I have a somewhat detailed clip-art picture of a dogs head. There are a few shades of brown for the head, black and grays for the nose, and reddish hues for the eyes. There is a black outline of the entire head with black also throughout the head. I'm not sure which colors to begin with. And do I do the outline last? How do I know which parts to do in fill stitch and which to do in satin stitch? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hi Moonbaby, welcome to the world of digitizing. You have a fun journey ahead of you. I agree with mops that you may be starting on a design that is a bit to complex.
As far as the stitch order of a design, this will depend on the design.
There is push and pull to consider, you can generally adjust the pull compensation in the software but you will need to accommodate for the push with your stitch order. This sounds very complex but once you start to understand what the stitches are doing it will make perfect sense. It will also make you a better embroiderer.
as an example the centaur below is a large design, I had to do the top part of the colour stitches first then the outline around those then the bottom colour stitches then the outline around those. When I tried to do the outline all at once at the end, it stitched out in the wrong place. In the celtic design the stitching order had to be from the inside out. so it is white, green, white, green, etc... from the middle to the outline last, the reason is that to put down all of the white stitches then do the green meant that the push in the embroidery machine caused the outline to stitch to far away from the rest of the design.
I hope that I have not confused you to much, but you will get it if you keep at it, and remember a design may look great in the software, but it is not embroidery until you have stitched it.
Have fun, you have inspired me to start blogging about digitizing.

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by moonbaby0123 13 Oct 2010

Thank you for this info! I had no idea I even had to worry about that! At first I didn't understand what you meant by push and pull, but after reading all of your post I think I have it. I've digitized 3 patterns so far. I've uploaded one on Cuties so far. It's called Christmas Cross. The software I have is great, but is a little difficult to get the hang of. I plan on getting Embird, but I have to save up for it because I'm on a very fixed income. Thanks Again for all of your help!!! Happy Stitching! Terrie

by fannyfurkin 13 Oct 2010

I was worried that I may have confused you, it really is something you have to keep playing with and it will click. I use generations, it is what I learned on and I can't comment on any other software I just stick with what I know. I am happy with generations.

Hi Terrie..
learn by playing I honestly believe this to be the best advice :-)
Start with something real simple and get a feel for
the difference between what you do on the screen
and what you test stitch out.
ask questions as you go along so that we may offer our advice on that specific part..
There is a lot to learn, but the results can be amazing..
Tell us the software you are using as another cutie
or myself may be able to help you more..
I use Embird..
Good luck have lots of fun
Big hugs from Londn
Maria xxx

The order is up to you, to a certain extent, the general rule is: think in layers. If you have a certain colour in different spots, you might do those first and make connection stitches that will be hidden by the next colour.
Choosing fillings or satin stitch is a matter of taste. Play with the angles of your fillings, the angle plays an important role on how you see the colour - or rather the shade - and you might even be able to use less colour changes and still get a variety of shades. I added a picture of an elephant I digitised some time ago. I used one shade of blue for the head and the body, however, it looks like I used two, but it's really just the angle of the stitching.
Spend time making test squares of the different fill stitches, keep them in a binder or on index cards with all info: name of the filling, density used, etc. It saves time in the end if you have the info at hand.
And outlines always come last, otherwise a filling might just overlap it.

I, too, think that a simpler picture would be better to start with, Getting the fur right is one of the most difficult things you could think of.

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by moonbaby0123 13 Oct 2010

Wow, that is a great idea!! I never thought about the angle of the fillings! But seeing your example really shows how important that can be!! I love your little elephant. They (elephants) are one of my favorite animals!!! Thanks again!!! Happy Stitching, Terrie

I am interested in these answers, as all I have is automated digitizing. (The computer does it for me) and sometimes it leaves a lot to be desired. I would like to get embird, but can't swing it yet! Hope you get lots of good answers, altho you have some that helps me.
Oh and Welcome to CUTE!!! Hugs, Judy

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Terrie, WELCOME to the CUTE family - we have many digitizers that are part of our family - I am sure one of them will come along soon and assist you - as for me - I only know - that when I stitch out a design - it always has a background base - then it comes forward with the layers of the design - and usually ends with the outline - stitch out a couple designs from a good website - surely you have designs that you like how they look when they are finalized - see how that designer has created their work and try to follow their lead or better yet - buy yourself a nice tutorial on the subject and learn from one of the masters. Good luck and hope to view some of your works soon. We love seeing items that others have stitched up in the PROJECT area and many of our members share their finalized designs - in the DESIGNS by CUTIES section and we are all able to download them and use them on our own projects, too. *4U, Shirlene

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by moonbaby0123 12 Oct 2010

Thank you Shirlene!! I added my first design to the Designs by Cuties section the other day. It's called Christmas Cross. I really love everything about Cuties! I hope to be able to add a bunch more along the way. Happy Stitching!!!! :)

I sort my digitizing by the depth a certain part is in the design. You need to organise your colours in order of the depth of the picture - starting at the back and working towards the front, meaning that you may be using the same colour more than once.
May I say that this clipart sounds too complicated - to my mind - as an early one to try to digitize. I suggest a simpler design with block colours to enable you to try working from the back of the design towards the front. (Try to imagine the design in 3D).
Visualise yourself laying in a bed with your head on the pillow and covered with a blanket. The item farthest back is the pillow, your head is in the middle ground and the blanket is in the foreground.
I do hope this help you sort out your colour order, although I realise it doesn't help you sort out the dog digitizing.

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by moonbaby0123 12 Oct 2010

Thank you very much!! Your answer helps me out a lot! I think you might be right about this design. I might put it aside until later when I am more familiar with digitizing! lol...I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure this one out!

I also read the answers along with you
I use pe design 6
also just started
Maggie

Welcome to Cute and I look forward to other Cuties replies, my digitising is not up to instructing others. What package do you use I have PE design

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by moonbaby0123 12 Oct 2010

Thank you! My software came with my Singer Futura CE-250. It allows me to digitize whatever I want in just about every format. It also came with a drawing program. I've had the machine and software for over a year, but I've only been using the digitizing software for about a week. I've been stitching other people's patterns. But I really like the idea of creating them myself!! Good luck with your digitizing!! Happy Stitching!

I want to learn too, I can not help you, but I would love to read the responses, becuase those same questions i have asked myself more than one time. Another one is How do you know what comes first and last>