Full Version: Photos on Acrylic

From: PenMan [#1]
 18 Jan 2007
To: ALL

This has probably been discussed before I have searched and can't seem to find specific info. I just got PhotoGrav and want to engrave a photo on acrylic (from the back). I have used the cutout tool to remove the background from the photo in Photo Paint X3. I have converted to 8 bit grayscale and resampled to 300dpi and correct size also. When I process this in PhotoGrav it turns the white background to black which would engrave white on the acrylic. What am I doing wrong? I assume I need to change the background color to black before processing in PhotoGrav but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I would also like to soften the edges of the photo. How is that done and in what program? Thanks for any help.

From: Laser Image (LASER_IMAGE) [#2]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#1] 18 Jan 2007

Chris - I haven't been using PhotoGrav all that long so I am sure there are easier, better ways to do what you want. What I use to soften the edges is the vignette tool in Photo Paint. I am VERY curious to see what others suggest.

As for the background, I usually just color the background black so it won't get engraved. Again, I'm curious to see what others are doing.

Gary

From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#3]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#1] 18 Jan 2007

What is black engraves white on acrylic. You need to start out with a black background. If Photo Grave gives you a black background, then you must invert the image to a negative first.

You must end up with a negative image for acrylic.

From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#4]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#1] 18 Jan 2007

I don't know PhotoPaint (I use PhotoShop), but my guess is that if you set the background color to black before using the cutout tool then it'll probably make the cutout area black.

From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#5]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#1] 18 Jan 2007

Use the fill tool (paint bucket) in PhotoPaint to fill the background to black.

To soften ALL edges, use PhotoGrav. Go into the interactive process and click on the Green Enhance ON button and adjust away.

If you want to soften the perimeter of the image, use PhotoPaint to mask the background then feather the mask.

From: PenMan [#6]
 18 Jan 2007
To: Carl (CSEWELL) [#5] 18 Jan 2007

Sounds easy. Still can't figure it out. When I put a mask around the couple in the picture I can't get the background to fill with black. Only the couple will fill with black. Opposite of what I want. I'm sure there's a simple fix but I haven't figured it out yet.

From: PenMan [#7]
 18 Jan 2007
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#3] 18 Jan 2007

I realize what is black engraves white. That is why I need to change the background color to black in Photo Paint before I take it to PhotoGrav where it is reversed during processing.

From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#8]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#6] 18 Jan 2007

If the couple is filling with black and not the background, invert the mask and then fill.

Or, if the background is white already, don't use a mask, just use the fill tool to fill the white background with black. Make sure the tolerance on the property bar is set very low (1 or 0)!

From: PenMan [#9]
 18 Jan 2007
To: Carl (CSEWELL) [#8] 18 Jan 2007

Got it. Thanks!

From: sprinter [#10]
 18 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#9] 19 Jan 2007

you can also let photograve do it by selecting a different material, like marble for example, it inverts the image.

From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#11]
 18 Jan 2007
To: sprinter [#10] 18 Jan 2007

If he wants the background to not engrave, and his photo has a white background, selecting marble won't help because when it gets inverted the background is black and engraves. He needs to make the background black on the positive image so it becomes white when inverted, and doesn't engrave. That has to be done before photograv

From: PenMan [#12]
 19 Jan 2007
To: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#11] 19 Jan 2007

Thanks for the tips. I was able to make the background black in Photo Paint before going to PhotoGrav and it worked. It's frustrating to know what needs to be done but not be able to figure out how to do it. I'm still not sure I'm doing it the "best" way but it works. Thanks to everyone for their help.

From: Pedaler (ROYBREWER) [#13]
 19 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#1] 20 Jan 2007

quote:
I have converted to 8 bit grayscale and resampled to 300dpi and correct size also.


Chris,

While you've been given a few tips, I think the others didn't catch that you used the cutout tool.
In your example you need black background before passing it to PhotoGraV. All you need to do is be sure your background (one of 3 boxes below your toolkit) color is set to black. When you then convert to grayscale (unless you've turned the feature off), you'll be asked if you want to merge with the background; respond yes.

If you have that turned off, you'll be "warned" that your cutout "object" will be combined with background. Either way you'll have what you need.

However, no easy way to soften the edges if you use the Cutout Lab. Most of us(?) would use a combination of the masking tools to create a mask and then, as Carl suggested, Feather the mask and with your "object" masked off, Paint(fill) the unmasked with black.

From: PenMan [#14]
 20 Jan 2007
To: Pedaler (ROYBREWER) [#13] 21 Jan 2007

I used the cutout tool because I don't understand how to use the masks in PhotoPaint. You don't have some kind of tutorial for that do you? I have used many of your videos to help learn Corel and they are great.

From: UncleSteve [#15]
 20 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#14] 20 Jan 2007

Chris,

If you Google Photo Paint mask tutorial you will come up with over 900,000 hits......... some free and some at a charge.

From: PenMan [#16]
 20 Jan 2007
To: UncleSteve [#15] 20 Jan 2007

Thanks. As much time as I spend on the computer, I still forget to use Google for this kind of thing. You're right, lots of information... now I need time to read.

From: Pedaler (ROYBREWER) [#17]
 21 Jan 2007
To: PenMan [#14] 22 Jan 2007

Chris,

While the masking tools are the very heart of any photo editing software, they are pretty intimidating.
If you have the ARA CDs, take a look at:
---4Shelby
---DarkCraig
---Athletic Cutout

those three projects all use several of the masking tools to get rid of the background, smooth and feather the outline.

HTH

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