Scroll Saw Portraits using GIMP - L8

[Travis]

Welcome to our final lesson! Up to this point, we should have a pattern that is for the most part finished. All that is left is to make sure it will cut OK. So this lesson, we'll talk about quality control (sounds so corporate, huh?).

Print and Check
Whenever I get a pattern to the point where I'm happy with the result, I will print a copy. Make sure you print it the size which you'll be cutting it. It will make checking that much more accurate. Then I'll take a red pen and circle any problem areas that may need attention. Areas like very thin peninsulas that may need thickening. Long peninsulas that may be a little too delicate for cutting may need a bridge to add extra support. Also check for islands. Then go back to your pattern and make the changes. I might do this process 2 or 3 times before I'm done checking.

Here's a little tip to save yourself some ink. Click the visibility off for all layers except for your white background layer and your pattern layer. Select your pattern layer and turn the opacity down to 30% or so. This will make your pattern into a light gray. This will save you a lot of ink and money. After you're done printing your pattern, bring the opacity back up to 100%.

Bucket Fill Check
Remember, the white areas indicate the wood. So if you did the pattern right, everything should be connected with white. Here's a quick way to check for islands. In your tool palette, click the bucket fill tool. Select your pattern layer and click the white area with the bucket fill tool. This will fill all the white areas in with black. Your image should be pretty much black. If you see any white areas, this would indicate islands that are not bridged. Just undo (Ctrl+z) the fill, and bridge the island.

Marking Your Pattern
If you intend on distributing your pattern, it is a good idea to mark the pattern with your name. This allows other scrollers to give credit where credit is due, and it also marks the pattern as yours (you now own the copyright to that pattern!). You can easily add text to the pattern by clicking the Text tool in the toolbox (looks like an 'A'). Then click in your image. This will pop up a dialog box where you can add your information. I usually include the title of the pattern, my name, and any additional info like email or website. Remember to check the tool options dialog box for font options. Click the Close button and your text will be placed. Use the move tool to move your text to the final location.

Exporting
You may want to share your pattern with the rest of the scrolling community. Many online communities allow you to attach JPG files to posts. Scroll Saw Village has special gallery software where you can upload new patterns. To get your pattern in a JPG format, first save your project (as an XCF file). Then go to File>Save As. This will pop up a dialog box where you can name your file. You can tell GIMP to save the file in two ways. First, you can click the plus sign next to Select File Type (By Extension), and you will be given different file options. Choose JPG and you'll notice your file name will now have the extension ".jpg". The other way to do this is to simply add the .jpg extension to your filename. GIMP is smart enough to know to export the file as a JPG. When you click Save, it will pop up a warning message saying that JPG doesn't support transparencies and will flatten the image. This is OK. Just click Export. You will get another dialog box with compression settings. JPG are compressed files. Just keep the quality at the default of 85 and click Save. You now have a JPG of your pattern.

Important Note: If you save your project as a .jpg so you can upload it, your project settings will change. So before you close down your program, be sure to save your document again with the .xcf extension. Hopefully GIMP will fix this for future releases so we won't risk losing our work. But until then, we have to be extra careful.

One Extra Touch
I often like having a gray pattern with a black outline. For me, it makes it much easier to see and cut. I have created two tutorials that uses another free program, Inkscape, to clean up your pattern. Check them out if you're interested.

• Preparing A Pattern For Printing With Inkscape
• Printing Oversized Patterns with Inkscape

Assignments:
-After your done with your pattern, post them in this thread. It would be interesting to see how different artists approach the same base photograph.
-Please take a moment and fill out this 10 question survey and let us know how we did. It is completely anonymous and will help us to bring you quality content in the future.

[Travis]

Here's a copy of the pattern I made. You can see the video demonstration here.

Bill.jpg

[Vector01]

I liked the shadows in the suit so I included it in my version. This was fun and a great learning experience.

shatweb.jpg

[corianman]

Hey, Travis...How do you add your name to your pattern? Thanks, Don P.S. You did a fantastic job on your tutorial.

[Travis]

Thanks Don! The series was a lot of fun to do.

Adding text to a pattern is pretty easy. Unfortunately, I didn't cover it in the video tutorial. But I do have it in the written tutorial. Check out the section called Marking Your Pattern above. Hopefully that will help. If you're still having trouble, let me know. I'm always glad to help.

[hoover4]

well travis here's my feeble attempt at kirk. i don't think it turned out to bad all in all, still needs some touching up here and there. well thanks for looking....brian

Untitled.jpg

[Travis]

That looks great, Brian! I like how you handled the collar too. It won't be long before folks are pounding down your door for custom patterns! Nicely done!

[Jossef]

Travis,
I have sent a couple pics and one is a pattern I made. Please let me know what you think. I know that it is an inside pic and needed more light. Also I am not done because I have a few islands to take care of.

Thanks,
Joe

[Travis]

That looks great, Joe. Pix of children are tricky to do. I think you are on the right track. Like you said, you have a few islands to take care of. Take a look at the Bucket Fill Check section in the written instructions above. That will immediatly show you where the islands are. I'd also look at some delicate areas and bridge them over too. The right side of his face (left side of the page) has one continuous line from shoulder to hair. This will create a very delicate area on the rest of his face. I'd create a bridge where his hairline meets the face. Maybe another where his cheek meets the shoulder. That will give it enough support while you're cutting. Keep working it and I think you'll have a great portrait on your hands. Let me know if you run into any problems. I'm always glad to help.

[hoover4]

hi travis here's another one i tried tonite. is there anything i could do differently especially with the mouth. i'm just playing around trying to get the hang of all this so critique away....thanks brian

nixon.jpg