how to make templates

[bigben]

Hi! I've used the search engine alot but did not find some kind of step by step tutorial on how to make templates.

I would like to make my own templates for small things (cell phones, video consoles, rc cars, etc.) and bigger thinks (like motorcycles, golf carts, etc.). How can I do this? Tell me your secret :D

Thanks all!

[Idea Design]

There's a whole tips and tricks section in the premium forums. I know for sure the answer to what you ask here has been asked and answered there.

Good luck.

[kraigsnowden]

I'm not sure what the premium section has on all that, I've never looked, but what I have done is just either snapped a picture, or if I had something flat I could scan, I'd do that, and just send it to The Vector Doctor. I needed to label all of my office phones when we got our new phone system, so just scanned in the blank one on the phone, and had him trace it all, and I was good to go.

[omgsideburns]

i use a ruler/tape and a photograph. if it's small enough i scan it and forgo the latter since it all imports to scale.

[Flame]

You spit onto the surface and press your thumb all over the piece to be templated. Then you use that tape that CSI uses to lift finger prints, and scan it in with a UV scanner so you can see the fingerprints a little better. Find where there's curvature, and use the bezier tool to turn that area into the curve. Find where there's indentations, and make those the cutouts. Then take your finished product into a dark room, make a photograph of it, scan that in and trace it again to ensure quality... and voila. A template.