[sw-l] SWDB - Linguistic SignWriting Database

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
October 23, 2004

Stephen Slevinski wrote:
> For Sign Maker, I converted all of the IMWA images to black & white.
> I then
> converted the white to transparent.  So the images that Sign Maker
> uses are
> actually black and transparent.

I see. I am sorry if this was extra work for you. While I was making
the GIFs, I could have chosen a transparent background. There were also
other choices, like trimming each symbol to be tight...namely no space
at all around the symbol, except for the symbols that have holes on the
inside of the symbol...that would be transparent....Actually the
trimming can be done in batches...automated changes, in Photoshop, but
25,000 GIFs are a lot of symbols to trim, and to make transparent, but
I will be happy to do that...So the question is...What should come
first? Fixing the current GIFs of the IMWA, or adding the new symbols?
And should I do the new ones in the transparent trimmed method, while
leaving the others in the old format? That might be very confusing for
programmers and will screw us up...smile...

So I realized these issues before, but there was so much to think of,
in the symbols themselves, that the formatting just went on as we did
before...

>
> To fix this problem, all of the IMWA symbols will need to be recreated
> with
> three colors: black, white, and transparent.  All of the white space
> around
> the symbols needs to be transparent.  The inside of the handshapes
> needs to
> be white.

Right. But if I use the Trim command in Photoshop, each symbol will be
tight...with no border around it. It will still have a transparent
background, for those symbols that have some holes...like the inside of
faces....but the Trim command in Photoshop makes the tightest box
possible around a symbol...the circular symbols I believe are in a
tight box...I am not sure if they can trim the circle with no border or
not...

or are you saying here that you do not want the inside of the symbols
to be transparent? You want them to be white?

>
> If you are unable to create graphics with transparent backgrounds, you
> can
> create the images with 3 colors; such as black, white, and grey.  The
> white
> space around the signs will need to be grey.  Any other part of the
> symbols
> that needs to be transparent will also need to be grey, such as the
> inside
> of faces.  I can then convert the grey color to transparent.

I see. In Photoshop, where I prepare the GIFs I can choose grey or
transparent...so I suspect it would save time if I use the
transparency?


>
> Then if two flat palms facing the signer are placed one on top of the
> other,
> the symbol underneath will only be covered by the black outline and the
> white fill, but not the transparent border.

This I am not sure I understand, but all I need to do is see it...Can
you show me an example? It may not be the same as what I was talking
about...I used to change the symbols so we could see the hands
underneath...so this will be good to decide all this once and for all,
before I start the new symbols of the IMWA on November 1st...ha! That
is my goal as to when I am starting...smile...
>

> If you still need graphic representation, I can create a page that will
> explain with pictures.

I think that is very wise...I am sorry to burden you, but it is
important to do this right from now on...show me a graphic...and I also
want to see what Sandy was referring to, in the Lessons in SignWriting
2002?...which sign is a good example of what you are talking about,
Sandy?

Thank you for this input!

Val ;-)