CAD programs for designing stained glass

Why Use CAD Programs for Designing Stained Glass?
a perspective on using CAD for stained glass designing... by Linda Abbott for American Bevel

Are you still trying to do all your glass design work by hand? How good are you at keeping your designs square? How easy is it for you to get an accurate blow up of your design, and when you do, was your design exactly to scale? Have you ever done some designs for someone only to find that they absolutely can't picture what it would look like in glass? Have you ever completed a window for someone only to have them ask if you could change a flower from yellow to purple? Do you have boxes of your old designs collecting dust somewhere? Do you have heavy boxes of glass samples that you are carrying around with you? Do you have favorite design elements that you use over and over again...and you have to draw them over and over again?

All of us have had some or all of the experiences described above. Each and every situation listed above can be avoided by using a CAD program designed for the glass industry. Fortunately for all of us, such programs exist. Amazingly few of us seem to use them. It makes me wonder why. Frequently, people site the fact that it takes time to learn programs such as these. Considering the amount of time it takes to complete any or all of the above problematic situations, the time and effort it takes to learn a good CAD program pales in comparison. Computer-phobic? Me, too...but I'm more phobic about wasting huge amounts of time repeating design elements when all it would take would be two clicks of a mouse. You learned how to send and receive e-mail, didn't you? You learned how to surf the net. It didn't come instantly, and learning a good CAD program won't, either. The truth is, it isn’t the amount of time it will take to learn the program that is holding you back. If you really had a burning need to learn it, you’d find the time. The truth is that you are used to doing it the other way. It is comfortable. It is familiar. Deep down, you know there’s a faster, more accurate, more efficient way to work. But the slower, less accurate, less efficient way has worked for a long time for you, so there is no fire lit under you to change.

Let me light the fire!

First, presentation. The word is presentation, folks. Sadly, even though what we do is art, the general public now wants to see slick. It doesn’t matter how good your hand drawing looks, you can’t go up against my slick computer presentation and win that commission, even though my design might not be quite as good as yours.

Second, professionalism. And I don’t necessarily mean actual professionalism, I mean perceived professionalism. If you come in with a hand drawing and I come in with a computer generated portrayal of the design filled in with actual glass scans, you are probably dead meat.

Third, closed sales. How about this scenario….You go to your client…your design is on your laptop. Your client tells you what he or she likes and dislikes, and you make the changes instantly. Your client now loves the design, feels included and is really excited about what he or she is looking at. You take out your handy portable printer, print the contract, get the signature, pick up your check, print two copies of the pattern, have the client sign one and give him or her the other to keep. You’re out of there, check in hand. You were able to close when the client was hot. Isn’t that better than having that client shop for a cheaper craftsperson to do your design while you’re home making the revisions? You bet it is. It’s also better than making your presentation, having the client like it, but giving them the opportunity to interview other glass artists and looking at their designs while you’re making your changes. If I’m one of those artists, I just left with your check in my pocket.

Fourth…time. You and I just got called by the same client. They need designs yesterday. You start drawing with your graph paper, carbon paper, pencils, erasers, rulers, reference books, etc. You work on your designs all weekend. When you call to make the appointment, you are told that the job is no longer available…because when I got the call, I dropped and dragged design elements from palettes I created with my favorite flower designs, favorite borders, etc, made the appointment the next day and did number three above. Again, I’ve got your check in my pocket.

Am I getting ignition yet? How about this:

Fifth…superior reference material. You and I just got called by the same church. They want their windows done and they want to celebrate the sacraments. You head for the library. I pull out my set of liturgical discs. On those discs, I have all the proper symbols, the proper colors and the proper numbers. I design from an informed position. I can even drop and drag the windows if I want to. I’m there with my professionally presented proposal, speaking the same liturgical language as the clergyman. Have you finished checking your books out of the library yet? Don’t bother. I’ve got your check in my pocket.

If the above scenarios haven’t happened to you yet, they will. More and more of us have decided to work this way. One day you’ll go up against one of us. The computer has changed the playing field. It’s time to modernize. The old way is going to get left in the dust.

Let me tell you features I use continually and find really, really important.

First, it is important that you be able to scan in work. Make sure your program can set up your scanner and import using your scanner.

Next, when you are tracing your scan, all the lines can get pretty confusing. The path out of the confusion is a mode called “Wireframe”. Wireframe eliminates everything but the lines you have drawn...and they are shown in fine lines so you can closely monitor what you’re doing. Also, you will need the ability to pull in guidelines so that your straight lines stay that way…and it is really nice if you can have your lines snap to those guidelines so that you know you are on the money. They are features you will use all the time.

Most CAD programs manipulate lines and curves with tools called nodes. Make sure you have the ability to set the attributes of those nodes. If you can’t, you will be severely limited in your ability do design work. Having most or all of these features will help you to produce quality work.

There are many other features that may be important to you. Compare the programs available and decide which features are best suited to you. Just remember the most expensive program isn’t necessarily the best one for your needs.

Ready to get your feet wet? Let's go, you can start by downloading a free version of Designer 1 software by American Bevel. This is not a bevel program. This program will make designing any type of stained glass pattern easier than you can ever imagine.......