A Picture on a watchface. Done!

Back when I just started with CIQ I asked a question about having a picture on a watchface (vivoactive) and got good info, but it took me time to digest the info and learn about CIQ in general. I finally took the plunge and developed one for a friend of mine. The image is hard coded, but it works! This is a capture from the simulator, and looks better on a real va. With the 64 colors on a va, this is possible. The 16 colors on a f3 or 920, I kind of doubt it....

Former Member over 10 years ago

Now to learn how to index an image and apply a selective palette? I've shifted the goal post :)

jim_m_58 over 10 years ago

Now to learn how to index an image and apply a selective palette? I've shifted the goal post :)

Why? The va has a much better display than that the antique F3 and 920! :) I got 64 colors that the CIQ folks said should be handled by the resource compiler!

Former Member over 10 years ago

Well it's optional, but could allow you to remove dithering if you wanted to. It's new stuff to me, and not knowing where to start it took me a little while to find mention of indexing an image, so was just mentioning a few key words for anyone who might be interested.

jim_m_58 over 10 years ago

And it's the stuff that I understood would be handled by the resource compiler when I first starting asking months ago!

Are you one of the folks stuck on 16 colors!? No worry, as soon there will be a "next generation" of your device! :)

Brandon.ConnectIQ over 10 years ago

Many image editors will allow you to index an image to a specific palette and have better control on dithering (if it's needed). Photoshop will do this, of course, but I usually use GIMP here at work since I don't have a commercial license for Photoshop. :) If you're on a Mac, Acorn and Pixelmator are good alternatives to Photoshop, too.

The resource compiler does handle indexing for you, but sometimes the results aren't quite what you may want. It really depends a lot on the image. In my experience, you'll tend to get better results if you hand-tweak the image. For example, in the image jim_m_58 provided, this image may look better indexed without dithering, which would use large color blocks for areas of the picture rather than he "speckled" effect dithering typically introduces.

jim_m_58 over 10 years ago

the image actually looks MUCH better on the va than in the screen shot.

Former Member over 10 years ago

We're not knocking your image

Former Member over 10 years ago

I've also use GIMP. I discovered Inkscape for svg images. A great pair.

jim_m_58 over 10 years ago

I've also use GIMP. I discovered Inkscape for svg images. A great pair.

Personally, I found InkScape to be really bad. I've used it with a program written for apple but ported to windows.

Former Member over 10 years ago

I don't understand. You didn't like Inkscape becauase of the other program? What do you use for svg? I take it from your comment you are actually using windows, correct?