USING GIMP2 TO MAKE PATTERNS

[Kris Martinson]

I have had a few requests for tips about how I make my patterns. Here is an instructional on my method. I would also direct you to the incredible tutorials that Travis posted in this forum. 

Good luck with these. Remember that is takes time and practice. You must be patient, but it will be worth the time you invest if you really want to learn.The more times you do this, the easier it will become. 

USING GIMP 2 TO MAKE SCROLL SAW PATTERNS
Here is the method that I have been using with GIMP 2 to create most of my scroll saw patterns:

1. It helps to choose a photo with fairly high contrast. I often use the photo editing software built into my Windows operating system to improve the contrast of a photo, before I begin with GIMP. Then save it to a file you can access easily.
2. Open GIMP 2 and click “File” in upper left corner. Click “Open” from the drop-down menu.
3. Navigate to the file containing your photo and select it. Click “Open” at the bottom right corner. [If a pop-up window with “Convert to RGB working space?” opens up, click on “convert”.]
4. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is connected. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window".
5. Now that your photo is sized correctly, click “Colors” on the GIMP toolbar, then click “Desaturate”. Then click OK on the pop-up window that opens. This will make your photo black and white.
5a. Click on "Filters" on the upper toolbar. Then click on "Artistic" then "Cartoon" from the successive dropdown menus. Set Mask Radius at 50 and set Percent Black at 0.280. I use these settings to start with, but you can play around with them in the preview window. Then click "Apply".
6. Again click “Colors” on the toolbar, then click “Brightness-Contrast”. In the pop-up window, slide the contrast button to the far right. Then slide the brightness button left or right until you get the pattern as close as you can to the way you want it. I usually end up using a brightness in the 90s.
7. Click “OK” at the bottom of the pop-up window.
8. If you want to clean up your pattern, choose the Eraser icon from the toolbox on the left. If you double-click it, it will open a pop-up window where you can adjust the size of the eraser (the size controller is called Scale). Remember that when cutting, you must leave all the parts of wood connected to the “mother board”. The eraser tool lets you adjust your pattern for this requirement by removing “black” areas from the pattern, so that you have NO isolated islands of white that are not connected to the main white pattern background. This is extremely important. This is the step that will take the longest time. Be patient and make it count, and it will produce a good, usable pattern.
9. To print your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then select “Print”. You can adjust the size of your image print-out by selecting “Image Settings” at the top of the pop-up window.
10. To save your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then click “Save As”. In the pop-up window, rename your pattern so you won’t replace your original photo, then click the “Save” button twice. Then in the new pop-up window, slide the “Quality” tab to 100, then click “Save”. The pattern will be saved to the file where you kept your original photo, unless you tell it to save it elsewhere.
 

I can give you another tip that I have found helpful when I design patterns. 

I use the photo editing that is built into my Windows program to crop and them enhance all of my pics before I use GIMP. The most helpful part of the photo editing is to Click on the "Adjustments" tab at the top, then push the "Clarity" all the way to the right. Then Save a copy. See the arrows on the pics. 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Kris Martinson

[dgman]

Thanks Kris!

[Tomanydogs]

Thank you so much Kris. What a great tutorial you have written. I’ve gone through all your steps and made a pattern that I will be cutting, it worked so good. 
Irene

[Fab4]

Hi Kris:
Much appreciated, thank you
Fab4

[don watson]

Thanks Kris,

I will certainly try this

Don W

[amazingkevin]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:19 AM, Kris Martinson said:

I have had a few requests for tips about how I make my patterns. Here is an instructional on my method. I would also direct you to the incredible tutorials that Travis posted in this forum. 

Good luck with these. Remember that is takes time and practice. You must be patient, but it will be worth the time you invest if you really want to learn.The more times you do this, the easier it will become. 

USING GIMP 2 TO MAKE SCROLL SAW PATTERNS
Here is the method that I have been using with GIMP 2 to create most of my scroll saw patterns:

1. It helps to choose a photo with fairly high contrast. I often use the photo editing software built into my Windows operating system to improve the contrast of a photo, before I begin with GIMP. Then save it to a file you can access easily.
2. Open GIMP 2 and click “File” in upper left corner. Click “Open” from the drop-down menu.
3. Navigate to the file containing your photo and select it. Click “Open” at the bottom right corner. [If a pop-up window with “Convert to RGB working space?” opens up, click on “convert”.]
4. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is connected. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window".
5. Now that your photo is sized correctly, click “Colors” on the GIMP toolbar, then click “Desaturate”. Then click OK on the pop-up window that opens. This will make your photo black and white.
5a. Click on "Filters" on the upper toolbar. Then click on "Artistic" then "Cartoon" from the successive dropdown menus. Set Mask Radius at 50 and set Percent Black at 0.280. I use these settings to start with, but you can play around with them in the preview window. Then click "Apply".
6. Again click “Colors” on the toolbar, then click “Brightness-Contrast”. In the pop-up window, slide the contrast button to the far right. Then slide the brightness button left or right until you get the pattern as close as you can to the way you want it. I usually end up using a brightness in the 90s.
7. Click “OK” at the bottom of the pop-up window.
8. If you want to clean up your pattern, choose the Eraser icon from the toolbox on the left. If you double-click it, it will open a pop-up window where you can adjust the size of the eraser (the size controller is called Scale). Remember that when cutting, you must leave all the parts of wood connected to the “mother board”. The eraser tool lets you adjust your pattern for this requirement by removing “black” areas from the pattern, so that you have NO isolated islands of white that are not connected to the main white pattern background. This is extremely important. This is the step that will take the longest time. Be patient and make it count, and it will produce a good, usable pattern.
9. To print your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then select “Print”. You can adjust the size of your image print-out by selecting “Image Settings” at the top of the pop-up window.
10. To save your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then click “Save As”. In the pop-up window, rename your pattern so you won’t replace your original photo, then click the “Save” button twice. Then in the new pop-up window, slide the “Quality” tab to 100, then click “Save”. The pattern will be saved to the file where you kept your original photo, unless you tell it to save it elsewhere.
 

I need this imbedded in my brain, thanks!!!

[Kris Martinson]

On 2/7/2020 at 10:06 PM, Tomanydogs said:

Thank you so much Kris. What a great tutorial you have written. I’ve gone through all your steps and made a pattern that I will be cutting, it worked so good. 
Irene

That's great. Be sure to post your finished piece.

[OCtoolguy]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:19 AM, Kris Martinson said:

I have had a few requests for tips about how I make my patterns. Here is an instructional on my method. I would also direct you to the incredible tutorials that Travis posted in this forum. 

Good luck with these. Remember that is takes time and practice. You must be patient, but it will be worth the time you invest if you really want to learn.The more times you do this, the easier it will become. 

USING GIMP 2 TO MAKE SCROLL SAW PATTERNS
Here is the method that I have been using with GIMP 2 to create most of my scroll saw patterns:

1. It helps to choose a photo with fairly high contrast. I often use the photo editing software built into my Windows operating system to improve the contrast of a photo, before I begin with GIMP. Then save it to a file you can access easily.
2. Open GIMP 2 and click “File” in upper left corner. Click “Open” from the drop-down menu.
3. Navigate to the file containing your photo and select it. Click “Open” at the bottom right corner. [If a pop-up window with “Convert to RGB working space?” opens up, click on “convert”.]
4. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is connected. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window".
5. Now that your photo is sized correctly, click “Colors” on the GIMP toolbar, then click “Desaturate”. Then click OK on the pop-up window that opens. This will make your photo black and white.
5a. Click on "Filters" on the upper toolbar. Then click on "Artistic" then "Cartoon" from the successive dropdown menus. Set Mask Radius at 50 and set Percent Black at 0.280. I use these settings to start with, but you can play around with them in the preview window. Then click "Apply".
6. Again click “Colors” on the toolbar, then click “Brightness-Contrast”. In the pop-up window, slide the contrast button to the far right. Then slide the brightness button left or right until you get the pattern as close as you can to the way you want it. I usually end up using a brightness in the 90s.
7. Click “OK” at the bottom of the pop-up window.
8. If you want to clean up your pattern, choose the Eraser icon from the toolbox on the left. If you double-click it, it will open a pop-up window where you can adjust the size of the eraser (the size controller is called Scale). Remember that when cutting, you must leave all the parts of wood connected to the “mother board”. The eraser tool lets you adjust your pattern for this requirement by removing “black” areas from the pattern, so that you have NO isolated islands of white that are not connected to the main white pattern background. This is extremely important. This is the step that will take the longest time. Be patient and make it count, and it will produce a good, usable pattern.
9. To print your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then select “Print”. You can adjust the size of your image print-out by selecting “Image Settings” at the top of the pop-up window.
10. To save your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then click “Save As”. In the pop-up window, rename your pattern so you won’t replace your original photo, then click the “Save” button twice. Then in the new pop-up window, slide the “Quality” tab to 100, then click “Save”. The pattern will be saved to the file where you kept your original photo, unless you tell it to save it elsewhere.
 

Thanks for taking the time to share all this info. I for one have had a tough time learning either Gimp or Inkscape. For some reason, the tutorials and written explanations never seem to apply to what I want to do and/or the program doesn't function exactly the same way as the tutorial shows. I've made some headway but have a very long way to go in order to be productive.

I did find a couple of places where my version of the program differed a bit from yours but I attribute them to the fact that my version is a bit newer. I'm using Gimp 2.10.10. Can you add any input to my experience? I'm curious as to why mine is different than yours. 

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by octoolguy

[OCtoolguy]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:19 AM, Kris Martinson said:

I have had a few requests for tips about how I make my patterns. Here is an instructional on my method. I would also direct you to the incredible tutorials that Travis posted in this forum. 

Good luck with these. Remember that is takes time and practice. You must be patient, but it will be worth the time you invest if you really want to learn.The more times you do this, the easier it will become. 

USING GIMP 2 TO MAKE SCROLL SAW PATTERNS
Here is the method that I have been using with GIMP 2 to create most of my scroll saw patterns:

1. It helps to choose a photo with fairly high contrast. I often use the photo editing software built into my Windows operating system to improve the contrast of a photo, before I begin with GIMP. Then save it to a file you can access easily.
2. Open GIMP 2 and click “File” in upper left corner. Click “Open” from the drop-down menu.
3. Navigate to the file containing your photo and select it. Click “Open” at the bottom right corner. [If a pop-up window with “Convert to RGB working space?” opens up, click on “convert”.]
4. Click “Image” from the GIMP toolbar. Click “Scale Image”. In the pop-up window, put in the number 300 in “X resolution”, then click the little chain next to it on the right so the chain is connected. Next to the upper “Pixels” box, click the down arrow and choose “Inches”. Put in the width you want your pattern to be, then click the little chain next to it so the chain is connected. Then click “Scale” at the bottom of this window. If the image is now too large for your screen, click on “View” on the toolbar and choose “Zoom”, then choose “fit image to window".
5. Now that your photo is sized correctly, click “Colors” on the GIMP toolbar, then click “Desaturate”. Then click OK on the pop-up window that opens. This will make your photo black and white.
5a. Click on "Filters" on the upper toolbar. Then click on "Artistic" then "Cartoon" from the successive dropdown menus. Set Mask Radius at 50 and set Percent Black at 0.280. I use these settings to start with, but you can play around with them in the preview window. Then click "Apply".
6. Again click “Colors” on the toolbar, then click “Brightness-Contrast”. In the pop-up window, slide the contrast button to the far right. Then slide the brightness button left or right until you get the pattern as close as you can to the way you want it. I usually end up using a brightness in the 90s.
7. Click “OK” at the bottom of the pop-up window.
8. If you want to clean up your pattern, choose the Eraser icon from the toolbox on the left. If you double-click it, it will open a pop-up window where you can adjust the size of the eraser (the size controller is called Scale). Remember that when cutting, you must leave all the parts of wood connected to the “mother board”. The eraser tool lets you adjust your pattern for this requirement by removing “black” areas from the pattern, so that you have NO isolated islands of white that are not connected to the main white pattern background. This is extremely important. This is the step that will take the longest time. Be patient and make it count, and it will produce a good, usable pattern.
9. To print your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then select “Print”. You can adjust the size of your image print-out by selecting “Image Settings” at the top of the pop-up window.
10. To save your pattern, click "File" at the top left corner of the main screen and then click “Save As”. In the pop-up window, rename your pattern so you won’t replace your original photo, then click the “Save” button twice. Then in the new pop-up window, slide the “Quality” tab to 100, then click “Save”. The pattern will be saved to the file where you kept your original photo, unless you tell it to save it elsewhere.
 

I have been messing with Gimp all day. I finally got it to do what I wanted it to do. Here is what I accomplished. I took a picture of a Christmas decoration that we have that is made from some sort of resin. It's painted in different colors but it's all in one piece. I thought it would be fun to try to cut it out but keep it as one piece so I opened the picture and went through all of the above steps. It seems to work well. I saved it as a .png file and I'm going to print it and then do my creating of the scroll saw pattern.