svg

The general idea here is to streamline the process of taking a photograph and converting to an SVG file that is appropriate for a laser or vinyl cutting machine.

The software:

* IrFan View
* Inkscape

Obviously there's lots of other tools to edit photographs and trace vector graphics. ymmv &c &c

Your average phone produces photographs that are megabytes in size. These are enormous! The key idea is that we are reducing resolution, ruthlessly stripping away information that can't possibly be rendered in the form we want.

Photography

Try to get a silhouette as best as possible. Hold the object up against an unobstructed sky for maximum contrast. If using a white background, avoid shadows.

IrFan View

IrFan View is a bit limited, but it does run under windows easily. The key process is "Decrease Color Depth..." which can convert your silhouette into a proper two- color black-and-white image. Unfortunately, it's not very adjustable.

Make sure to "Show Paint Dialog (F12)" Erase as much of the background garbage as possible. The paint bucket may be useful in erasing objects and boundaries.

Decrease Color Depth is under the Image tab. Decrease to black and white and evaluate whether you've got an image that can be reasonably traced.

Inkscape

Configuration

Display_units is under the menu Document Properties. Switch between inches, millimeters, & as desired.

Layers

I have been assigning different types of images to different layers [shift-ctrl-l]. The initial import is in a layer named "bitmap". Once traced, the outline is in a layer called "trace". All the subsequent work, simplifying and framing, is in the default or "frame" layer. The "trace" and "bitmap" layers can be hidden by default, but consulted as source material.

Tracing an outline

• Import ... png as bitmap.
• Path -> Trace Bitmap Use "Speckles" to remove the background static
• Object -> Transform to resize
• Object -> Fill and Stroke to remove fill, add stroke color
• Use the Edit Path tool to select
• Path -> Simplify to reduce the number of points
• Path -> Break Apart to separate the components (and delete the ones you don't want)

Joining a pattern inside a frame.

For the fern project, I'm making 8 inch square tiles. The outer edge of the cut is an 8 inch square, and the inner edge is a 7 3/4 inch square, so that the frame is 1/8 inch wide all around. These squares are made with the rectangle tool, which, when the shape is created, offers a dimension box where you can enter the height and width desired. The fern pattern must be joined with and connected to the inner frame line.

To join the fern pattern with the inner square edge,use Path -> Difference. Make sure that the pattern is raised above the frame, Object -> Raise to Top. That way, everything outside the frame is removed.

To make side-by-side panels, take two frames and group the insides of the two frames together with Path -> Combine Paths. Group the outsides of the frames and move them aside.Then lay the pattern over it, selecting the pattern path plus the two insides, and again use Difference. Now move the outside frames back and align everything vertically or horizontally using Align and Distribute.