Topics

31

Computer questions / Wacom Intuos tablet

« on: March 26, 2014, 12:08:42 am »

Against my better judgement I bought a tablet and am trying to develop a pattern with it. The tablet doesn't accept my choice of brushes, and rather than pinpointing a spot on the image I get a wide streak of white or black from the edge of the tablet to that point. I've chosen brush size with both the pen and the mouse but I can't get pinpoint accuracy with the brush. Any suggestions? Thank you, Barry.

32

Pattern Requests. / Whale keychains

« on: March 23, 2014, 03:59:50 pm »

Hi Rog. I for one would be interested in that pattern. If nobody else expresses an interest you can email me directly. Thank you, Barry.

33

General Scroll Saw Talk / Small & fuzzy photos

« on: March 16, 2014, 11:54:49 am »

Good morning all. I don't usually have a problem creating patterns from reasonably clear, larger photos. However smaller, pixilated photos leave me frustrated as the end result is laughable. Any suggestions? Thank you, Barry.

34

The Coffee Shop / St. Patrick's Day

« on: March 15, 2014, 11:37:20 am »

To all the sons and daughters of Erin ( and wannabes) Happy St. Patricks Day.

35

Intarsia / Baby steps

« on: March 09, 2014, 01:23:30 pm »

I originally began this hobby because I was in awe of what I saw being created. To start, rather than going on line and purchasing various species of wood could I get away cutting the segments out of 1/2 - 3/4 in. pine and staining it? I'm guessing grain is an important factor. Comments please. Cheers, Barry.

36

Tutorials, Techniques and Tips / Bento

« on: March 09, 2014, 01:10:13 pm »

This is neighbors pup. I haven't cut it yet, have to resize it at Staples first. All in due course. I didn't follow my usual procedure of [greyscale][curves][cartoon], etc. As an experiment I tried to develop the pattern directly from the photo (which wouldn't upload as too large even after pixsizer). The results aren't too bad and I attribute it to the natural contrasts of the pup's fur, and good quality of the photo. I'm going to have to develop a more "pattern friendly" method when drawing in the areas of merging black and tan fur colors. Cheers, Barry.

37

The Coffee Shop / Big Game

« on: March 07, 2014, 07:33:08 pm »

I developed a pattern for this, and cut it for my wife's G.P. for expediting her treatment when she was diagnosed. Her Doc's from S.A. and her office has myriad pics of wildlife. It took some perseverance to finish. The pattern won't poste even after running it through Steve's Pizsizer so if your interested in a copy of the pattern I'd be glad to email you one. As you can see shortcuts can be made by deleting some of the undergrowth. Cheers, Barry.

38

Computer questions / GIMP & my printer

« on: February 23, 2014, 04:04:07 pm »

Are there any gurus amongst you that can suggest why GIMP doesn't default to my only printer. It doesn't even offer it as an alternative. Also, GIMP doesn't allow me to choose my paper size. Up to now I've lucked out opening and printing the pattern off with MSPaint. Thank you, Barry.

39

Pattern Requests. / Need help w/pattern

« on: February 12, 2014, 06:18:13 pm »

This was my apprentice. He got engaged and I'd like to surprise him and his fianc?e with a scrolled portrait. I pulled this selfie of them off facebook. I've  been wrestling with a pattern for the better part of a day. I'm not sure if my heads just not in it or it's the photo, but I can't make a decent pattern. I've used [curves], [brightness/contrast], and [threshold]. It's seems to be going o.k. until I get to the final step [photocopy] and it produces images that are quite bright. Suggestions? Thank you, Barry.

40

Computer questions / Dark photos

« on: February 12, 2014, 11:18:47 am »

Is there any way of lightening up a dark photo to start the pattern process? Thank you, Barry.

41

Pattern Requests. / Keira needs a review

« on: February 10, 2014, 04:34:13 pm »

This is sister to the young fellow I posted last week (or thereabouts). Please feel free to critique. Cheers, Barry.

42

Pattern Requests. / Found another victim!

« on: February 03, 2014, 12:51:27 pm »

This is the neighbor's son. Criticism is welcome, I'm thick skinned. Thank you, Barry.

43

Computer questions / GIMPed Again

« on: January 30, 2014, 10:20:41 pm »

After tweaking my portrait pattern in GIMP and Inkscape, [Object][Fill & Stroke] the pattern in red, and saved in JPEG, GIF or PNG it refuses to open. In attempting to localize the problem it appears that it's the final change in Inkscape to a red image that upsets the software as it opens o.k. in black outline in any other format. Whatever is causing the prob seems to be after I put it through [Object][Fill & Stroke]. It doesn't matter what program I try to open the file in, or what the extension is. Up to that point I can open it in any program.

The .pdf was straightforward up to the final couple of para.s. regarding use of the fill bucket to search for floaters. My .svg image doesn't change at all when I click on the image in GIMP and try to use the fill bucket. Also, when I use the lasso feature how can I ensure the background is white and not black? Thank you, Barry.

44

General Scroll Saw Talk / 'Lil Memphis

« on: January 30, 2014, 12:20:23 pm »

This mad dog, killer pit bull protected a friend's 3 year old from a cougar, and suffered numerous lacerations and bites. All healed up now and as sweet as ever. They asked if I'd take a try at cutting a portrait... going to take a break from Grandson's portrait pattern and start this a.m.

45

The Coffee Shop / Glues and Mastics

« on: January 28, 2014, 02:08:59 pm »

Just throwing this out... frequently there are questions about the best glues and varnishes used in our favourite hobby. It would be helpful to have a spreadsheet of sorts indicating what brands are used and a rating, perhaps a star system (?). I'm not sure any indication would be required as to use as most, if not all, are joining wood products to wood products. Similarly, one for varnish, shellac, varathane, etc.  I'd be glad to receive the preferences and pertinent comments on my e-mail, build the spreadsheet and then poste the results rather than cluttering up this website. Do you think it's worth the effort? Thanks, Barry.