vynsane

There's a world of difference, though, between the fantasy type of violence in LotR and the more 'grim and gritty, real world' violence in the Nolan Batfilms. There's even a world of difference between the Burton Batfilms and the Nolan ones. Just because other toy companies are making toys based on TDKR doesn't mean LEGO has to. They've repeatedly nixed licensing ideas from CUUSOO that made it to the 10k threshold because the themes of the source material are supposedly too incompatible with their corporate policy and target demographic. The Nolan Batfilms are WAY darker thematically than, say, Firefly, which didn't make the cut. My 5 y/o daughter has watched all the Star Wars films save for 'Revenge of the Sith'. In another couple of years I'll introduce her to the Indiana Jones series, The Avengers and its lead-ups, and LotR series (and let her see RotS), but it will be a long time before she sees the Nolan Batfilms.

Yeah, if anyone needs me I'll be off eating my hat. Color me extremely surprised that TLG is designing sets for such a maturely themed movie.

Am I the only one who immediately saw the guy with the bowler hat as Watson to CMFs5 Holmes (forgive me if it's been mentioned, I quickly glanced at the responses)?

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that way - for the .ai file or the .ase file. You know how it is with 'big software' - proprietary, proprietary, proprietary.

I just updated the palette file. I also saved it as .ase instead of .ai - the file size is markedly smaller and it's interoperable with Photoshop as well. Take a look and compare to the swatches you have, let me know if there are any discrepancies.

It's actually based on a palette that's included in the file 'big ben.svg', which I assume is the LEGO.gpl file from the repo. I simply eyedropped each color into a swatch, then saved the palette. Since SVG uses RGB by default (being a screen-based file format, primarily) I think that's why the CMYK values are off, due to using the eyedropper. I'll recreate the palette manually inputting the CMYK values directly in the 'create swatch' dialog. Also, I'm using the 'LEGO Official' names for each color since there's not enough space in the swatch name for BL, Peeron and TLG color names.

So, I was creating a template file for a 4x16 wedge sticker based on a sticker sheet that I hadn't used - so I ended up designing my first ever replica of an official sticker, the pattern on the nose of the Imperial V-Wing Starfighter: The inner boundary of the light gray outline marks the 'official' sticker. The rest is just bleed.

While I've, of course, seen all of them already, I'll take the time here to officially say these rock my socks off That's what the SVG Decal Library is all about! Download the ZIP file to access all the goodies inside. If you create your own designs, please join in on the collaboration and upload them!

I'm a web developer/designer by trade - ASP.NET (mainly SharePoint customization) by day, PHP/MySql by night. I actually started my GitHub account in order to keep a remote copy of my labor of love, the content management system I'm writing in PHP, KibuCMS. I don't think there's anything wrong with having beginner tutorials in the wiki. I wouldn't know the first thing about working in Inkscape, so it's all new to me there! Not to mention the fact that I've never designed a custom LEGO sticker in my life, so I wouldn't necessarily count me among those 'pros' you said turned up. I did graduate with a MFA in Illustration with basically a minor in Graphic Design, though, so I got that going for me, which is nice. HA! Love those calls to action. And there's nothing wrong with thinking big as long as it doesn't overshadow the here and now.

natesroom - I've not been replicating any pre-existing decal designs as of yet, merely setting up templates for each type of element that has historically been officially 'stickered' based on used sticker sheets that I have on-hand. I've been scanning in these (essentially blank) sticker sheets and cropping down to different individual stickers, measuring them using guides and the 'ruler' tool in Photoshop, then recreating the outline of the sticker in Illustrator in order to output the SVG files. That said, my main interest in creating these templates is to then use them in designing my own custom stickers for various parts, though it's not out of the question that I would recreate official designs - especially some ExoForce stickers, since they're so awesome. Unfortunately, I don't have any of those at this time. As for the out-of-sync issue after the addition of .gitattributes, it seems it was a one-time thing. I just updated/added some templates and didn't need to re-commit. I'm not so sure - SVG is an XML markup language, and XML can be notoriously picky about extra whitespace and/or lines. I think in light of the fact that my most recent commit went through without a hitch, we're out of the woods on the double-commit issue and can leave it as-is.

^ It's in order to normalize the line-breaks in the files, as Emperor Krulos stated - Window uses a different character to represent a line-break than UNIX based systems. Thankfully, at least, Mac has normalized to use the UNIX line-break format since moving to UNIX kernel with OSX. Windows uses a pair of characters - a 'carriage return' (CR) and 'linefeed' (LF) whereas UNIX uses LF only. Mac used to use CR only, but now uses LF per UNIX. It's too bad Git doesn't use ASCII transfer for the push/pull, as that would solve this problem, since it changes the file to align with the environment it's being transferred to. I'd imagine using that transfer scheme causes other issues, otherwise it would already do so. Anyway, it's good to know it wasn't something I did, at least So, while working on my sticker template files, I've noted some interesting aspects. Bear in mind I'm creating templates for stickers based on official LEGO stickers - so they are the same width and length as those you would get in official sets. That means there is roughly a 1mm gap between the end of the sticker and the end of the element on all four sides of a 1x1 tile, for instance - it won't butt up against the ends of the element. I can create another set of templates for that purpose, but as previously stated, my initial intent was to create stickers based on 'official' spec. I'm thinking this will make a good Wiki entry once I have the info fleshed out a bit more:

Cool, that sounds good. So I'm having a problem pulling new changes - after I committed the first set of template files it told me I had to commit them again, complete with diff comparisons (that show no differences). It appears I'm stuck committing to HEAD instead of master, and can't switch lest I get an error message saying I have to commit or stash any changes (of which there are none) before I can switch branches. Any idea how to get back on track here? EDIT: I ended up removing the clone from my local machine, deleting some app data and re-cloning it. This caused me to have to commit changes to all files but fixed the sync issue. Nothing should be modified, I don't know what happened there.

Can the wiki display SVG graphically, or does it end up with the same constraints (code only) as the 'main' interface?

Unless I'm missing something, the tutorial is on how to set Inkscape to adhere to Illustrator scale. That said, I did a little research and found that it's not necessarily a program issue, but an OS issue. Windows uses the 96ppi setting but Mac uses 72ppi. Being on a Mac myself, I don't think the Inkscape/Illustrator conversion should be an issue at all (at least for me). People using Illo on a PC will have issues. I just opened my first template file, a 1x4 tile, in svg in both Illo and Inkscape and it looks to be the same to me! That's true - unless you have turned strokes into outlines, then they scale with the rest of the design. Still, tweaks might be necessary as you note, the same way that typographers (at least old-school ones) will add/subtract weight to/from a letter depending on the size of the output. I think you're getting ahead of yourself - lets work on the repository first. Phase two can be the site I'm already developing (solely in my mind, currently) where you can put all these things together using some sort of HTML5/jQuery drag-n-drop snazziness. Phase 3 can, naturally, be world domination The more the merrier! It's really not, though, once you get into the swing of things. If you clone the repository to your computer, you just save your files in the appropriate folder and then sync your changes - presto, change-o, you've added a file to the central repository on the GitHub site. Well, it's just started, hasn't it? Hop on board and then pester others to do the same! There is a wiki. It's still light on content, but you can add to it if you join up. As for "They use SVG for their graphics now" - are you referring to the images in the repository? Because the 'they' you're referring to is literally just Emperor Krulos, NickAB and (to a much smaller extent thus far) me. SVG is a great cross-platform way to share the designs, but I agree maybe we should have some sort of visible version of the image in the repo - maybe each SVG is also output as a PNG so we can see what they look like, even in GitHub.

HA! I never noticed that before! (Res-Q was after my childhood LEGO time and before my AFoL return). Fair points, but then how do you deal with unique shapes that don't really translate to different sizes? A sticker design for a 3x12 wedge: is only applicable to that one piece, so scaling it up and down is unnecessary. From my understanding, when you go to print, the output size is determined by the DPI settings as applied to the original dimensions of the design. So a 10" x 10" design will output a 10" square at 300dpi on a 300dpi printer and a 10" square at 150dpi on a 150dpi printer. So from that point of view, scaling is more a design issue than a printing issue. It was my original intent to create a series of ready-to-use template files for each element and then use those templates to create designs to apply to those elements, similar to the minifigure part templates that are already out there. So a 1x2 tile design, while it could be scaled up to a 2x4 tile (theoretically, I'm not sure if that's actually true) would be ready-to-print at 1x2 tile size. If a script can be written to give us the flexibility to mix-and-match the way you're describing, then all the better - but it seems to me the effort to write such a complex script isn't worth it in light of how fast it is to duplicate an existing design at a different size using the 'scale' tool in Illustrator (and Inkscape, I'd presume).

Thanks, Emperor Krulos - for my inaugural push I added the Blacktron Emblem to library/logos/ I'm thinking that the 'elements' directory could get pretty unruly if we don't come up with some scheme as to filenames or subfolders - for instance... 'big_ben.svg'. I don't know what size tile this should be, is it a 6x6 or 2x2? Obviously being vector graphics it's scalable to any square size, but perhaps that's the point - maybe it should be pre-sized to all existing square tile sizes, so you'd have a '2x2_big_ben.svg' and '6x6_big_ben.svg' (maybe even a 1x1? Probably overkill, given the intricate nature of the design). What about including either Bricklink part numbers or official LEGO element IDs in the filenames as well, or would that be too much? Aside from that, I might go so far as to say we should pre-allocate subfolders for each element, so under '/elements/tiles/' we could have folders for '1x1', '1x2', 1x3', etc.

Cool, just wanted to make sure because the repo name starts with 'minifig' I think it would make sense to have a folder marked 'elements' on the same level as 'figures', instead of a folder marked 'other' inside 'figures'. Then inside 'elements' we can have separate folders for 'tiles', 'bricks', 'wedges', etc.

I just cloned the repo to my mac. Very cool stuff... Are you only interested in minifigures designs, or can I add templates/designs for other pieces? I've been thinking of creating a series of blank templates for stickers to be used on various tiles, slopes, wedges, etc... and would be willing to add them here. My GitHub account name is VynDesign.

Cool, thanks, good to know. Now I just have to dig my XP install disk (as well as my StarCraft disk) out of the attic...

It looks like this dependency is included in the installer and shouldn't be a roadblock in installing/utilizing this program: http://ldd2povray.lddtools.com/index.php?p=2_22_2_22_Installation-instructions EDIT: D'oh! Just saw hrontos' official explanation. Good to get official word, and it is extremely surprising and nice that EldoS provided the license for free!

Wow, they really do look spectacular! Too bad there isn't a Mac equivalent. EDIT: This plus my burning desire to play StarCraft again leads me to the conclusion that I should set up a new WindowsXP virtual machine. I'll post back on my experience working with these tools in such a fashion.

This is highly doubtful, given that the previous offerings in the line are definitely set in a 'bygone' or 'timeless' era. The only motorized vehicle so far is the postal truck and it's definitely an early 20th Century model. The only other vehicle is a horse-drawn cart!

How do we know for sure it's not limited only to LEGO Star Wars products? Hasbro has a very long history with Lucasfilm, which is why straight-up minifigure packs for LEGO SW won't happen (as evidenced with the Dark Bucket project on CUUSOO) - Hasbro has exclusive rights to anything considered a 'Star Wars Action Figure' - they obviously used their might with G.Lu there. Remember, though, that it's Lucasfilm, not Hasbro, that ultimately formed the agreement with LEGO. There is no evidence to suggest the same stipulation/agreement with LEGO in regards to Marvel products (why would Disney demand such a thing?), and they don't even really have an analogous competitor with DC. Just because one license agreement blocks TLG from producing minifigure packs doesn't mean they all do.

^ That's pretty awesome - you should consider, though, adding support for hinges so you can have working flaps!

The only roadblock presently is that the editorial teams of both Marvel and DC are unusually antagonistic to each other - whether it's just some drummed up controversy to cue fanboy nerd rage or some real issues remains to be seen. That said, if their parent companies gave them a time-out and told them not to come out of the corner until they could play nice, no doubt it would happen.