7 ms·

Show HN: A tool to reproduce images using ironing beads

8 points by beadifier 8y ago

beadifier 8y ago
I made this tool on my free time late last year. It has gained some traction, but is still far from being the preferred tool among users for this particular job (although, I argue, it has the best feature set). I have faced challenges getting it to market in a quantifiably successful manner, but I try and spread the word as best I can. I love making hobbies like this easier and more accessible for people. That's what this tool represents. I value usability and attention to detail. Seeing the reactions so far has been extremely gratifying.
- beadifier 8y ago
  For more info, I've written a small piece about Beadifier here: https://medium.com/@mikaelsbjrnsson/how-beadifier-makes-realistic-fuse-bead-patterns-possible-f8535a956b4b https://medium.com/@mikaelsbjrnsson/how-beadifier-makes-real...
- ericlewis 8y ago
  very cool!
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - beadifier 8y ago
    Thanks : )
- detritus 8y ago
  Perhaps it's just me but I'd make your immediate example conversion image with the arrow in a bit larger and more prominent, to give a better idea* of what it can accomplish. Perhaps even make the widgets at the right hand side do something off the bat? Perhaps not. * I actually physically paused, wondering whether I should write 'eye-dea'. I'm glad I didn't.
  - beadifier 8y ago
    Haha, yes : ) For the longest time I didn't even have an example conversion image featured (!), and the interface was really barren as a result. I'm going to enlarge it, to make it stand out. Thanks for the advice : ) The notion of having the widgets at the right hand side do something right off the bat also intrigues me... Perhaps the interface should come preloaded with a live example image... Or would that be too confusing...? UX is super hard.
fractallyte 8y ago
This is excellent! In the past, I used Grafx2 (https://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2 https://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2) for 'beadifying' an image. It can reduce color palettes to powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, ...), then provides a count of each color in the image. This way, I knew precisely how many beads I'd need (useful when certain colors were in limited supply, and as a checksum). I'd match these colors as closely as possible to my beads, count them out, and start laying - using the on-screen image as a guide. Your tool is better, of course ;-)
- beadifier 8y ago
  Thank you so much : ) I'm glad to hear that. The premium version of Beadifier (https://www.beadifier.pro https://www.beadifier.pro) provides a similar count of each bead color to what you are describing.
jakobegger 8y ago
Do enough people work with ironing beads regularly so that they would pay a monthly subscription? My kids love those beads, and I've made some small things with them as well. I could see myself buying maybe buying an app for €5 to 10€, but there's no way I'd buy a subscription. Also, this absolutely needs to be an iPhone app. Snap a picture of something and convert it into a bead pattern.
- beadifier 8y ago
  There are a lot of ironing bead enthusiasts out there creating sophisticated artwork. So, I'll say there is a market. The feature set in the premium version more than justifies the monthly price. iPhone app is not in development at the moment, but the mobile site is somewhat usable.
  - jakobegger 8y ago
    I'm not saying that your app isn't worth $4 a month. If someone uses Beadifier to create art for sale, and it's an important part of their workflow, you could probably charge a lot more. However, the question is, are there a 1000 people out there who sell photorealistic ironing bead pictures on a regular basis, who absolutely need your tool? And you are targeting only people who are really into ironing beads. If someone (like myself) only uses beads occasionally, they wont buy a subscription. But I might buy something that costs a one time price, just like I bought a few of those bead matrices (not sure what those things are called). Which market you target is up to you, but I'm pretty sure that there are 1000x more occasional ironing bead users than hard core enthusiasts. (BTW: I tried the mobile website on the iPhone, and it kinda works, but feels broken. A proper iPhone app would probably have a live preview, so I could see the pattern in real time as I frame the picture, and I could just point a camera at my beads to load the palette... but that's just wishful thinking)

8 points by beadifier 8y ago

I made this tool on my free time late last year. It has gained some traction, but is still far from being the preferred tool among users for this particular job (although, I argue, it has the best feature set). I have faced challenges getting it to market in a quantifiably successful manner, but I try and spread the word as best I can. I love making hobbies like this easier and more accessible for people. That's what this tool represents. I value usability and attention to detail. Seeing the reactions so far has been extremely gratifying.

beadifier 8y ago
For more info, I've written a small piece about Beadifier here: https://medium.com/@mikaelsbjrnsson/how-beadifier-makes-realistic-fuse-bead-patterns-possible-f8535a956b4b https://medium.com/@mikaelsbjrnsson/how-beadifier-makes-real...
ericlewis 8y ago
very cool!
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- beadifier 8y ago
  Thanks : )
detritus 8y ago
Perhaps it's just me but I'd make your immediate example conversion image with the arrow in a bit larger and more prominent, to give a better idea* of what it can accomplish. Perhaps even make the widgets at the right hand side do something off the bat? Perhaps not. * I actually physically paused, wondering whether I should write 'eye-dea'. I'm glad I didn't.
- beadifier 8y ago
  Haha, yes : ) For the longest time I didn't even have an example conversion image featured (!), and the interface was really barren as a result. I'm going to enlarge it, to make it stand out. Thanks for the advice : ) The notion of having the widgets at the right hand side do something right off the bat also intrigues me... Perhaps the interface should come preloaded with a live example image... Or would that be too confusing...? UX is super hard.

fractallyte 8y ago

This is excellent! In the past, I used Grafx2 (https://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2 https://pulkomandy.tk/projects/GrafX2) for 'beadifying' an image. It can reduce color palettes to powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, ...), then provides a count of each color in the image. This way, I knew precisely how many beads I'd need (useful when certain colors were in limited supply, and as a checksum). I'd match these colors as closely as possible to my beads, count them out, and start laying - using the on-screen image as a guide. Your tool is better, of course ;-)

beadifier 8y ago
Thank you so much : ) I'm glad to hear that. The premium version of Beadifier (https://www.beadifier.pro https://www.beadifier.pro) provides a similar count of each bead color to what you are describing.

jakobegger 8y ago

Do enough people work with ironing beads regularly so that they would pay a monthly subscription? My kids love those beads, and I've made some small things with them as well. I could see myself buying maybe buying an app for €5 to 10€, but there's no way I'd buy a subscription. Also, this absolutely needs to be an iPhone app. Snap a picture of something and convert it into a bead pattern.

beadifier 8y ago
There are a lot of ironing bead enthusiasts out there creating sophisticated artwork. So, I'll say there is a market. The feature set in the premium version more than justifies the monthly price. iPhone app is not in development at the moment, but the mobile site is somewhat usable.
- jakobegger 8y ago
  I'm not saying that your app isn't worth $4 a month. If someone uses Beadifier to create art for sale, and it's an important part of their workflow, you could probably charge a lot more. However, the question is, are there a 1000 people out there who sell photorealistic ironing bead pictures on a regular basis, who absolutely need your tool? And you are targeting only people who are really into ironing beads. If someone (like myself) only uses beads occasionally, they wont buy a subscription. But I might buy something that costs a one time price, just like I bought a few of those bead matrices (not sure what those things are called). Which market you target is up to you, but I'm pretty sure that there are 1000x more occasional ironing bead users than hard core enthusiasts. (BTW: I tried the mobile website on the iPhone, and it kinda works, but feels broken. A proper iPhone app would probably have a live preview, so I could see the pattern in real time as I frame the picture, and I could just point a camera at my beads to load the palette... but that's just wishful thinking)