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08 January 2007

AskMetachat! Help me make a fire-and-forget digital sketchbook.[More:]

So I've got this wacom tablet, and I'm having a lovely time with the drawing, but I kind of wish there was an easy way to sketch, save and forget with (at least very nearly) push-button ease.

Right now, I draw something, and then play a quick game of Keep Or Don't—if it's "worth keeping", I go to the trouble of saving it out to a file (stop what I'm doing, save, filename, filetype, cool, new file), and if not I just wipe the canvas and start again.

What I'd like to do is eliminate that "trouble" part. I'd like to finish sketching something and hit the Big Red Button and have:

- the drawing saved
- as a high-quality jpg (these are small sketches)
- into a generic sketchbook directory, with a plain old incremental filename
- the file closed
- and another new file kicked open

I realize there may not actually be a good way to make that on big button, but a means of streamlining or simulating down to something very close to that process would be great. (For example, draw a bunch, leave 'em open, and then do a batch save-and-close.)

The best kluge I've thought of is to do a pile of sketches, leave 'em open, do a big batch save when I'm done, save as Untitled-1.psd, -2, -3, then go back and do a big Batch convert on them to render them unto a displayable format (jpg, generally). My complaint with that is that (a) I've got a stack of maintenance to do at the end of a sketching session, that way, and (b) there might be resource-use limitations with enough sketches going (though I haven't tested that theory yet).

Is there any way to improve on that kluge? Could this question get any longer? Inquiring minds, etc.

I'm currently sketching in a copy of PS Elements 3.0 that came with the hardware, and it's nice enough. If there are other free/cheap tablet-centric brush/pen-and-ink-ish apps I should play around with, that'd be excellent too.
The room is defined by an emptiness, whole and complete. There is a phantom of movement, a doom of suspected but unperceived motion—and then the tiniest glittering as the light catches, just so, and then the clatter, minute and yet thund'rous in the encompassing silence, as the pin drops.
posted by cortex 08 January | 13:47
Ach, sorry for the lack of response, cortex. I know that in Photoshop CS, I can use Actions to automate those steps. Unfortunately, This article indicates that PS Elements can run Actions, but it can't write Actions. You'll need to find a friend with a full Photoship CS2 installation to write the Action script for you, I guess.
posted by muddgirl 08 January | 14:13
Ooh. That's interesting. I imagine I can track down a savvy CS2er. I'll investigate. Thanks!
posted by cortex 08 January | 14:57
I'd help you cortex, but I am not smart. Sorry.
posted by eekacat 09 January | 15:00
Cortex, if you don't find anyone local to do it by this weekend (fat chance of that, eh?) then shoot me an email and I can take a look at it when I have some free time on Sunday.
posted by muddgirl 09 January | 15:09
Dreamhost || Does anyone know how long Girl Scout cookies last?

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