how to get a photo ready to carve???

[skimman]

Hi everyone as you can see I am new to this forum and I would like to say this forum is great with great work done and very interesting you all do a great job. I was reading about carving photos and I have downloaded the paint.net program and I was playing around with it and I can't seem to get any where with it I know that you all say to cut the faces out so that is what I was trying to do I just can't get any where with it is there anyone who would be willing to walk me through it. All the help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[rue]

Welcome!

Computer graphics programs are an animal of themselves and take a lot of practice to get acclimated to their many tools and techniques. What further complicates the problem is unlike the world of word processing where there is a clear front runner (Microsoft Word) most everyone uses, the world of graphics design is a much more open field so people have their own preferences of programs to use professionally and for recreation.

What I would do if I was you is head over to Youtube (http://www.youtube.com) and search for things like "Paint.net Tutorial" or "Paint.net; cut out tool". You can probably find some good audio/video presentations on how to use the tools you'll need. Then I'd search these forums for threads that contain advice on how, in general, to prep a photo for pattern creation and then carving.

Then practice, practice, practice!

[eromran]

Hi everyone as you can see I am new to this forum and I would like to say this forum is great with great work done and very interesting you all do a great job. I was reading about carving photos and I have downloaded the paint.net program and I was playing around with it and I can't seem to get any where with it I know that you all say to cut the faces out so that is what I was trying to do I just can't get any where with it is there anyone who would be willing to walk me through it. All the help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
First off welcome to the forum it is a great place.
2nd if you would post a picture of what you have done so far everyone could see where you may need help. Unless you are talking about you have not carved any thing yet in which case that would be your first step just carve something to see what the machine will do. Start at the beginning not end. What i mean is instead of starting with photos which sometimes can take a little more time working with. Pick a project that is ready to cut to get the fill of machine. Hope any of this help. You will enjoy this machine. Here are a few pic i did and put together. And this forum is full of others that are much better so you will be able to do it also if you hang with it.

[skimman]

I am able to get the photo in but not sure of the rest my dad has the machine and he loves it and he is not a computer guy so that is where I come in and the pictures that everyone has done are really neat and I would love to try. Thanks for your help!

[eromran]

I am able to get the photo in but not sure of the rest my dad has the machine and he loves it and he is not a computer guy so that is where I come in and the pictures that everyone has done are really neat and I would love to try. Thanks for your help! OK I know I'm missing something but if your dad is already doing this he could probably show you how, but if not post a picture on here you want to carve and someone will more than likely get it ready for you to carve for the first time. The only drawback will be you won't learn any thing from it. So you may want to try a picture then ask for help but you may be surprised how good it turns out and how little help you need. Give it a try !!!

[ChrisAlb]

Hi skimman and welcome to the forum.

First off, in wood, photos can be very difficult and time consuming to prepare for a nice carving. For lithopanes it's much easier and in fact, most photos "as is" will produce nice results.

Both rue and eromram are correct with their respective points. First and foremost learn the machine, it's functions and the results you can expect from what you see on the screen to what actually comes out in wood.

Second, learn your graphics application and it's tools and abilities inside and out. Once you know what the CW "expects" and the results produced, then you can use your graphics program to produce the proper input.

If you're just getting started using the CW I recommend this path.

1) Use some of the supplied patterns and play with them in Designer. Stretch them, mirror them and come up with something that's neat to you. Don't worry about producing "works of art yet".

2) Get yourself some scraps of wood and carve a few of them so you can see the results from what you produced on screen. Again, no worries about quality yet. Just get a feel for the process first. Keep the CW clean before, during and after EACH carve.

3) Once you get used to using Designer to produce the actual results you want, then move on to making "custom" things with a graphics application.

and

4) Keep in mind that for ALL of us there is a learning curve to ALL of this. Be patient, persistent and before you know it, you'll be writing advice like this.

If you've spent any time reading in this forum you know that the CW can and will produce some simply amazing projects. But don't think for a second that any one of them was just thrown on a board and carved. This machine, like any other tool, needs to be first learned and then used correctly. Mastering a few basic concepts will greatly reduce the learning curve.

Hope this helps and HAPPY CARVING!

[eromran]

Ok Chris put my own thoughts in much better words than i did. I was having a hard time trying to convey what i was thinking. THANKS

[ChrisAlb]

LOL...that's just my "long winded" nature Ed....lol

Far too many people (including me to an extent at first) think this is a "magic" machine where you can just take a picture of your girlfriend and carve a pretty picture for her.

The funny thing is, once you learn how, this really IS a MAGIC MACHINE...lol

[luckettg]

Chris,
That Youtube advice is really helping me to learn how to use the Photoshop software. I wish I had thought of it, but thank you for the guidance.:)
Greg