digital-art-composition-book/Notes/__Using The Vault.md

title: **Table of Contents**

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Disclaimer

The creator of this Obsidian vault has NOT included any source materials or other copyrighted material from outside sources.

Viewing on the website

Please note: If you're viewing this file from the main website where the files have been published, some, if not all, of the links below will be broken. These links will not be broken once the vault is opened within Obsidian.

Pinned Tabs

There are a number of pinned tab to ensure users see the most useful information when first opening this vault. Feel free to unpin tabs as desired.

I do recommend keeping the __Dashboard tab pinned as it's a great starting point for using this vault, even when used heavily day to day.

A Note About Deletions

Due to the way the attachment folder indexes and automatic attachment management work: attachments may not be auto-deleted when deleting a note. This is a quirk with how the attachment folder indexes interact with the automatic attachment management setup.

I do not consider this a problem.

A paper comp book won't have content deleted, if anything: it'd be crossed out and still somewhat visible. To properly 'delete' something from a paper comp book, you'd need to cut or tear the page(s). I doubt many are going to that much trouble.

Instead of deletes, there is an Attic folder where content can be moved out of visible scope but still available if you ever need to go back and reference it. This will allow you to achieve a similar work flow as 'crossing out' content in a paper comp book.

If you are the type of person who would go through the trouble of cutting or tearing page(s) in a paper comp book, you can still delete a note and its attached files. You'll just need to delete both the note and folder with the attachments manually.

Automatic Attachment Management

This vault is setup to automatically manage attachments. It is configured to ensure all note attachments are stored in the appropriate attachments directory under a sub-folder with the same name as the note.

This will automatically move attachments and update links when a note is moved between folders. This is especially helpful as a note moves through the various state/status folders.

You can disable this functionality by disabling the Consistent Attachments and Links and Custom Attachment Location community plugins.

Folder Indexes

Important

Please note all folder indexes must be excluded from the Consistent Attachments and Links plugin (if enabled). These folder indexes can create an infinite loop situation when the attachment automatic management is triggered.

This is particularly problematic when running the Reorganize Vault command.

Attachment Folders

This vault is setup to have "Folder Notes" that index the contents of each attachments directory. These folder notes are auto-updated and are a simple index of files within a given attachments directory. Simply click on an attachments directory to open the index.

Source Materials Folders

This vault is setup to have "Folder Notes" that index the contents of each Source Materials directory. These folder notes are auto-updated and are a simple index of files within a given Source Materials directory. Simply click on an Source Materials directory to open the index.

Notes Folder

The Notes directory contains a lot of useful information related to digital art. The directory is indexed using "Folder Notes" and the index is automatically updated when new notes are added to the directory. Simply click on the Notes directory to open the index.

Disabling

You can completely disable the directory index functionality by disabling the Folder Notes and Waypoint plugins. When disabling these plugins, you'll need to manually delete the folder notes within each attachments directory, each Source Materials directory as well as the folder note within the Notes directory.

If you would like to keep the folder index functionality for only a sub-set of directories, simply delete the folder note for any directories you do not want indexed.

Comp Book (Vault) Layout

• Different folders for each form of art performed
  • Coloring: For coloring pages and related materials
  • Dot to Dot: For dot to dot pages and related materials
  • Drawing: For drawing and sketches
  • Ideas - Inspiration: For ideas and inspiration tracking
  • Zentangle: For Zentangle and ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art)
• Various sub folders to help with organization of files
  • attachments: For files that are attached to notes
  • Complete: For completed art works
  • In Progress: For art that is being worked on currently or has been worked on previously
  • Prepped: Materials that will be used for digital art later
  • Source Materials: Source files that have been converted or adjusted based on need
• Various gallery notes to help with surfacing information and art stored within
  • Look for files with _Gallery - as the start of the file name
• A Notes section that has a lot of useful information related to digital art
• A __Dashboard note that is meant to be the 'starting point' for the vault.

Using The Comp Book (Vault)

• Each piece of artwork gets 3 files:
  • The source file for use with a drawing app such as Krita
  • A PNG or JPG export of the file to ensure notes have a good thumbnail preview of the artwork
  • A standard Obsidian note to encapsulate any metadata and notes related to the artwork
• There are a number of templates that can be used to create notes to represent artworks
  • See the Command Palette and From Template items as well as the _Templates folder
  • Each template will place a new note in the main type of art folder
  • Each template will prompt for a number of common metadata items on creation to help auto-fill metadata and other details
  • Each template will have a To Do section at the top with prompts for additional steps you may want to take
  • The newly created notes should have the source file and any png/jpg files attached to help with thumbnails and to help keep files organized
• Once a new note is setup with the desired information it should be moved to an appropriate sub-folder to ensure it's auto-added to an appropriate gallery
  • Each gallery uses queries to find the notes shown based on folders
  • You do not need to manage the galleries directly
• Art works should flow between sub folders as progress is made. For example: Prepped -> In Progress -> Complete for order
• The Ideas - Inspiration folder does not have sub-folders and assumes you'll just keep a list of notes similar to the Notes section or adjust this area to match your preferences.
• The __Dashboard is meant to be 'the starting point' and 'overview' for the whole vault

Troubleshooting

The Troubleshooting The Vault note includes some common scenarios that can happen as the vault is used over time. If you have problems with the vault, start with this page for troubleshooting.

New Artwork General Workflow

• Prep downloaded files
  • Convert source material to art app native format
  • Setup any necessary layers
    • See Coloring Page Quick Reference for coloring pages
    • See Dot to Dot Quick Reference for dot to dot pages
• Create page for artwork using the appropriate template
• Link files to new artwork page as appropriate
• Move artwork page to appropriate sub folder
• Sync vault to other devices if needed
• Open file in art app
• Make art

Suggested Reading (Notes)

• Obtaining Source Material
• Android Drawing Apps
• Krita Quick Reference
• Color Palette Generator
• Coloring Page Quick Reference
• Dot to Dot Quick Reference

Enjoy

There isn't much more to this vault than stated above. Feel free to explore and adjust this vault as you see fit. This is meant as a rough guide, inspiration and/or starting point.

I use this vault for all my digital art and it's been a huge help for me. I hope it, or a variation of it, can do the same for you.