't. They do it because they were
born to do it. Just like I was born to be a pattern man, and you look like you were born to be a carver.

(bonus points if you know what I'm paraphrasing there) :wink:

The specific artistic process sort of comes naturally by now, and it's hard to describe exactly how I draw what I draw. I just draw what I think looks good and will carve well. But if it's of any interest, I can at least tell you the steps involved in bringing a pattern to the site.
  1. Decide on the subject matter.
  2. Search for reference pictures.
  3. Sketch the pattern design loosely at first.
  4. Restart the drawing several times, after first few attempts are deemed not up to standards.
  5. Refine the pattern by tracing more cleanly in vector format.
  6. Print out the pattern full size to gauge its real world carvability. Tweak as necessary.
  7. Create the print file for the website.
  8. Create mock-up thumbnails of the design for the site in 4 sizes.
  9. Upload thumbnails and pattern print files to the server.
  10. Research the character to come up with some witty description.
  11. Add pattern info to database, including its name, category, difficulty, description, year and related patterns.
  12. Add keywords to another database for pattern searching feature.
  13. Add pattern info/links on the site on 4 pages (patterns main, category sub-page, home page, updates page).
  14. Upload the new website pages with the new pattern content.
  15. Click all the newly added links, testing that they connect to the right pattern page.
  16. Print out the new pattern like a regular member, testing that it prints properly and logs the right info in the user's account.
  17. Occasionally design a promotional photo manipulation image for the pattern.
  18. Post a link to the new pattern in the forum.
  19. Post a link to the new pattern on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc).
  20. Announce the new pattern in the Pumpkin Scoop email newsletter.
  21. Pass out, or drink another Monster energy drink and keep going.
So as you can see, it's quite an assembly line of procedures to bring a new pattern into the collection. The time it takes to draw the actual pattern can vary, and sometimes that part can go surprisingly quickly. But with all the steps involved, taking a pattern from concept to final integrated part of the site is almost guaranteed to take up a healthy chunk of the work day.
User avatar
By Lala
#88294
Bonus points for me, since that's from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. :-)

love this post though, because I always wondered that too
User avatar
By BigScience
#88309
Thanks! But I still say I would love to see you draw out the pattern. I find your artistic interpretations amazing and the fact that you can make it work on a pumpkin is even cooler. If not a video, maybe like a photo slideshow. :D
User avatar
By mesmark
#88324
There was a blog post years ago that showed some steps in making a mascot:
http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/forum/vie ... =16&t=3673

Sadly, the blog isn't coming up. With social media these days, blogging has sort of died out. I don't see a blog option on the site at present, but I assume the post still exists somewhere in cyberspace. Maybe if the blog returns, we'll be able to dig that post up again. OR maybe the patch master could just copy the blog text and post it here :thumbsup:
By kanwal
#91203
Got re-hooked by the hidden V.I.P. pattern and picked up another year of the Monster Harvest. Have already been to a great pumpkin patch and plucked the new members of the household, one of which is a wonderfully round and warty fellow who will remain pristinely uncarven because of his already gruesome good looks. Put together some heavy duty wheeled shelves from Costco in the garage to accommodate all my orange minions and seasonal wreaths, so it should free up a bedroom and make decorating much faster! Also, a family of three will be moving in with me for a while until their situation stabilizes, and the father looks like he is willing to be a manacled werewolf roaming the front area this Halloween, (although his preferences lean toward Dracula or Frankenstein). He may get his wish since he has the dark intense looks of the Count. Looking forward to a great new selection of other roomies to add from the House of Zombie! :roll: :roll: :roll:
User avatar
By BigScience
#101729
Thought I might resurrect this thread again- I would love to see a video of the Patchmaster designing a pattern from start to finish, and then maybe doing a test carve. That would be REALLY cool to watch!
#101731
I would definitely watch that BigScience! I find it amazing how someone can take a picture and turn it into a pattern that actually looks like the subject.