Clock numbers position

Saturday, February 26, 2005 by Richard Mohler | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk

How would you go about getting the numbers other than 12,3,6,9 aligned evenly with photoshop or paintshop?
23 Reply 3 Referrals
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Bichur
Reply #1 Saturday, February 26, 2005 11:31 PM
It's been a while since I tried it but, in paintshop can't you create the other numbers in a separate window, then paste them over as a new image, then use the move tool?

BX
Reply #2 Saturday, February 26, 2005 11:48 PM
I think Corel is much better for doin it ... just my experience

Koasati
Reply #3 Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:10 AM
With PSP, I would have a layer for each number for starters. Now you can adjust one number without moving anything else. Shouldn't be hard to align then....

.....after thought..... make a guide layer with crosshairs, for aligning things. Turn off visibility for that layer before saving..........


Richard Mohler
Reply #4 Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:50 AM
Thanks.

Tiggz
Reply #5 Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:13 AM
to make a guide layer (ps) :

use the polygon tool ("fill pixels"), number of sides = 12, set to "star", indent sides by 98%

start in the centre and drag out horizontally with the shift key depressed

E_Dragon
Reply #6 Sunday, February 27, 2005 8:35 AM
I agree; Corel is best for it, any thing you create in it is created as an object ( including numbers and letters) and as such can be easily placed anywhere by dragging them or bent, twisted, stretched, etc,etc............

werewolf
Reply #7 Sunday, February 27, 2005 11:32 AM
Make a vertical straight line with your end points being the location of the numbers, this will be 12 and 6. Make 5 more layers with this line on it. On each layer, rotate the line 15 degrees (on center) from the previous location. Put your numbers at the end points then delete the lines. That should do it.

Koasati
Reply #8 Sunday, February 27, 2005 11:57 AM
I agree; Corel is best for it, any thing you create in it is created as an object ( including numbers and letters) and as such can be easily placed anywhere by dragging them or bent, twisted, stretched, etc,etc............

All this can be accomplished with PSP also.


paxx
Reply #9 Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:11 PM
With Photoshop, it's quite easy but hard to explain. The idea is to duplicate the layer then use the rotate tool, changing the center of the rotation to the center of your clock.

werewolf
Reply #10 Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:36 PM
is #7 incorrect?

Koasati
Reply #11 Sunday, February 27, 2005 12:52 PM
is #7 incorrect?

Sounds like a good idea to me ....... Explaining things like this are the hardest part.. there are many ways to do something, but one must come up with his own preferred method.
PSP can also rotate around the center of the canvas, much like paxx suggests. You just have to explore your tools and options.....


Richard Mohler
Reply #12 Sunday, February 27, 2005 1:14 PM
Thanks everybody for your input.

paxx
Reply #13 Sunday, February 27, 2005 7:34 PM

Here is a quick tutorial for you. Looks more complicated than it is. I takes about 5 minutes really to do.

First, making sure you're justified Center in the options toolbar, place your first number at the 12 o'clock position, exactly in the horizontal middle of your clock (I used a guide to make sure).  Note that I also drew a black dot in the exact center of my clock. You'll see why after.

 

Then, just to make the whole process quicker so I don't have to redo this 12 times, I am creating a custom action.
In the actions palette, create a new action. In the dialog, name it whatever you want. You can always delete it after you're done. I called it "rotate". Then press "Record" and Photoshop will start recording every single thing you do.

 

Make sure you're on your type layer, and type Control+T (free transform). Notice the little target symbol in the middle of your selection? That's the center of your rotation.

 

Hold the ALT key and drag it in the exact center of your clock (that's where the black dot becomes handy). And then in the tool options at the top, for the rotation angle (look right under this, at the very top) type 30 (30 degrees is 1/12th of 360). Click in your canvas so it's selected not your toolbar, and press Enter.

 

OK, I forgot one screenshot. But I think you can understand without an image. Now, your type is roated, not straight. So you need to straighten it out. Press Control+T again and type -30 for the rotation angle. Press Enter. Now you're straight and you're done.

Press Stop in your actions palette. Select your "Rotate" action and press Play 11 times. Tada!

You only need to raname your types 1, 2, 3, etc.

Now, my problem here is that I started too high. If you start your first character with a reasonable space between the clock edge and your number, it should be fine. But in my case, to make it look better, I linked all my type layers, pressed Control+T again, and while holding Alt+Shift, I dragged a little inwards to move the types a bit away from the edge.

That's it. No more than 5 minutes. The actions will work for you.


Richard Mohler
Reply #14 Sunday, February 27, 2005 10:13 PM
Thanks I'll try it.

paxx
Reply #15 Monday, February 28, 2005 2:51 PM
So, Richard, how's it going? You got it to work the way you wanted?

Richard Mohler
Reply #16 Monday, February 28, 2005 10:19 PM
I'm just trying it I'll let you know how it turns out.

Richard Mohler
Reply #17 Monday, February 28, 2005 10:37 PM
I know this is probably a dumb question but how do you get the rotated number in the middle to the exact place on the inside edge of the circle. Might be the screenshot you forgot or not, anyway kind of new to photoshop so you might have to be a little patient..

Richard Mohler
Reply #18 Monday, February 28, 2005 11:30 PM
I got it to work now I just have to figure out how to link layers and move them.

Richard Mohler
Reply #19 Monday, February 28, 2005 11:37 PM
Got it all figured out I think I'll just have to practice. By the way if you want to post a picture of something (like this tutorial) how would you go about it? Have this thing called photobucket and was able to get a picture in there, but how do I go about getting it to here..

paxx
Reply #20 Monday, February 28, 2005 11:46 PM
I'm not sure I understand your question at #17, but maybe you figured it out. If you mean how I placed my initial number, I first placed a dot in the very center of the circle, then dragged a vertical guide in the middle, using my black dot as a reference (to create a guide, make sure your rulers are showing then click on the vertical ruler and drag). Then I placed my initial number in the middle of that guide. You got to make sure your type is justified center though, or it won't be centered anymore when you change the number to 12.
As for linking the layers, click on one layer first, then for each other number layer click on the little box next to the eyeball icon in your layers palette (see my screenshot, where you see a chain icon).
Hope this helps.

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