Help test new PatternPaint release
Hi everyone,
I've been working on adding multi-pattern support to PatternPaint, so that you can store more than one image at a time on the BlinkyTape. I just built a preview release with the new mode, and would be happy to get some feedback about it:
https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/PatternPaint/releases/tag/1.7.0
The interface is still pretty cryptic, so here's a quick tutorial- The new area on the left side of the screen is the pattern selector; you can add as many patterns as you like to this by choosing file->new (to make a new, blank pattern), or file->open (to make a new pattern based on an image). You can click on the pattern image that you would like to edit, and edit it as usual. You can also re-arrange the pattern order by dragging the images around. When you click save, the entire image set is uploaded to the BlinkyTape (BlinkyPendant and BlinkyTile controller support is coming soon). To switch between patterns on the BlinkyTape, press and hold the small button on the controller for a second (press and release it quickly to change the brightness).
I've been working on adding multi-pattern support to PatternPaint, so that you can store more than one image at a time on the BlinkyTape. I just built a preview release with the new mode, and would be happy to get some feedback about it:
https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/PatternPaint/releases/tag/1.7.0
The interface is still pretty cryptic, so here's a quick tutorial- The new area on the left side of the screen is the pattern selector; you can add as many patterns as you like to this by choosing file->new (to make a new, blank pattern), or file->open (to make a new pattern based on an image). You can click on the pattern image that you would like to edit, and edit it as usual. You can also re-arrange the pattern order by dragging the images around. When you click save, the entire image set is uploaded to the BlinkyTape (BlinkyPendant and BlinkyTile controller support is coming soon). To switch between patterns on the BlinkyTape, press and hold the small button on the controller for a second (press and release it quickly to change the brightness).
Comments
Looking into how to add colorswirl- that one is tricky, since it's algorithmically generated, not an image. The easiest thing will probably be to add a preference for whether it should be enabled alongside the user patterns or not.
We can make an image that has a similar effect, but it will repeat a little more quickly :-)
https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/PatternPaint/releases/tag/1.8.0
One other thought - how about a way to pause the pattern or set the number of repeats? I've been trying to time the pattern then turn off the BT but then the pattern goes back to the first when powered back up.
Final thought - do you have a Donate button anywhere, to help support all your hard work with he app development?
Cheers!!
And thanks for the donate request- you know, I don't have one! We've been sorta kinda financing it with Blinkinlabs sales.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cibomahto/19697346014/
I don't really like the vocabulary yet though.
First one is, I would like to see the standard rainbow pattern when opening/restoring instead of a black screen. At first this confused me, because the tape stayed black while it was running. I thought I broke something. Disconnecting and reconnecting "fixed" it. This would also allow me to reverse the pattern. (I'd like to make the sweeping motion go the other way).
Second one is, when restoring the rainbow-pattern the program starts to play again, instead of staying paused.
The rainbow pattern is kind of a trick that's proving to be fun to deal with- it's actually a generative pattern, meaning that it's actually generated on the fly, not stored as a bitmap image. We can make something close as an approximation of it, though.