I liked the mid-century modern, pixelated look of a mosaic blend and finally found some non-glass options at Daltile but I didn't like any of the half dozen or so "off-the-shelf" blends available. They offer a custom blend option but the web-based design tool has a couple of limitations:
- The images of the tiles on their web site look nothing like the real thing; the colors are way off.
- Only one sheet of tiles is displayed so I couldn't tell how my design would look when installed, surrounded by other sheets. For example I may have had too much of a certain tile along an edge or even in the field, resulting in pattern that might catch the eye when repeated.
Being a programmer of sorts, I built my own tool, the prototype of which is before you. Obviously, for the tool to be useful to people on the web, I'd have to add functionality for uploading tile images and customizing how many tiles in a row and a column of a sheet. This prototype uses my 4 tiles and a sheet that's 24 x 12 tiles.
More detailed instructions are at the bottom of the page but if you just want to start playing, click on one of the 4 component tiles to highlight\select it and then click a tile in the highlighted part of the grid to change it to the selected component tile. The initial design is a random distribution, generated by the computer. You can change the tile size and hide the highlighting for better views. There's a table of just the first letters of each tile's name, which I found useful while manually copying my design from this page to the DalTile website. Have at it. Email me at bb987yah@yahoo.com if you think this tool would be of use to you. If I have any requests, I'll put the time in to make it useful to others, allowing them to upload thier own tile images. (Note that this page can be a little slow - it takes a second or two to hide/show the shigle-sheet highlight.)
| Component Tiles (Click an image to select.) |
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| 152_mint.jpg
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141_Garden_spot.jpg
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148_Spa.jpg
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317_Biscuit.jpg
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Once the images are the right colors, (mine took quite a bit of tweaking), you upload the files to my website and start designing. (I haven't written this part yet and won't unless people email me they're interested.)
To communicate your finished design to your manufacturer, you can print it or if they have a tool, use it, with your completed design as reference.
For example, I'll still have to use the Daltile mosaic blend design tool but I'll be using my design to go from and I'll be a lot more confident in the outcome.
This is just a prototype. The file upload functionality isn't built yet but if I get some feedback that this would be useful to people, I'll make the tool functional for anyone out there. Let me know.
Prototype Description
- In this example I assume the user wants to design a mosaic blend sheet that's 12 rows by 24 columns,
using 4 different tiles. (The final version will allow the user to choose how many rows & columns.)
- Nine sheets are displayed so you can see how the edges of the sheet blend with adjacent sheets.
- Only one sheet is editable and it's shown highlighted in black, right in the middle of the field. Any
changes you make will automatically take place in the surrounding sheets.
- The highlight can distract from judging the design, so you can hide it with the Show/Hide Single Sheet Highlight button.
- You can pick from three tile sizes to better see your design.
- The initial pattern is a random distribution of the individual component tiles generated by the program and
it's replicated in each of the eight surrounding sheets.
- Below the tiles is a table showing the tile names instead of the images. It also changes automatically
as you make changes to the editable sheet. You might print the table to help you communicate your design.
Changing the Design
- Select one of the individual component tiles shown at the top of the field by clicking on the image.
This does what I call loading your mouse pointer with a tile.
- Click on one of the cells in the editable sheet to change it to the selected component tile.
- The change will automatically be applied to all 8 surrounding mosaic sheets and the table of tile names at the bottom of the page.
Future Functionality (Any other suggestions?)
- Allow user to upload tile images, maybe a maximum of 4?
- Allow user to choose the color of the editable sheet highlighting, so it doesn't conflict
with one of the component tiles. (Maybe 3 or 4 different color choices.)
- Have the program keep a count of each of the component tiles in the design.
- Change the look of the mouse pointer to reflect the selected component tile.
Obtaining and Uploading Images (Future)
- Copy them from the tile manufactuer's website, (right-click on the image and select "Save Picture As"), or if you have the actual tile and a flat-bed scanner, scan the tile itself. If you grab the image from the web, you'll still need an actual sample for the next step.
- With photo editing software you can tweak the colors as they appear on your computer screen while holding the real thing up close to your screen for comparison. (I used Paint Shop Pro 9. Open the image. Select Adjust from the menu. Then Color Balance->Red/Green/Blue. I know vey little about color or PSP 9 so I was just guessing, but it worked.)
Getting you Design to the Tile Manufacturer
- Print it or email it
- If the manufacturer has a web tool, like Daltile, use it, with your completed design and the table of tile names as reference.
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