Update & Pics using Photo Vcarve to Relief Carve

This forum is for users to post tips and tricks they have found useful while working with VCarve Pro
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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

I dunno, Hay, I rather enjoy my Alltimers disease. I only had to buy one DVD, I can watch the movie every nite and think it is new. Saving a lot on books too. Plus, I only have to buy one thing to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, since it is all new to me!

Now, what was I talking about? Oh yea, Hay. . . .
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

jseiler
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Post by jseiler »

started a new thread in the vcarve general board about gis dem data to relief map.

I just ran the washington west dem data through microdem. Simple. :)

John

mark296
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Post by mark296 »

TReischl,
I took your flower and converted it to a 3ds model so you can use Cut3d. It is 6x6x.5
Attachments
Slice.jpg

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

mark296 wrote:TReischl,
I took your flower and converted it to a 3ds model so you can use Cut3d. It is 6x6x.5
Huh, what? It already cuts the way I want it in Photo VCarve. I do not own Cut3D so a 3ds model is of no use to me at this point. Thanks anyway!

By the way, the ratio of length to width should be about 8 X 5 to avoid that just stepped on look, :wink:
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new-1.jpg
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mark296
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Post by mark296 »

Just showing you that you can use your technique to make a 3d model with a couple of clicks and then it can be resized just as easy.
Did you know that you can cut 3d models with Photo Carve? You can also cut models purchased from Vector Art 3d with Photo Carve but I would have to talk to James B before I go any further with this topic.
The point is Photo Carve has a lot of options that are not being used yet. I don't use most of them because it takes longer for the machining but they are still there if that is the only program you have. I use Vcarve 4 for vines , leaves and flowers because it is the most efficient program for that kind of work.

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

I agree, PVC is a very untapped resource.

James B would probably be thrilled to have folks cutting his models in PVC.

Since I do not have Cut3D, I am wondering about cutting times. Given that I am typically cutting about .25 deep single pass, I am wondering how Cut3D could cut it any faster? The tool has to step over .010 no matter what and cover an area X x Y in size. Since I am not familiar with it, I think I see how it could cut faster if there were multiple roughing passes, etc.

Rattling around in my brain are thoughts about 4 axis work. I have not seen any really good (read basic) software for it yet. I would like to eventually be able to carve cabriolet legs with leaves on the knees, etc. That will be right after I put a 4th axis on my machine.

Thanks for your insights!
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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Post by mrBOND »

Very nice work TR. I'm impressed!
Just one question, do you use VCarve to cut it?
Or why do you post in VCarve section and not the PhotoVCarve?
CNC 1000x600 | VCarve Pro 5.5 | PhotoVCarve | Cut3D | Summa Vinyl Cutter | FlexiSign

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

mrBOND wrote:Very nice work TR. I'm impressed!
Just one question, do you use VCarve to cut it?
Or why do you post in VCarve section and not the PhotoVCarve?
Good question! I use Photo Vcarve to "cut" it, but then it can go into VCarve as part of an overall project.

I also felt that if I posted it in the Photo Vcarve section, the technique might not have been seen by as many people. I don't look at the Photo section very often because I do not do that type of work here.

And, what I am doing sure does not look like any photos I have seen! It just seemed more appropriate to be in the VCarve section.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

Thought I would give everyone an update on where I have been going with this relief carving technique. One thing I have learned is that if it looks good in the previews, it may not actually look as good when cut. No problem with VC, just the nature of relief carving. For instance, in this sign, the background vine appears to be too "strong", but the first version looked right, but the vine got lost. Moving it higher makes it look a bit too strong here, but is just right when carved.

Enjoy.
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std test 020.jpg
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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

I am including a model of a Polish Eagle. This comes from the official Polish website. Please feel free to use it on any personal projects, I would appreciate if you did NOT use it for commercial products. If you need one for a product you are going to sell, I suggest you contact James B. and have him create one for you. He does nicer work than I do anyhow. BTW, I am not trying to put James out of work here. In most cases it makes more sense to just buy one of his models instead of spending hours creating one. This technique is for those times the model just does not exist or is trivial to create. I have bought several models from him and am extremely pleased with his craftsmanship.

Ok, this was done completely using Corel X3 suite. Yes, it did take about 5 hours to create. That was ok, since my machine was cutting another project anyhow. The technique is fairly simple actually.

Load the bitmap into Draw and lock it down so you cannot select it.
Draw over the top of the bitmap, make sure each entity is closed.
Use the Contour tool to "shade" the element.
Open Paint. (it helps to have a dual screen system when doing this stuff)
Copy and paste the item you just made in Draw.
Use the Blur tool to smooth out the contour steps.

Do all the rest of the pieces the same way. It helps to start on the lower pieces first and work your way up. Otherwise, you have to reorder them in Paint.

Also to properly locate the pieces, I make a rectangle around the whole project, lock it down, and then select it and the new item for pasting. Works like a charm.

I will be cutting a prototype today of the complete project and will post it here when finished.

What is nice about this, is that after using Corel, the rest of the work in Photo VCarce and VCarve works perfect everytime. Really good software.

Enjoy!
Attachments
This board will be framed with a glass cover to display medals won by a Polish Resistance fighter during WWII.  He later came to the US, and is currently a retired MD.
This board will be framed with a glass cover to display medals won by a Polish Resistance fighter during WWII. He later came to the US, and is currently a retired MD.
This is the model, it should be cut using a 1/8 ball end mill.
This is the model, it should be cut using a 1/8 ball end mill.
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DavidCousins
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Post by DavidCousins »

TReischl,
Your models look great. I'm confused though, what percentage are you working in 1.PhotoCarve, vs 2. VCarvePro?

Since PhotoCarve uses shades to specify depth, it appears you are masking your image to have a solid white or black background and the opposite color foreground.

Then you further use the masking to blend the interface between the two colors.

Then in PhotoCarve you set a real deep cut for the background with a small stepover. The foreground color will have a very shallow depth of cut.

Am I getting your method?

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

Beats me about the percentages? Since the Vectric stuff works so great, it is the least amount of the projects.

As to understanding the process. . .hmmmm, not really.

At the risk of making Tony and Brian vomit, Photo VCarve essentially reads the gray image extracting a depth value depending on how dark it is. Black is full depth, white is no depth at all (sorta).

What I am doing is creating an image that has the edges contoured by using the contour tool in Draw. If you play with it, you will find out that you can control exactly how the edge of the part is rounded or slanted. Once it is contoured, I use the blur function in Paint to smooth out the terraces from Draw. Yes, I do mask the item before blurring it.

Also, you can select a starting and ending shade of gray in the contour tool.

I don't know if you do much relief carving by hand, but eventually everyone fingures out the same thing. Do NOT try to duplicate the shape of the actual item, instead, make it APPEAR to look like the item. A good example of this is gunstock carvers, they work typically to a max depth of about 3/32 of an inch, yet they create an image that looks correct. It is all about shadows actually.

Play around a bit, see what happens! If you have the Corel Suite, you have one heckuva tool at your disposal! With the Vectric software, it makes the whole process quite easy after a little wrapping of the brain around it.

Good Luck!
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

Ok, here it is, the Polish Eagle. I am a rotten photographer too.

Anyway, it is Birds Eye Maple on Walnut. This was easy to do, I took a piece of walnut, surfaced milled it .25 deep. I did this so I would know where the bottom of the eagle was located. Glued down a blank of birdseye maple to the walnut (never removed it from the machine) and then did the machining. After that, the rest was easy, standard VCarve stuff.

I have made a frame for it and will be mounting the medals this weekend.

It looks better in person than in my rotten pictures. Never claimed I worked at Penthouse. . . did I? Now that I think of it, why did I go into engineering........?
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new-8.jpg
new-6.jpg
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HayTay
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Post by HayTay »

Ted,

Excellent work as always (at least what you show us!). The WWII Polish Resistance fighter that's on the receiving end of your plaque will, no doubt, get a little choked up and teary eyed.

You're right, your photography skills are definitely something you need to work on, or delegate.

Thanks for sharing. I'd like to see the finished piece also, if you feel up to getting behind the camera again.

You may have to update your tag line, "Polish Eagles May Soar..."

Great work,
HayTay

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TReischl
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Post by TReischl »

Thanks Hay!

The neat thing about the Vectric products is that they just work really well. Most of what I do comes out very nice, unless I totally goof up the design part. I am finding that the mechanics of cutting are just that, and being able to design correctly is the big challenge.

My photog skills would be better if my wife quit hiding (she claims she just puts it away) the good camera! I am using an old old digital camera and well. . .

By now, I am hoping a few of the other folks on the forum have tried this technique and will post some of their work.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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