/ 
OK,
just a bit more yacking and then we shall get into the "action", so to
speak. Let's learn
the
BasiX of Gridology.
In
a nutshell, this is a Grid:
Make
a design with several crossing lines, throw the flake into reverse, throw
the
flake
back into forward, end the flake when it looks good to you. Doesn't
that sound
simple?
It actually is simple once you get the hang of it. The worst part
about
making
Grids is that they are time consuming. Depending on the type of Grid
I
am making, they take between 10-30 minutes to create. They can also
have well
over
100 cuts, but don't let that scare you off, I have done Grids that only
have
10
or so cuts in the design.
Make
a design with several crossing lines.
In
order to turn a "regular" flake into a Grid Flake, it MUST have a design
which incorporates
several
cuts that cross over each other. Look at the background picture on
this page. A flake which
is
cut into a "grid" such as this is the perfect candidate for becoming a
Grid Flake. The lines do NOT
have
to be straight or going horizontal and vertical, they can go in ANY direction,
as long as they cross over each
other
in the process. The more times a cut crosses over another, the better,
as you will get several
different
views in the flipping process and the animation will be smoother and take
longer.
Throwing
a flake into "reverse".
I
can not over emphasize the importance of this flake flipping stage.
It is what makes a flake into
a
Grid. You may find it surprising to learn that nearly ALL movement
in a Grid Flake is NOT
accomplished
by making more cuts into the design. Usually, the design is done
1st, then the movement
is
accomplished by doing several negative flips which contorts, or "morphs"
your design a little more
with
each consecutive flip. Do a negative flip as described in Negatives
-and+ Positives, then do another
and
another and another, etc. In many cases you can do negative flips
until there is absolutely NOTHING
left
of your original design.
Throwing
a flake back into forward.
Even
when you have done so many negative flips that there is no design left
on the preview flake, you can
easily
bring your flake "back from the dead" by doing several positive flips in
a row. This is a surprisingly
easy
stage of making Grids that I always enjoy because it is like having a coffee
break during the creation process!
End
your design wherever you see fit, or do another negative then positive
flipping stage.
The
possibilities are endless.
Now lets get some hands on "x"perience!