Every year on Mother's Day, I especially feel thankful to the three most wonderful people in my life, my mother, and my two daughters. My mother, of course, not to mention all the things she did for us, but she is the person I got most of my creative inspirations from at the very early stage of my life. And my two daughters, are such joy to have, they make being a mother easy and joyful. I usually thank them especially on Mother's Day, because they made me a wonderful mother.
A few years back while I was heavily involved in paper piecing quilting, I had this idea of mother and daughters project in mind, but due to the complexity, I never got around to finishing it, so I decide to use the inlay method to tackle the idea to thanks them for this Mother's Day celebration. here is how I did it:
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Step 1
My favorite method to create is the top-down method, I will visualize a final idea in mind, then, figure out how I would achieve it in a traditional method, then I will determine the software, and the functions to use to achieve what I wanted. And this method usually works really well for me.
My usual steps:
Step one: Sketch,
With the iPad Procreate app, I sketch out some ideas. With the inspiration of this photo I saw, I ended up with the preliminary drawing.
Step 2
Step two: Cut File Creating,
At this point, there are a few different methods that I used to turn my drawing into SVG format.
First Method:Use an SVG converter to convert the drawing to SVG. I typically use PicSVG. As you can see, the result is fine, but just not what I had in mind for this project. I mainly use this to create files for engraving.
Second Method: I would use the "Trace" function of Silhouette Studio to trace my sketch, then maybe modify it to perfect the design details.
But these two methods will create a thicker outline between pieces, which would be a good look, but this time I wanted to achieve zero spacing between pieces. So I decided to use Adobe Illustrator to create my design because Adobe Illustrator is able to create a "0 pt" outline. So,
Third Method:With Adobe Illustrator, the pen tool, 0 pt Stoke, create the design and then export it to SVG format. This produces 0 spacing between pieces, which is exactly the look I am aiming for.
"Color Fill Version"
"Outline version"
Step 3
Setting 1
Process Method
Laser Cut
Process Material
3mm Basswood Plywood
Power(%) or Cut Pressure(g)
100
Speed(mm/s)
4
Pass
1
Other Parameters
"engrave at 80/80/1" for engraving the face feature and the text
"score at 40/20/1" for scoring the box for the painting guide
Step Three: Laser Engrave and Cut,
Upload the SVG onto XCS
Since all the pieces fit tightly next to each other, in order to avoid double cutting the same line for the adjacent pieces, I went ahead to separate all the pieces, so each one will get a clean cut.
Also, I wanted to prepaint the pieces, so I decided to utilize the unique camera feature of the M1 and try my theory. This way I can be sure the painted area is enough to cover the pieces, and here is how:
First, I place all the same color pieces in groups, insert rectangles large enough to cover each group individually, and use a light score setting (40/20/1) to mark the rectangle on the material. Then take the material out, and paint each area with the corresponding color.
Second, after the paint is dry, I put the material back in the M1, position the drawing back in place, go ahead, and engrave (80/80/1) the facial features and the text first then cut (100/4/1 for 1.5mm basswood) all the pieces out.
Isn't this perfect? the camera feature works like a charm.
Of course **You can also cut out all the pieces, then paint them individually, then proceed with the assembly**
I also create two squares, one is a solid square for the backing, and the other with a square cut out with the size of my inlay square.
Then, of course, assembly is simple but a little time-consuming with all the small pieces, just carefully glue two squares together, then carefully glue all the small pieces into the square cut out like a puzzle, a pair of tweezers will help.
Here is the final result. As you can see, I ended up adding a cloud on the bottom portion of the design, and a message.
Step 4
I also cut out one of the frames I design for the finishing touch.
Hope that you enjoy this How-to and if you have any questions, please feel free to as add the comment area, I will try to answer them as soon as I can.
My favorite method to create is the top-down method, I will visualize a final idea in mind, then, figure out how I would achieve it in a traditional method, then I will determine the software, and the functions to use to achieve what I wanted. And this method usually works really well for me.
My usual steps:
Step one: Sketch,
With the iPad Procreate app, I sketch out some ideas. With the inspiration of this photo I saw, I ended up with the preliminary drawing.
Step two: Cut File Creating,
At this point, there are a few different methods that I used to turn my drawing into SVG format.
First Method: Use an SVG converter to convert the drawing to SVG. I typically use PicSVG. As you can see, the result is fine, but just not what I had in mind for this project. I mainly use this to create files for engraving.
Second Method: I would use the "Trace" function of Silhouette Studio to trace my sketch, then maybe modify it to perfect the design details.
But these two methods will create a thicker outline between pieces, which would be a good look, but this time I wanted to achieve zero spacing between pieces. So I decided to use Adobe Illustrator to create my design because Adobe Illustrator is able to create a "0 pt" outline. So,
Third Method: With Adobe Illustrator, the pen tool, 0 pt Stoke, create the design and then export it to SVG format. This produces 0 spacing between pieces, which is exactly the look I am aiming for.
"Color Fill Version"
"Outline version"
Step Three: Laser Engrave and Cut,
Upload the SVG onto XCS
Since all the pieces fit tightly next to each other, in order to avoid double cutting the same line for the adjacent pieces, I went ahead to separate all the pieces, so each one will get a clean cut.
Also, I wanted to prepaint the pieces, so I decided to utilize the unique camera feature of the M1 and try my theory. This way I can be sure the painted area is enough to cover the pieces, and here is how:
First, I place all the same color pieces in groups, insert rectangles large enough to cover each group individually, and use a light score setting (40/20/1) to mark the rectangle on the material. Then take the material out, and paint each area with the corresponding color.
Second, after the paint is dry, I put the material back in the M1, position the drawing back in place, go ahead, and engrave (80/80/1) the facial features and the text first then cut (100/4/1 for 1.5mm basswood) all the pieces out.
Isn't this perfect? the camera feature works like a charm.
Of course **You can also cut out all the pieces, then paint them individually, then proceed with the assembly**
I also create two squares, one is a solid square for the backing, and the other with a square cut out with the size of my inlay square.
Then, of course, assembly is simple but a little time-consuming with all the small pieces, just carefully glue two squares together, then carefully glue all the small pieces into the square cut out like a puzzle, a pair of tweezers will help.
Here is the final result. As you can see, I ended up adding a cloud on the bottom portion of the design, and a message.
I also cut out one of the frames I design for the finishing touch.
Hope that you enjoy this How-to and if you have any questions, please feel free to as add the comment area, I will try to answer them as soon as I can.
"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY"