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Author
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Topic: Want to design own mission patch. How to?
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Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 04-25-2007 01:56 PM
   
I would like to design a mission patch for my Space Camp crew from back in 1984. I've kept in touch with a few of them and thought this would be a nice surprise for them.First off....I am NOT artistic whatsoever. I can't draw with pens, pencils, markers, or Crayola crayons. BUT...I am a computer whiz so manipulating pre-rendered graphics within a Microsoft Office program would not be a problem. I do not have Photoshop if that makes a difference. Where do you guys recommend I start with my design? Any clipart/graphics exist out there of the shuttle and Earth?
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KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-25-2007 03:23 PM
My buddy Bill C. of Space Emblem Art might know of such a program. He's a great artist and may already have a design you'd like to have made into a patch.I usually do designs the old fashion way. If you run into trouble I'd be happy to help you get this designed at no charge. If you need any help just email me. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 04-25-2007 11:19 PM
I'm the Bill C. who Tim mentioned. I've got a PC and use CorelDraw v. 6 for my designing. I'm sure they make CorelDraw for Macs also. I think they're up to v. 12 or higher now. In the Corel program there's many vector based clip art images which I can manipulate quite easily as needed. There's also different clip art programs out there. I'd had one that I'd used for years "Arts and Letters Space Age" but it won't work with my Microsoft XP operating system. It's also vector based and has various Earth images,the moon and the other planets, different U.S. and Soviet/Russian spacecraft as well as other space related images. Don't know if they make a Mac version. There's also onemileup.com. They have military, space, aviation and other clipart that you can download by paying them on-line per image or you can buy a CD. Check them out. No doubt there's others out there but those are ones I know of. Good luck with your idea. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss any ideas. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 04-26-2007 08:52 AM
Thanks to both of you for the great info!I'm also extremely grateful for your offers to help. It means the world to me. I'll e-mail you guys from here on out. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 04-26-2007 09:19 AM
Well, the Microsoft Office suite doesn't really do what I need. So....I went ahead and ordered a copy of CorelDraw x3 (v13). I'm gonna take a stab at it. This is either going to be really fun or a huge exercise in frustration.  Tim and Bill, I'll keep you updated via e-mail. |
ea757grrl
Member Posts: 729
From: South Carolina
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 04-26-2007 12:37 PM
I did a Shuttle mission emblem as an inside joke a few years back (if I can remember to, I'll have to post a scan), and used Adobe Illustrator to create it. There was a graphic in there of a Shuttle orbiter, but the way I did it was to place a .jpeg of the Shuttle in the orientation I wanted, then draw around it. Using various combinations of "bring to front" and "send to back," I used the photo as a template for the various components of the Shuttle. It takes some practice, but it can be done.Vector-based art programs, in my view at least, are better for this kind of project because they're much easier to modify than bitmapped images. You can always export a .tif or a .jpg (or whatever you need) from a vector-based program like CorelDraw or Illustrator, but if you need to edit or change something, you can always open the vector artwork file and change it easily. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 04-27-2007 11:40 PM
Greggy, I'm sure I can speak for Tim in saying that we'd be interested in seeing your finished design. It's always cool to see where someone's imagination takes them. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 04-28-2007 07:37 AM
No problem. I'll e-mail you the design before it goes into "production". |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-11-2007 06:38 PM
 This morning I received the final mission patch design for STS 41-I (my Space Camp mission designation). Artist Tim Gagnon, who also designed the actual flown Expedition 11 patch, put his heart and talent into another fantastic design. Over the past couple of months, Tim and I have been exchanging ideas, sketches, and drafts. Let's just say the sketch I came up with was embarrassingly bad compared to Tim's simple, eloquent, and powerful design. Initially, I felt the following were important details that needed to be incorporated: - Patriotic theme. Our flight was on July 4th, 1984.
- Our crew was entirely USAF (or at least we all wanted to go into the Air Force one day).
- Wanted to honor our group members who ran Mission Control during the flight. Also wanted to honor the other 9 groups of future astronauts attending Space Camp that week.
- Our mission was the first mission of the day and launched at the crack of dawn.
- I wanted to keep the patch design simple like most of the pre-51L patches were. Less is more.
As you can see, Tim transformed his immense talent into the patch you see above. The names reside on a navy blue background and have five silver stars separating the crew names. These stars represent each camper in our group that ran Mission Control. The nine stars on the black background of space represent the other 9 groups of future astronauts attending Space Camp that week. The main USAF silver star represents the all "Air Force" crew on the flight and also tops the patriotic red, white, and blue stripes, which as a whole are patterned after the Astronaut Symbol. The sun just breaks over a darkened Earth and represents our launch at the instant of Dawn.I sent the design over to AB Emblem this afternoon and they have submitted it for production. Again... I can't thank Tim enough for getting this off the ground. I think his above design shows WHY he was able to have another piece of his artwork fly into space. Now he can add to his resume another creation of his that "flew" into space way back in 1984 with four eager, dreaming kids from across the country. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-12-2007 12:47 AM
Terrific design, guys. You've covered all your elements in a simple and elegant design. Looks like you have a winner to represent your past space camp memories. Greggy, I agree, Tim's a good guy with great artistic sense. Meanwhile, don't be embarrassed about your sketches, you've gotta start somewhere and it's the ideas that count. Don't lose your imagination.Meanwhile, please post one of the patches when you get them. It'll be good to see how it compares with the artwork. Based on my experiences with AB Emblem, I'd expect that with your design, it should embroider well. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-12-2007 01:12 PM
I definitely will, Bill. Should be between 20-25 days from now. It was only $15 more total to order 100 compared to 50. I'm going to give some out at Spacefest. I'll send you one too.Edit: Also need to add... Tim pulled all of the elements/ideas/details out of me with some great probing questions. He gets 100% credit for this awesome design. If you ask me, there is no doubt in my mind this design could have flown on a real shuttle mission. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-19-2007 11:58 PM
Thanks for the patch offer. Will look forward to it. When you get them you can e-mail me for my mailing address. Who's your account representative at AB Emblem? BTW, what size will the patch be? |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-20-2007 06:58 AM
I'm using Tim's account rep, Leisa. It's going to be a standard 4-inch patch. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-20-2007 01:12 PM
Great! Lisa has been my rep for a number of years now for the Moonstar patches I have made through AB Emblem. I introduced Tim to her when he and I made our Enterprise 30th Anniversary commemorative patch last year. She's always been a pleasure to work with. I'm sure you're finding the same. Tell her I said "hi" next time you speak with her. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 08-13-2007 01:50 PM
 Just received the patches last week and I'm impressed with how well the original design was translated. AB did a great job. I'll be at Spacefest this Friday and I'll pass some of my extras out. I made up shirts for my Dad and I to wear there. They are navy blue polos with the white/red NASA worm patch and this mission patch underneath (like the pre-51L astronauts wore on their missions). So if you see me, don't hesistate to stop and chat! Many thanks again to Tim!!! |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 08-14-2007 08:56 AM
You are welcome Greg! I look forward to the pictures from SpaceFest. |
NavySpaceFan
Member Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007
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posted 08-14-2007 03:44 PM
That's a great patch, despite being an "all Air Force" crew  . Seriously, I'd love to have one made for my ATX mission. |
Greggy_D
Member Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 08-16-2007 03:31 PM
The patches look even better in person. The scanner sorta washed out the color and you can't see the depth AB achieved with their stitching. Even though the Earth and Space are both black, AB chose to stitch the Earth horizontally and Space vertically. |
NavySpaceFan
Member Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007
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posted 08-28-2007 06:39 PM
KSCArtist has done it again!!!! Below is a patch Tim helped me design to commemorate my ATX mission in March 2006. The scanner washed the colors out a bit, but you can get the idea: Here are the design elements: - Color: Blue and Gold, Navy colors!
- Orbiter and mission number on the top and bottom
- Flags of the US, Florida, Germany and South Africa for the points of origin of our crew.
- 7 stars for the seven of us on the mission (4 white for US members, 1 orange star for our German member, two green stars for our South African members). This is in lieu of last names since I, like an idiot, did not get them at the time
- The shuttle and ISS (pre-STS 121)
- The medical emblem for our nurse
- The navy officer's crest.
The sunburst is a pop culture reference to our orbiter, Discovery. In the film, 2001, the crew of Discovery (Bowman and Poole) wore this patch: ...on their flight suits. I added this to pay homage to Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubirck, and their amazing film. Thanks again to Tim and his great work on this, and I hope AB can do justice to his hard work! |
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