I created websites for trying pots on your bonsai and drawing foliage designs

[thebonsaiproject]

This is a great tool. Thank you for creating this, I have been looking for something like this!

So, I found a few issues. A lot of this could be user error. Before i say anything, please know, I have worked as an engineer/analyst ( python/postgres/looker) and am currently a technical manager - I mean criticism to be constructive, not rude.

- When I go to create a branch, the branch appears in the dom higher and slightly to the left of where I put my finger on the screen. It is consistent but if you zoom, the distance will scale in proportion (meaning potentially even farther away)

- the size icon slider is not clear enough. The smaller size should be even smaller to establish a greater contrast.

- the screen is jittery? I suspect you are aware of this.

- my tree disappears when I zoom too much. This could be me, but sometimes my tree disappears and I am not sure why. It is just a blank white screen. I can still add branches and such. I thought that maybe I zoomed out and my tree was like 1 pixel but I don't think that is the case. Even on full zoom out, you can still see the foliage so it tells me my tree has moved (out of screen left/right?) or has dissapeared. It still asks if I want to leave which indicates my tree is somewhere on the page.

- I really like the last tab where you can get inspiration on designs. It would be a valuable to be able to click forward instead of the auto-populate. Maybe there could be a button [explore] that would take it off auto populate. Then have <- -> ?

I am on an older Samsung galaxy.

Really great app. I am looking forward to using this.

So I FINALLY tried it out tonight.
I noticed some of the same things that @JackHammer mentioned already, though it was getting time to tuck my youngest 2 into bed, and, well, priorities, people. Didn't get more than a few minutes before it was time to switch gears.

Number one thing, as already mentioned, everything starts above and left of where your finger is. Branches, foliage, all of it

Number two: the auto-tapering action when drawing branches needs a control to manually adjust the extremity of taper.
It seems like there's a function for increasing girth the longer you hold your finger down, or the slower you go; or did I just imagine that amidst the rugrat distractions? If it's a thing, a manual control would still be nice. If it's not a thing and just in my head, it could be a thing.

I need to get some pics of other trees when the snow is off them, and really put it through it's paces. So far, though, I absolutely love the usefulness of this. I foresee many a wasted hour in my future.

Legends, thanks heaps for thee feedback! I’m also an engineer so you are speaking my language haha. Responding to the points:

• High cursor - I put the cursor above where you press for phones and tablets so you can see where you are drawing (not covered by your finger). But it shouldn’t be too the left or change when you zoom hahaha. I’ll have a look at that and if you think I shouldn’t offset it at all then let me know.
• Size icon - yep 100% good point
• Screen jittery – When you say jittery, do you also mean laggy? Like foliage is always catching up to your cursor? I suspect that is it which is a performance issue (especially if it’s old S7 ish). The culprit is my inefficient code, i’m sure if I look I can find somewhere it improve it haha
• Zoom disappearing tree – Yeah that’s not a design feature hahaha I’ll have a look
• Auto generation – Yeah great thought. Some people have also been confused by this so Ill have a look
• Girth control – Yeah the taper is recalculated whenever the length of the branch is extended (going slower and drawing longer). That’s a good idea, I’ll look into it and have a play around. It wasn’t just the rugrats hahah

These points will help the next tool as well so I super appreciate it. Hopefully the snow holds on long enough so I can fix all the bugs haha

 

[JackHammer]

Legends, thanks heaps for thee feedback! I’m also an engineer so you are speaking my language haha. Responding to the points:

• High cursor - I put the cursor above where you press for phones and tablets so you can see where you are drawing (not covered by your finger). But it shouldn’t be too the left or change when you zoom hahaha. I’ll have a look at that and if you think I shouldn’t offset it at all then let me know.
• Size icon - yep 100% good point
• Screen jittery – When you say jittery, do you also mean laggy? Like foliage is always catching up to your cursor? I suspect that is it which is a performance issue (especially if it’s old S7 ish). The culprit is my inefficient code, i’m sure if I look I can find somewhere it improve it haha
• Zoom disappearing tree – Yeah that’s not a design feature hahaha I’ll have a look
• Auto generation – Yeah great thought. Some people have also been confused by this so Ill have a look
• Girth control – Yeah the taper is recalculated whenever the length of the branch is extended (going slower and drawing longer). That’s a good idea, I’ll look into it and have a play around. It wasn’t just the rugrats hahah

These points will help the next tool as well so I super appreciate it. Hopefully the snow holds on long enough so I can fix all the bugs haha

Glad that was helpful. I am hoping that you get a few blizzards before the summer hits! ☺ I don't think an offset is needed for the drawing but do what you think is best.

 

[ShadyStump]

I agree that an offset isn't necessary. I understand the purpose, but it's confusing. If you keep it, make it minimal.
Technically speaking, I suspect it being to the left is something about the touchscreen/touch interface. The program misinterprets the finger position when you're finger isn't perfectly straight, so the offset is off-center.

No actual clue, but it makes sense in my head.

 

[thebonsaiproject]

Hey, got a new one for you. This tool takes you through a stepped process for designing your trees. It has helped me experiment a lot, remember what the plan was and improve my designs over time. If you are not the best with a pencil and put off designing (like me), then I hope this will help you start practicing.

Main site: https://thebonsaiproject.com
Bonsai designer (this post): https://thebonsaiproject.com/bonsaidesigner/

Other tools:
Try bonsai pots: https://thebonsaiproject.com/trypotsonline/
Drawer: https://thebonsaiproject.com/bonsaidesigner/
Composer: https://thebonsaiproject.com/bonsaicomposer/

I've combined a lot of the feedback and learnings from the previous tools into this so I really appreciate the help. This is running as a trial for July, so give it a go and let me know what you think. Cheers

 

[thebonsaiproject]

Hope everyone's doing good.
I got a new update for Bonsai Designer:

• You can download designs into a single PDF (like the image above)
• Fixed fill bucket bug
• Fixed eraser bug
• Only warns you if you haven't saved
• Yellow lines change black when toggle background so it's easier to see
• Simple detection of outline issues and gives information on what to do
• Added moss to pot
• Eraser bigger
• Save button bigger

Most of these updates came from feedback so if you have any, send them my way!

 

[Kievnstavick]

Using a pepper image only because the trees I wanted to play with had too big of a file size apparently. Would there be a way to use images client side instead of uploading an image?

Anyways, two issues I found a little annoying within my first minutes of use are as follows:

-When attempting to trace the outline on the picture, the image moves around as if I have the "hand" tool selected. Making it extremely difficult to make a decent outline.

-Using the eraser, I noticed that the tool is far above where my finger is touching. In the image provided, my finger position is shown in red. The further up/north the finger is, the greater the deviation. The further south/down, the more true to position the eraser is. I believe this also happens with the pen tool.