Of pets and people, part 3

Today my oldest daughter turns thirteen. So I thought it appropriate to use one of the patterns I did this past fall based on her portrait.

The picture was taken with a fill flash to help get rid of strong shadow patterns on her face.

One of the points I have been trying to share is really well illustrated here -- you don't have to use all of the picture to get a great pattern

Here is the first pattern - I focused just on the face - after all, that's what really matters when it's a pic of your kid - none of us really cares about the woods or leaves or trees, when it's really all about the person.

Here I went for a bit more edgy and artsy effect by focusing just on the one eye and cheek, along with her nose. This really works as a pattern not just for those of us who know and love her -- it works as a pattern for making an artistic statement.

One of the best things you can do is take one picture and then see how many different ways you can turn that one picture into a pattern. You may end up erasing twelve of your attempts, but suddenly realizing that try number thirteen is really something - and it was something you normally might not have tried.

Experiment with different areas of the picture.

Experiment with blowing the picture up and shrinking it down (Beadtool lets you just grab the edge and pull it to the size you want - Love it!)

Experiment with small, medium, and large size graphs - look at the different it does and DOESN"T make.

Try different amounts of beads in your pallette. See where you really can tell a difference and not. Just for fun try the pic with a 100 colours. Turn around and do the same pic with 16 colours.

Turn the picture upside down and see what happens.

Try doing the picture in both brick stitch and in peyote - it really can make a difference.

Go out and have a messy bead adventure!