I liked the idea of this contest because I hadn’t ever used Sketchbook Pro and this sounded like a good way to learn it. If you are new to Sketchbook like I am you can follow these directions to design your piece of clothing. I downloaded Sketchbook Pro from www.sketchbook.com and I downloaded the images from www.instructables.com . Since this was my first time to use Sketchbook Pro, I decided to use a provided image rather than trying to draw my own piece of clothing from scratch.

Step 1:

After installing Sketchbook Pro open it. (It is a bit overwhelming at first but you can learn a lot just by playing with the different tools.) Click File>Open and then navigate to the hoodie image on your computer and then click Open. You can now see the whole page on your screen – both the front and back of the hoodie.

Step 2:

If you want to magnify the image to make it easier to work with, click the magnifying glass at the top and hover it over your picture. Move your cursor to the middle of the circle (see picture), click and move the mouse up to magnify the image.

Step 3:

If you plan to draw a design on your hoodie it is a good idea to do the drawing on another layer that you can then put onto the hoodie. You can view both layers at the same time or view just one layer. It is not as complicated as it sounds. Click on the layers image at the top right of the screen. A small window will open showing your layers. Click on the plus sign to add a new layer. If you want to see just one layer then click on the picture of the eye next to the layer you want to hide. To work on one layer just click on it in the small window and that will become the active layer.

Step 4:

I hid the layer with the hoodie and only had the new layer visible. This is where I drew the owl. Using the circle tool, the French curve tool and the Polyline tool I drew my owl. I drew each shape separately and then dragged it into place using the select tool. I then used the hard eraser to erase the lines I didn’t need. Then I used the Flood Fill to color the owl. If you want any parts of image to be white make sure you use the white paint to flood fill the area. Finally, I selected the whole image of the owl and made it smaller so it would fit on the hoodie.

Step 5:

Now back to the hoodie. Click on the eye in the hoodie layer in the layer window and also click on the eye on the owl window to hide that layer. Now you should only see the hoodie layer. I used the select tool and Ctrl X to get rid of the ties. At the top right of the window you can see a color wheel. When you click on it another small window opens up – from here you can choose the main color for your hoodie. I chose light blue. On the left side of the window select the image of a pot of paint by clicking on it. Then click on your hoodie. Voila! Now you should have a colored hoodie. If you want the back of your hoodie to be the same color then this is a good time to color it. Click on the image of the magnifying glass again. If you move your cursor to the outside of the circle you can click and hold while moving your mouse to navigate to the lower image.

Step 6:

Now click on the eye for the owl layer and you will see both layers. Your owl picture will likely be in the wrong place on the hoodie and the wrong size but by going back to the owl layer you can play with the size and location until it fits perfectly on your hoodie.