Remember Igor Kotelevskii? He is the original developer for BeadCreator Pro 6 as well as the designer for the newer beading software program, bead-n-stitchI reviewed the latter some time ago. 

He has been busy and has come out with an exciting program which is sure to please those who love contemporary geometric beadwork. It is called simply Peyote Creator. It promises to make designing your own patterns a lot easier. No more colored pencils and paper charts!

I received a review copy of Peyote Creator and I sure had fun testing it out! Igor also provides a demo copy (scroll down to the bottom of the Peyote Creator page) for anyone wanting to try it out.

The program was designed for PCs. There is a workaround for Macs which is explained on Igor's website. I used my old PC laptop for this review.

I also highly recommend you go through all the short video clips on that page to understand how the program works.  Please note English is not Igor's first language so listen carefully! There is also a PDF manual to help should you need to refer to something afterwards. The manual is not perfect as it is still a work in progress.

The program does both contemporary geometric peyote as well as "classic" types where you can easily create designs using peyote, the various drop peyotes including the ever popular 2 drop, brick stitch and RAW. 

You can see the choice in the start menu :


Contemporary Geometric Beadwork

I started with the geometric one.  As with his previous program, the popular bead manufacturers and their extensive bead palettes are represented.  I clicked on TOHO and then NEXT.


I started with peyote triangle which I suspect will be a popular choice.  Some of the terminology in the program can be confusing. Ring number actually refers to the number of beads on each edge of the triangle. 

I also entered the number denoting bead number per inch. Size 11/0 beads are about 17 to the inch. 

The program will not let you advance until you enter a filename and click on FINISH.

You can click on any bead color in the palette on the right and slowly build your pattern. But what makes this program absolutely wonderful is the symmetry function. You can control what kind of symmetry you want. I opted to do this :


When I clicked on one corner to make the beads there go black, the other corners automatically colored them the same way!  Computing magic! There are additional tools at the top of the palette. The line function allows you to draw a line through several beads and they will be colored in. The square and circle function allows you to draw those shapes in and all the beads within that shape will take on the designated color.


The circle function allowed me to draw a red collection of "flowers". I then filled in the centers in black. 


Here is a triangle hexagon which I played with.  I can see coaster designs in the future!


You can choose other shapes like this example of a 5 panes design :


Or a 7 panes one :


The icing on the cake for the Peyote Creator program is the ability to turn a peyote triangle into a 3D ball. Here is another pattern I came up with. This time I went back to the FILE menu and chose the 3D Ball function. 


The resulting image shows you how many of the triangles you need to make them into a ball. 

Also important is how the individual triangle will look like when assembled into a larger design. I wondered if a printed version of this will allow a designer to cut out the paper version and test the pattern out. My design as it is may not be ideal for a 3D ball because the radiating blue lines from each triangle just meets. Perhaps different colors at the tips of these lines will make the meeting points pop more.  


See the odd lines in the top left of my 3D ball pattern below?  That is because I failed to click FINISH on the symmetry pane before moving on.  So be sure you complete actions or you will get errors like this. 


Classic Beadwork

I also tested out the classic option. It starts the same way as the geometric section where you get to select the bead manufacturer's palette.  I think it is easier to first denote the size you want for the design. Then check the bead number. Doing a 2 drop peyote design will require an even number. As before the bead size per inch can be chosen. 


You can use some of the functions on the top of the palette.  The line and square options makes selecting groups of beads for certain colors easier. But bear in mind, the circle may not work for certain patterns like the 2 drop peyote I wanted. What I got was vague ovals of colors (mauve and turquoise colors below). 


You can also use the symmetry function but you will have to move the center point and work in sections along the length of the bracelet.


Igor recently added another video clip on how to import an image into a 2 drop peyote bracelet. It is the last one at the bottom of his page.  You can actually hear him address me by name because he created that video initially for me. 

He did that because I struggled with uploading an image. The video clip showed me there is a quirk in how functions are named. Instead of IMPORT OTHER DESIGN, I should have selected IMPORT PICTURE COLORS.  The former is for designs created in other programs. 



I also tripped up with the next couple of steps.  First OPEN the image from my computer. Then IMPORT into the Peyote Creator program. Also important - the image must be sized exactly the same as the design you are working on, for example, a 1 inch x 6 inch bracelet. 

Choose an appropriate image. Complex and detailed images like the one I chose (below left) will not translate well (below right). 


Additional Functions

Need to know how many beads/tubes of beads and how much these cost for a particular pattern?  The program does the calculation for you.  Very useful if you are professional designer or you are on a tight budget! Or you just need to know whether you have enough in your stash in a particular color!


I really loved the animation function of the build process. You can start it and watch how your pattern is constructed.  You can change the timing (in seconds) if you want to watch it more slowly. I did not try this but you could attempt stopping and restarting if you want to bead along. 


Printouts of the pattern include not just the pattern but the bead charts.  I love how big the pattern is - no more squinting at tiny charts! As you can see from my peyote bracelet above and in Igor's video, you can change the symbols inside each bead to suit. 



The tabulated chart shown above is pretty utilitarian.  The presentation will need more work if you intend to sell your pattern. 

Shown below is part of the beautiful presentation for a free 3D ball pattern from Ukrainian beadwork designer, Irina Shapoval.  She also sells other designs on her site.  




I highly recommend the Peyote Creator program for beaders who love peyote and especially the trendy contemporary geometric patterns. US$55 is a very reasonable price considering what it can do to help you create your own designs.

Be prepared to explore the program options on your own. Go through the video clips and check on the manual.  I have found Igor to be very responsive if you need to contact him for any reason.

UPDATE:
You cannot purchase the program with the demo program.




Then once open and you see the pop up example shown above, send Igor (his email is in the box) your unique magic number or PCID.  He will then send you the serial number for access.

Giveaway
If you'd like to win a copy of the Peyote Creator program,  please make a comment below. Make sure you leave contact info below if you do not have an online shop or blog.

Email subscribers need to scroll down the post they receive, click on Share Comment and enter your comment. Pick Name/URL. If you don't have a store or blog, leave the URL blank.

This giveaway is international.

Extra entries if you become or are a blog subscriber or follower etc. If you also do shout outs about this giveaway, those will count as additional entries too! Please say so in the comments. (The exception is Facebook - just like/comment on the giveaway status there!!)

It ends in a week's time at 6 pm EST Monday, April 19, 2021. I will pick the winner randomly and announce the results as soon as possible after. So be sure to leave a contact email if you don't have an online link or make sure you come back and check! Otherwise I will redraw in a week. Good luck!

Before You Go :
Disclosure 

 This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
 ______________________________ 
Original Post by THE BEADING GEM