How to Create a Gem Effect?

[Agrajag]

After some much-appreciated feedback of our v1 graphics for our card game several color blind players asked that we combine the card numbers into a background graphic so that they could more readily (in one glance) see the difference between say, 5's of different suits.

One of our suits is "Gem" and I was thinking of using a "Cushion cut" for the background into which I could place a cut-out of the number (effectively take a gem with some nice facets and then place the number 5 on top of it and make it white so that it appears cut-out from the background. This suit is supposed to be mainly blue so an ice or frozen effect might work.

Does anyone have any ideas how to create this effect in the shape of something like the included example image (Our "gem" would be rotated to be taller than wide)?

[brynn]

If you want it to be quite realistic, you might consider using a photo.  (Clipping will work on an imported photo or raster image.)  Or maybe trace a photo.  If you want more of a cartoon effect, I know some tutorials for making cartoon gems (well, at least one tutorial, but maybe 2).

So people with color blindness can see numbers against a multi-colored or textured background more easily than against a solid color background?  I never would have imagined that to be the case.  I would have thought the less "busy" the background, the easier to see.  Interesting!

Yeah, that is a gorgeous gemstone!

[Agrajag]

So people with color blindness can see numbers against a multi-colored or textured background more easily than against a solid color background?  I never would have imagined that to be the case.  I would have thought the less "busy" the background, the easier to see.  Interesting!

Just for clarity sake, I think I can explain that better. Think of a standard deck of poker cards. If you cannot see the color differences, all the number 6's (just the numbers) look identical. That means you need to subconsciously look at another element on the card -- the suit, to gain the understanding you need. It's easier to do with a poker deck because we know those symbols so well, but with a new game it slows such people down unnecessarily. By putting the number right ON say, the Spade, that iconography requires half the effort to identify.

By the way, you'd be proud of this student. I took a really jagged leaf (we have a plant suit) and decided to recreate it with bezier curves which I honestly haven't needed to touch yet. Not sure I did it optimally, but I effectively drew one line from the peak of the leaf to the base of it and then massaged it into the right shape with the node tool and then repeated the above for the other half of the leaf, but in the opposite direction. The only curious part I ran into was what the correct process was to join the ends of the lines to each other once completed. I managed to sort of get them connected using "handles" I think. It looks way better than the clipart I started from.

[brynn]

Ooohh, now I understand better.  I thought the point was the multi-color effect of the gem would make the number stand out for them.  But it's more the shape of the gem, to make users think "gem".

In that case, at least based on the extremely limited info I have, I might wonder if a diamond shape might say "gem" more than the rectangle shape you showed.  A shape like the quick sketch I just made (attached).  Oh....or maybe a little pile of different gems??  (Sorry, once I start thinking about peoples' projects, sometimes I can't corral the brainstorming.)

Good job with the Pen/Bezier tool!  It's not too hard, right?  Here's how you can join the left and right sides.  The end nodes don't necessarily need to be on top of each other, but they could be.  It depends on how much precision you need.  Anyway, using the Node tool, and with both paths already selected, drag a little selection box around the end nodes of both paths.  Then click Join Selected Nodes button, on the control bar    Do that for the bottom ends and also for the top ends.  Then you have a nice closed path.

Depending on how things went with the Pen tool, it's possible the left and right sides that you drew weren't connected themselves.  You might have noticed that when either the Pen tool or Node tool is enabled, and the path you drew is selected, there is a tiny box at each end of the path.  If you want to continue that path, without having to come back later and join the nodes, you can place the mouse inside that tiny box.  It will turn red when the mouse is in the right place.  Then click once.  Now you are ready to continue that same path, and you won't need to come back later to join the new path to the old one.

Sorry for all the words.  It takes 50 times more words to describe how to use the Pen tool, than the actual steps you need to take with the tool.