The wonderful thing about the computer is, that it is a General Purpose tool with no hard and fast rule about how to use.  Computers are design designed to be veritable Chameleon in their use and can be quickly and easily changed into just about any kind of a tool you can imagine.  Computers can be the heart of an Automobile Assembly Line, they can improve the gas mileage in your car, they can let you communicate with the World through the Internet or they can be the heart of a calculator mounted in the cover of your Check Book.

Hardware design can, of course, limit what a computer can do for a specific job, but in a General Purpose computer like a PC, it is the Software that defines what kind of a Tool a Computer will be.  Software is the way we humans tell the Computer how to do what we want it to do.  Today’s Software, the Windows variety, is pretty wonderful stuff.  Yeah, I know, Windows can be very frustrating at times but you have to look at the things that it does, not at the things that it doesn't do or at the things that it doesn't do very well.  Then, pick out the bits and pieces of it that come as close as possible to the things that you want it to do.

You often here the word Program used synonymously with Software.  This is not correct.  Software is a broad definition for instructions that can be temporarily loaded into a computers memory.  While a Program is any set of specific instructions that control a computer.  Programs can be built into hardware circuitry and programs can be packaged into permanent (Read Only) sections of a computers Memory (ROM).  These “Read Only” programs are not changeable unless you make physical changes to the computers hardware by installing new ROM Chips and for this reason are called “firmware.”

One other item that I would like to clear up, before we go any further, is a single word that, for one reason or another is used synonymously when talking about two very different parts of a computers anatomy.  The word is “Memory.”

Computer “Experts” ( another word for a high speed drip under pressure ;o} ) consider a computer’s memory to be temporary.  Memory, in a computer, ceases when the computers power is turned off.  When the Computer’s power is turned back on, the Memory is blank.  A computer’s Memory Cells are on Computer Chips that need electrical power to “Remember.” Without power the Chips serve no useful purpose.

Memory is often used to define your Hard Drive, Floppy Drive or ZIP Drive.  In a way, these devices are a computers Memory, but the Computer Experts, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen to call this type of memory “Permanent Storage.” Of course, if you have ever experienced a Hard Drive Crash, it is easy to doubt that this definition is very accurate or even an appropriate term.  But Permanent Storage, as a definition, clearly separates what is permanent and what is not.  If you follow the convention that these terms have established, you will always know where your data and software are supposed to be.  This will be most helpful if you ever have to communicate with a computer support person over the phone.

During this tutorial, if I use the word “memory” to define where a piece of information is, or where it is supposed to be, you will know that the information is temporary.  If I say the information is in “Permanent Storage”, I will mean that it is saved to Diskette, Disk or Tape; with the idea in mind that I can retrieve it later even if I turn the computer off.

What is Microsoft Paint?

Microsoft (MS) Paint is a Graphic Drawing, Software Program.  There are many, many different kinds of Graphic Drawing Software Programs, but MS Paint is an extremely simple and easy to use one.  In my opinion, it is an excellent Software to use to test your Pattern Design and Embellishment Wings.  Microsoft Paint is also an excellent Teaching/Learning Tool because it lets you take a look at what is being created at the smallest possible level, the Pixel.  As your design skills progress, the Pixel will become very important to you.  Pixel mean Picture Element and is used to define the smallest possible element that is used in presenting and image on a Computer Monitor Screen.

I’m sure that you have all looked at the letters on a Newspaper Page through a magnifying glass.  I think I was 5 or 6 when my Grandfather amused and amazed me with the fact that the letters really werent letters at all but just a gazillion dots organized in such a way that they make you think you are looking at letters.  Pixels are the same idea.

Pixels are defined by three numerical values between 0 and 255.  One value for red, one value for green and one value for blue for each pixel.  These are the RGB numbers you have probably run into when talking with your friends on the Internet.  

There is a file format called the BMP format.  BMP is an acronym for Bit MaP or a format that "Maps" an image to the Monitor screen "Bit" by "Bit." Numbers are defined in computers using bits.  A bit is a logical element that can be either a one or a zero, On or Off.  It takes 8 bits to represent the number 255, and there is no reason to go beyond that.  

But, given that, it takes 8 bits times the three RGB values, or 24 bits to represent the color of a single pixel.  More bits are used to store the exact screen location in X and Y where that pixel is on your monitor screen.  A 14 inch monitor is approximately 10 inches across by 8 inches down or 80 square inches.  At 72 pixels per inch, this is 720 pixels across by 576 pixels down or 51,840 pixels.  Each pixel definition takes 8 memory locations to define.  That makes a minimum of 414,720 bits of information to position the pixels on a 14 inch monitor in the 256 color mode.  Start going beyond 256 colors, and the numbers climb exponentially.  Now that you have this piece of conceptual information, which is neither exact or totally correct, you can visualize what it takes to paint your Monitor Screen using this format.  256 is the number of colors, by the way, that today's Web Browser can represent.  They can give the "illusion" of more colors using magic and mirrors, but it's 256 colors no matter what you want to believe.

I bring all this up not to confuse you but to put you on the playing field.  If you can visualize the scope of what it takes to define an image on a Monitor Screen, and on the Web, that is all I intended.  You can forget the detail.

Microsoft Paint uses the BMP File Format.  As a matter of fact, Microsoft defined the BMP Format and it is the most detailed, and storage/memory space consuming way there is to define a graphic image whether it be a line drawing or a photograph.

The BMP format is very Space consuming both in your computers Memory and on your Permanent Storage.  Also, because of their size, BMP files are slower in loading and in saving.  For today’s computers, this does not mean much, nor does Memory or Storage considerations.  It becomes very important, however, if you are sending an image over the Internet.  In this case:

You should know these things in order to make a better decision when it comes time to select a more powerful Graphic Editing Software Program.  Also keep in mind that just about every Graphic Editing Software Program on the market today, that is of any importance, can read and write image files in the BMP format.  These Software Programs can usually save the images in more space conservative, Web Compatible, formats.  So, getting started honing your Design Skills using MS Paint is perfectly OK.  Plus, you will be able to retrieve your work if and when you get a more complex graphic editing software program.

Like all Windows Software Programs, MS Paint uses a set of Pull Down Menus, accessible from a Menu Bar at the top of the Paint Window.  Please refer to Appendix A for a brief description of the Pull Down Menu selections and their use.

So, lets get started!

Select "Basics" to begin Lesson 1.