Expand on your foundation skills acquired in Unit 1: Getting Started with Generations™ with Keyboard Lettering. Not only will you learn how to create lettering, you’ll expand and apply the concepts covered in Anatomy of A Design and how they apply during the digitizing process. A lesson is also included to help you understand how needles, thread, and fabric affect your embroidery and therefore your decisions as a digitizer. Digitizing is not just learning how your software works—just because you can create it in the program doesn’t mean it is sewable. By learning to think like a digitizer, you can produce professionally looking designs in no time!

Creating Embroidered Lettering is Not Like Using a Word Processor!

Many embroiderers have the illusion that creating embroidered letters is as simple as using a word processor. While it’s true that many programs make it easy by auto-generating stitches on installed TrueType fonts, actually embroidering them successfully is an entirely different matter! We’re working with thread on fabric on pixels on the screen or ink on paper. Thread has different properties and just because the software will let you create miniscule letters doesn’t mean they can be sewn successfully.

What’s In ABC’s of Keyboard Lettering

Unit 2 in the Learn to Digitize Training Series for Generations auto-digitizing software is comprised of 2 illustrated, full-color e-books and 5 video lessons. As with unit 1, you have the option to have your final project personally evaluated. A partial list of the unit’s objectives include:

• Understanding the functions & choices in the Insert Text dialog box
• How to modify text
• Working with text paths
• Understanding type and how to select fonts for best use
• How to find, install, and use TrueType fonts
• Investigating the satin stitch and modifying its attributes
• Understanding tie-offs and trims and how to control them
• Understanding and applying compensation and density
• Enveloping options for lettering

What’s Not in ABC’s of Keyboard Lettering

This unit is not about digitizing letters from scratch or even editing the letters created. Letters, especially the small ones most everyone seems to be after, are the hardest things to digitize. At this point in the course, we are not up to that challenge.

Why a Whole Unit on Just Lettering?

Generations offers a huge variety of things you can do with letters. Adding letters and resizing are the two most common modifications made to embroidery designs. Auto-lettering is a huge time saver and there are a lot of things you need to know about getting good results.

If you make your living as an embroiderer, you’ll find the additional information on typography invaluable.

The Quick Start Tutorial

As with unit 1, the first lesson in this unit is a short tutorial to give you some experience with the Insert Test tool before we get started. Please don’t skip the tutorial, especially if you’re new to the topic.

Lots of Exercises!

There are plenty of exercises, or labs as they’re called in the course, to provide you with experience using the concepts and tools covered. This unit spends a great deal of time on the satin stitch, which is the primary stitch type used on letters. Once you understand how satin stitches work for letters, you’ll know how they work for other design elements. Same goes for underlay and compensation.

Learn by Doing

This course is meant to be a hands on course. You can learn more by doing the exercises. Or, hold off on them until they fit in better with the type of digitizing you are doing. This course is structured with videos, written instructions, and hands-on exercises to make the most out your learning experience.

Unit Requirements & Prerequisites

• Same as unit 1:
  • Generations embroidery software version 1.6 to perform the exercises
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF files (free, installed on most computers)
  • Apple Quicktime to view the supplementary training videos (free, download from apple.com)
• Successful completion of unit 1
• Purchase of Unit 1 if you wish to have your projects personally evaluated

Unit 2 Free Shipping!*

Related posts:

1. Unit 1: Getting Started with Generations

Tags: digitizing, education, Generations, Learn to Digitize, training

This entry was posted on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at 11:19 am and is filed under Course Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.