How to Make a good looking Overlay image?
#1

Hi,

Following some of the amazing renderings of 'desired' calculators here I was hoping that someone can point me in the right direction on how to change an existing image of the 41 keyboard layout with some custom words to basically create a good looking overlay. So for example, I'd like to have the text 'MPVIEW' instead of 'VIEW' on the shifted R/S key. How can I best accomplish this?

Thanks for any help! Peter

PS: here is the image I have for the 41cx keyboard

#2

There are probably better ways, but I do it by creating new labels out of the available labels, cutting and pasting to spell the desired new ones:

In the above, I took the P from the R->P label. Since there are no M's available on the keyboard, I created one from one of the N's.

#3

gee, you are a wizard!! I'm very impressed...

1)Which software do you use?
2)How did you transform the N into this perfect M???
3)Do you do custom overlay's ? ;-)

#4

Quote:
gee, you are a wizard!! I'm very impressed...

Thank you very much. That may be the first time I've been called a wizard at anything!
Quote:
1)Which software do you use?

2)How did you transform the N into this perfect M???


If I tell you all of my secrets, I may not seem so wizard-like and you would be disillusioned. (Kind of like when you learn how the magician does his tricks.) Seriously, I did the work in plain ol' Microsoft Paint. I created the M by copying the left half of the N, flipping it horizontally, then pasting it back over the N.
Quote:
3)Do you do custom overlay's ?

Well, for some reason I do enjoy doing such things. Post up what you would like and I'll try to take a crack at it. A row by row listing, example below, should suffice:

Row 1:     E+     yx     x2     10x    ex
Row 2: CLE % SIN-1 COS-1 TAN-1
.
.
.
Row 8: x=0? Pie LASTx MPVIEW
Although the image you provided above will work fine, If you have a higher resolution picture available that would be good.
#5

Are you doing this for i41CXp? If so blank overlays are available from the i41CXp site. I created the Forth and TVM overlays for the current i41CXp. I used GIMP.

#6

hi!

how did you create those blank overlays??

thanks

#7

I didn't, I just downloaded them from: http://alsoftiphone.com/i41CXplus/AdditionalOverlays/

#8

As Jeff told already, you can do almost everything using MS Paint. To add a point, it also offers text writing, which saves you creating the labels the way Jeff explained. If you mix both techniques and add some tuning, you may reach pretty nice results. Just a matter of precision, patience, and some feeling for artwork. No magic, witchwork nor sorcery were applied in the creation of the 43s and its siblings (so far ;)

HTH,

Walter

#9

well, that would be a service extraordinaire, I'd be most thankful! A perfect layout would be the one below but I can produce a reduced version if this is too difficult:

Row 1 shift	MPGETM	yx	x2	MPY^X	MPX^2
Row 1 norm MPGETX 1/X sqrtx LOG LN
Row 2 shift MPUNL MPSEXP MPNEW0 MPNEW MPINIT
Row 2 norm X<>Y RDN SIN COS MPL?
Row 3 shift ASN MPSTO GTO BST
Row 3 norm XEQ STO RCL SST
Row 4 shift CATALOG MPCHS RTN MPCLX
Row 4 norm ENTER CHS EEX <-
Row 5 shift MP- SF CF FS?
Row 5 norm - 7 8 9
Row 6 shift MP+ Beep MPN2M MPM2N
Row 6 norm + 4 5 6
Row 7 shift MP* FIX MPX=0? MPX=1?
Row 7 norm * 1 2 3
Row 8 shift MP/ pi LASTX MPVIEW
Row 8 norm / 0 . R/S

Obviously, this is the complete keyboard. All the new items start with 'MP'. It is the keyboard that I use for playing with the multi-precision library.

Unfortunately I do not have a higher precision picture than the one I posted. It is the .png file for the i41CX.

let me know what you think, this would be truly awesome!

Cheers

Peter

#10

If anyone can get a hold of Maciej Bartosiak, I would ask him how he or someone else created the skins for the OSX Nonpareil calcs. They are PIXEL ART. They are incredibly clean and iMHO the nicest I've seen.

MB's Nonpareil website


Regards,

PG

Edited: 7 Nov 2008, 8:44 p.m.

#11

Quote:
They are PIXEL ART. They are incredibly clean and iMHO the nicest I've seen.

As a matter of fact, this work and the respective skins for Free42 impressed me, too, and got me started. Eventually it's easier to produce such clean skins than more realistic ones.

Edited: 8 Nov 2008, 2:36 a.m.

#12

Peter,

How does this look?:

Sorry, no way to fit "MPGETX" on a key, so I did the best I could :-)

The above image is a .gif file. A .png would not fit in my guest folder here. If you would like a .png version, you will have to provide me with an e-mail address so I can send it to you. Either post it here or contact me through the MoHPC.

Jeff

Note - Original image replaced with smaller file to save space.

Edited: 10 Nov 2008, 12:24 p.m. after one or more responses were posted

#13

holy cow jeff!!! This looks fantastic, exactely what I had envisioned. Very impressed. Thanks (and you have mail)

Cheers

Peter

#14

Is it possible get a higher resolution picture?

#15

Hi Veli-Pekka, so good to read from you again, haven't seen you in a while around here!

I do have a .png from the overlay Jeff produced as well as a .png from Al (i41cx) for the normal keyboard.

If you send me a msg with your email address, I email them to you.

Hope all is well!

Cheers

Peter

#16

V-PN,

I orignally posted the highest resolution available, in .gif file format. After I sent Peter the .png version, I considered just deleting the message since it was of very narrow interest, i.e., probably just me and Peter. That way I could delete the file from my guest folder to preserve precious space. (I have no other way to display pictures.) But I did not want to leave a hole in the thread, so I just reduced the size of the image. I could put the larger version one back up for a time if you would like to see it, or you can take Peter up on his offer to send the .png.


.

#17

Not a particular interest, but..the curiosity killed the cat
and I just want to C the picture...please? Peter?

#18

cheers,

Peter



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