DIGITIZING THE
MODERN-DAY LEVIATHAN
To capture the depth and detail of these
illustrated images through embroidery thread
requires a lot of planning and thinking outside
the box.
With every original piece of artwork, digitizers
must think as illustrators. Artists in their own
right, master digitizers consider each passing
of the needle as a representation of a stroke
of a paintbrush or colored pencil.
Digitizers at Anita Goodesign, use
computerized pen tablets to create details
that no machine could build on its own. Much
as an illustrator would, they start with the
background, building colors and shading to
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create depth; adding details here and there.
The challenge for digitizers is to create a
stable piece of embroidery, while paying
close attention to maintaining the realistic
look of the original artwork.
Coarse “strokes” are treated with an extra
round of stitches, wispy plumes of smoke
are given the lightest touch, layer by layer,
building the clouds in the sky.
The wistful scenes hide the deeper meaning
in the digitizer’s thought process behind
creating these works of art. The interlocking
underlay stitches mimic train tracks, guiding
them to their destinations. A symbiotic
symphony where metal meets thread through
the familiar hum of an embroidery machine.