Pattern makers / cutters

[savethebeer]

Pattern makers of the Village I salute you.

Portrait cutters of the village I stand in awe of your skill.

Below is what Mahendra produced for me and then is my first cutting. I looked closely at the detailing of the pattern and the size of things like the eyes so i decided to use some unknown type of ply to do a practice cut. (the fact that it is minus 3 and snowing and having to set up my table saw outside on the patio to cut down 4ft by 4 ft BB into useable sizes has nothing to do with not having BB to play with)

I have done faces before but not real people so it did not matter if there was some small element of cross eyes or mouth too far on one side or the other. Portraits have to be spot on. especially when you like the person.

I was reasonably happy with my cutting here especially around the eyes, I got caught out 2 or 3 times where delicate cuts were only done after surrounding supporting wood was cut away. 

I knew that I would get lots of grain lifting when I remover the tape, but I also noticed how changing the angle of viewing gives you different result. This wood is 5mm and my BB will be 6mm. I've posted two photos of the same wood showing different angle but I dont know if the site will let me upload them due to size. If it does accept the 2 of them, see how some faces show better at one angle than another. [This is probably true of all cuttings but I've never noticed till now.]

[NC Scroller]

Nice job.  My recommendations to you are skip the blue tape.  Blue tape, even the expensive ones will lift fibers.  Especially on cheap plywood.  Glue your pattern directly to the wood with a spray adhesive like 3M Super 77.

Also always cut the delicate pieces first while there is plenty of supporting wood around it.

Edited March 1, 2018 by NC Scroller
Correction

[new2woodwrk]

That's pretty darn good for a first!

Thanks for sharing

[daveww1]

very nice

[3Dface]

i this is a great cutting.

for me, i have found that the size of the project, eyes, and jaw line are the key. in making patterns i have been known to make 3 different patterns, 1 for each key and photoshoping the 3 together. also if you drift off your line on a curve continue the curve off the line but using the true line as a guide.

i could not tell you how many times i drifted of line in this one. but you can't tell because there are no corrections until making a sharp turn, where i meet up with the line again.

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by 3Dface

[bowers25]

Nice Job! 

I used the contact paper / shelf paper ever one has been talking about of the weekend and absolutely love it.......easy to apply and easy to remove, all came off in one piece.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AS9NC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[savethebeer]

On 3/1/2018 at 2:00 PM, 3Dface said:

for me, i have found that the size of the project, eyes, and jaw line are the key. in making patterns i have been known to make 3 different patterns, 1 for each key and photoshoping the 3 together.

Hello Chris. I've been busy driving snow plows in work for the past few day and I'm only getting to deal with this now.

Do you change any details in these three areas such as size, or ratio. Why photoshop it all together again?

Bob

[3Dface]

1 hour ago, savethebeer said:

Hello Chris. I've been busy driving snow plows in work for the past few day and I'm only getting to deal with this now.

Do you change any details in these three areas such as size, or ratio. Why photoshop it all together again?

Bob

the direct answer to both questions is yes.

i use corel photo paint to make and adjust shading. when doing just one face , most of the time, splitting and photo shopping is not needed. when there is more than one subject, they are almost never in the same light, or if you are using a different photo for each person to make a portrait that does not exist in real life because they never posed together. 

thus my parents. each face was a different size in their respective picture so i made my dad's head bigger. i was not pleased with how my mom's neck turned out and it was originally stacked 8 deep but i went back and changed every one. i wish i kept a picture of the repair.

in a single picture i may split the people and rejoin. my daughters were in the same picture but one face would end up darker. so i cut them apart made a pattern for each and then put them back together in a way i wanted. 

 

people recognize others mostly by the eyes and/or face shape. that is why mostly you can tell who someone is when they have dark glasses on or see just there eyes when they are wearing a ski mask. that is why no matter what i do i never change the eyes or the shape of the face.

 

i try very hard to control the photos and only let them be the guide.

for me i take the time to create the portrait i see in my head, it does not always match how the original picture looks.

[OCtoolguy]

On 3/1/2018 at 3:47 AM, savethebeer said:

Pattern makers of the Village I salute you.

Portrait cutters of the village I stand in awe of your skill.

Below is what Mahendra produced for me and then is my first cutting. I looked closely at the detailing of the pattern and the size of things like the eyes so i decided to use some unknown type of ply to do a practice cut. (the fact that it is minus 3 and snowing and having to set up my table saw outside on the patio to cut down 4ft by 4 ft BB into useable sizes has nothing to do with not having BB to play with)

I have done faces before but not real people so it did not matter if there was some small element of cross eyes or mouth too far on one side or the other. Portraits have to be spot on. especially when you like the person.

I was reasonably happy with my cutting here especially around the eyes, I got caught out 2 or 3 times where delicate cuts were only done after surrounding supporting wood was cut away. 

I knew that I would get lots of grain lifting when I remover the tape, but I also noticed how changing the angle of viewing gives you different result. This wood is 5mm and my BB will be 6mm. I've posted two photos of the same wood showing different angle but I dont know if the site will let me upload them due to size. If it does accept the 2 of them, see how some faces show better at one angle than another. [This is probably true of all cuttings but I've never noticed till now.]

Very nice job. I do see what you mean.

Ray

 

[savethebeer]

Thanks very much for that Chris. I'm about to start learning GIMP and I'll use your advice when I get to make my own patterns.

Bob

[amazingkevin]

On 3/1/2018 at 6:47 AM, savethebeer said:

Pattern makers of the Village I salute you.

Portrait cutters of the village I stand in awe of your skill.

Below is what Mahendra produced for me and then is my first cutting. I looked closely at the detailing of the pattern and the size of things like the eyes so i decided to use some unknown type of ply to do a practice cut. (the fact that it is minus 3 and snowing and having to set up my table saw outside on the patio to cut down 4ft by 4 ft BB into useable sizes has nothing to do with not having BB to play with)

I have done faces before but not real people so it did not matter if there was some small element of cross eyes or mouth too far on one side or the other. Portraits have to be spot on. especially when you like the person.

I was reasonably happy with my cutting here especially around the eyes, I got caught out 2 or 3 times where delicate cuts were only done after surrounding supporting wood was cut away. 

I knew that I would get lots of grain lifting when I remover the tape, but I also noticed how changing the angle of viewing gives you different result. This wood is 5mm and my BB will be 6mm. I've posted two photos of the same wood showing different angle but I dont know if the site will let me upload them due to size. If it does accept the 2 of them, see how some faces show better at one angle than another. [This is probably true of all cuttings but I've never noticed till now.]

Very nice work!!!!!!!!!!!

[savethebeer]

Well I did Mahendra's pattern again and framed it. This is for one daughter. As you can see I increased the size, which made it much easier to get into all those small spaces. I have now started on Russell's pattern for my other daughter. Both these are done in 9mm ply [just cause I had some spare!].

What I have discovered since the first effort is that I now start off by doing all the eyes, then all the mouths, then everything else to do with each of the faces. That way if I make a mistake with the important part, I wont have spent too much time before I have to toss it.

With the first effort I used # 3 Pegas skip tooth, now with the thicker wood I've found that #7 Pegas Modified Geometry is good for tearing through (in the best possible meaning of the word) the pattern but it was far too aggressive for the delicate facial details. For the important cuts I'm using a # 7 Pegas double skip.

 

[NC Scroller]

Good job. IMHO you took a major step forward in growing your skills.  You tried new things and you found something that worked for you. Way to many new and even not so new scroller want others to tell them how ( what speed, what brand blades, what type blades, what size blades, etc).  Most of the time it is not exact science so the best way is whatever works for you.

[bobscroll]

Well done there Bob! Thank you for posting,

Bob 

[Scrappile]

Fine job on the portrait.  Each one has new challenges.  That is what makes it fun.

[savethebeer]

I lost my internet for a few days which was annoying but guess who now has the most sawdust free workshop, the best organised workshop and the biggest stock of waste wood, including things I cut or half cut years ago (and kept just in case I decided that I liked them again) that will warm my house tonight.

Anyway back to this thread; Below is Russell's pattern and then is my effort.

The biggest issue is Michelle's eye. I knew it looked awkward from the pattern, but it looked OK whilst i was cutting it. It just looked bad when I removed the pattern.

Russell. I'm hoping you can help me out again. Rather than burn it, I'm hoping you can help me retro fit an eye. See if you can make out an eye and I'll draw it in and cut it. If it does not look right after that,then I can burn it.

Thanks

Bob

Edited March 9, 2018 by savethebeer

[wombatie]

I started cutting portraits about 17 years ago and I always cut the hardest parts first, eyes, mouth.  I have never glued my patterns directly to the ply or wood I have always used blue tape but I am always extra careful when taking it off, the I sand with a rotary sander, never had a problem.

Now after saying all that, I started doing a portrait yesterday and I cut the hardest parts first, a necklace and the eyes, feeling please with myself I packed up for the day.  Went out there today and keep in mind this is a fairly simple pattern now the hard bit are cut, I broke the mouth and it didn't matter which way I looked it was not fixable.  I will start again tomorrow and get it right.

Marg

[3Dface]

On 3/4/2018 at 2:59 AM, savethebeer said:

Thanks very much for that Chris. I'm about to start learning GIMP and I'll use your advice when I get to make my own patterns.

Bob

you are welcome...  i try...