Tutorials Open the Studio

23 lessons in 5 chapters · about 46 minutes

The course

From the Studio's four tabs to a cutting pattern printed true to scale. Take the lessons in order, or go straight to the one you need.

0 of lessons done

Start the course
A new round-topped panel, 500 by 800 mm, with a border of pieces, measured as New panel draws it.

Chapter 1

Getting started

The Studio's tabs and tools, your first panel, and where your patterns are kept.

4 lessons · 8 min · 0 done

  1. 01 A tour of VETRATA StudioThe four tabs, the menus, the tools and the bars around the drawing: where everything lives. 5 steps · 2 min
  2. 02 Start a new panelChoose the opening's shape and size, add a border, and set the technique you will build it in. 6 steps · 2 min
  3. 03 Save, open and keep your patternsWhere the Studio keeps your work, how to save a pattern file, and how to step back to an earlier version. 6 steps · 2 min
  4. 04 Find any command, and make the keys yoursSearch every command with Ctrl+K, and change any keyboard shortcut to the key you want. 5 steps · 2 min
The leadwork of a mandala of sixteen petals, its mirror lines drawn through it.

Chapter 2

Draw

Lead lines, shapes, the Mirror, tracing, and the checks that keep a pattern cuttable.

9 lessons · 18 min · 0 done

  1. 05 Draw lead linesStraight leads with the Line tool, curves with the Pen and Curve tools, and freehand strokes that come out clean. 5 steps · 2 minTry it
  2. 06 Shapes, grids and radial designsRectangles, circles, stars, rosettes and quarry grids in a few drags, each one cut into the leadwork. 5 steps · 2 minTry it
  3. 07 Select, move and reshapeMove whole shapes, bend leads, drag anchors and round corners with the two selection tools. 5 steps · 2 min
  4. 08 Split, cut and join piecesAdd joints, remove leads, cut with the Knife, divide a piece evenly and join pieces with the Shape Builder. 5 steps · 2 minTry it
  5. 09 Draw it once with the MirrorMirror across a line or repeat around a centre, and see the reflected part live while you draw. 5 steps · 2 min
  6. 10 Trace a photo, sketch or scanPut a picture under the pattern at its real size, fade it, and draw your leads over it by hand. 5 steps · 2 min
  7. 11 Rulers, guides, snapping and measuringDrag guides out of the rulers, snap to ends, middles and edges, and measure anything on the pattern. 4 steps · 2 min
  8. 12 Check that the glass can be cutRead the Studio's warnings about pieces glass won't take, and fix them with the button beside each one. 4 steps · 2 minTry it
  9. 13 Add motifs and letteringSet a flower, a bird or a knot from the motif library into your pattern, and letter a name or a date in lead. 5 steps · 2 min
An Art Deco sunburst being glazed on its plan: a setting sun in rings of amber and yellow under a blue sky, in a teal frame.

Chapter 3

Glass

Glazing pieces, the glass library, glass of your own and colourways.

4 lessons · 8 min · 0 done

  1. 14 Glaze piecesPick a glass from the bar under the drawing and click pieces to colour them. 4 steps · 2 minTry it
  2. 15 Choose from the glass libraryOver a hundred glasses, from clear textures to streaky, fracture-streamer and pressed jewels, seen in light. 5 steps · 2 min
  3. 16 Make a glass of your ownMatch a sheet from your stash: its colour, texture and streaks, or a photo of the sheet itself. 4 steps · 2 min
  4. 17 Keep colourways side by sideSave more than one choice of glass for a pattern, switch between them, and compare two in the same light. 4 steps · 2 min
The Sunwheel window's cutting pattern at full size on sixteen pages of A4, each with its piece numbers and the marks to tape it by.

Chapter 4

Plan and print

The pattern plan, the cutting pattern true to scale, and files for cutting machines.

4 lessons · 8 min · 0 done

  1. 18 The pattern plan and its colour keyA numbered, lettered plan of the whole panel with its leads at their came's width, ready to print. 5 steps · 2 min
  2. 19 Print the cutting pattern true to scaleTile the full-size pattern onto A4 or Letter with registration marks and a square to check your printer. 5 steps · 2 min
  3. 20 Check your printer with the 100 mm squareMeasure the square on page one, and correct a printer that prints a little large or small. 5 steps · 2 min
  4. 21 SVG, DXF and pieces for a CNC or laserExport the lead lines or every piece on its own for a cutting machine, a laser or another program. 3 steps · 2 min
The Sunwheel window at night with the lamps on: the clear quarries dark, the amber sunwheel glowing round its jewel.

Chapter 5

Preview

Your panel in light before you cut a piece, and pictures to share.

2 lessons · 4 min · 0 done

  1. 22 See your panel in lightHold the window up to a summer garden, a blue sky or a night street, in the came and finish you will use. 5 steps · 2 minTry it
  2. 23 Share a presentationMake a PDF or a set of pictures of the panel in its colourways, to send to a client. 4 steps · 2 min