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Load an Image to Draw Over

  • This lesson shows how to Load an Image (Raster) in order to draw over it so that it can be Cut/Penned/Debossed/Vinyled (Vector).

  • A large, clean Image is the best to work with. 

  • Any distortions in your original image can make it difficult to draw over.

Raster

  • A Raster is a Bitmap image (JPEG, PNG, GIF, etc.) that is made up of a grid of Pixels, such as a photograph or digital image.

Vector

  • A Vector is a graphic drawing in Trace that contains Paths, which are defined by a Start and End points and may contain other Points, Curves, and Angles.

Raster to Vector

Load Image

  • First we need to make sure we are designing the layers in the correct order for these instructions.

  • On the FrameShop Main Page, click Admin and stay on the Defaults tab.

  • Under Layer Direction select Bottom Up if it is not already set to that.

  • Click Save and return to the Main Page.

    • You can change this back to the original setting later if desired.

  • Layer Direction: Bottom Up is the preferred direction.

    • When you Offset an object to create another layer, that new layer will be the Top layer.

  • Layer Direction: Top Down is not recommended.

    • When you Offset an object to create another layer, that new layer will be the Bottom layer, even though it is larger than the original object.

2LayerLetterMatDefaultDirection800.png
Visualization Definition

  • Locate and click on the desired Image to select it and click Open.

Enter Width/Height of Image

  • The Design Bounds shows the current size of the Image.

  • If you need to resize the image, do it before you Vectorize/Draw Over the Image.

  • If you resize the Image after Vectorizing/Drawing Over It, only the Image and the Design Bounds are resized, not your Drawn/Vectorized objects. 

  • Enter the desired width of the Image in the Width field in the Design Bounds section.  

  • The Height field will automatically adjust proportionately.

  • This also works vice versa if you have the desired Height.

Design Bounds Definition

Make the Image Lighter/Darker

  • If desired, click on the Vectorize tab, move the Opacity Slider toward the Left to Reduce the background Image and make the Vector segments Easier to See as you are drawing.

  • Move the Slider to the Right to Increase the visibility of the background Image, which may make the drawn Vector shapes Harder to See.

  • Note that adjusting the Image opacity will not have any affect on how the Image Vectorizes.

Draw Over the Image

  • Click on the Trace and Draw tab.

  • Select the Draw radio button.

  • Select the desired drawing tool, such as Line, Arc, etc.

  • Zoom In/Out on the design as needed to make it easier to see the details of the Image/Object Being Drawn.

  • Click where you want to begin drawing.

  • Using the sequences necessary for the selected drawing tool, (i.e., click to place First, Middle, and End-Points for an Arc) to Draw the segments.

Explode Object into Segments to Edit Separately

  • If you can't Move a Point or Edit the current Segment because it selects the whole object, you will have to Explode the object. This will break up the object into the individual segments that make it up, which can then be edited separately.

  • Click on the desired object.

  • Click the Explode button.

Explode Tool Definition

  • The Exploded object is now broken up into the individual segments which can now each be edited separately.

  • Optionally, Click Edit > Explode All to break up the entire design into its individual segments.

Explode All Definition

Moving Points

  • After drawing the design, you can go back and Move the Points in order to tweak the design.

  • Click and hold the mouse on the End-Point of the segment you wish to Move.

  • Drag the point to where you want to move it and release the mouse button to place it. 

  • The Point is Moved.

Delete the Lines/Arcs You Want to Redraw

  • Sometimes editing a Line/Arc doesn't give the expected results.

  • In those cases, it may be easier to just delete the Line/Arc and redraw it. 

  • Before deleting the specific Line/Arc, you will need to Explode it from any objects it is joined to. 

  • If you need to edit only a segment of an enclosed object, see Explode Object into Segments to Edit Separately above to break it up into editable segments.

  • Hold down the CTRL key and click on each segment you want to Delete.

  • Click the Delete button.

  • The segments are Deleted.

Draw Replacement Lines/Arcs

  • If you need to edit only a segment of an enclosed object, see Explode Object into Segments to Edit Separately above to break it up into editable segments.

  • Select the desired segment and hit the Delete button. 

  • The segment is Deleted.

  • Click on the Draw radio button.

  • Select the desired drawing tool, such as Line or Arc.

  • Right-Click on the End-Point of the segment you want to start drawing from. 

Line Tool Definition
Arc Tool Definition

  • Either Click to place the next point or if drawing between segments, or Right-Click to snap to an existing Point such as the first Point of the next segment item.

Edit Until Satisfied

  • Continue Drawing and Editing the design until it is completed.

Join All Segments

  • Once your design has been drawn, Connect the segments together so that it can be Traced.

Auto Join Segments Definition

  • You can confirm that the objects are Joined by moving the cursor over the objects. 

  • If the entire object turns White, it is connected. 

  • However, if only the current segment under the cursor turns White, you may have to Manually Join the segments.

Convert to Splines/Tangify

  • Click Edit > Convert Arcs to Splines. 

    • The splines can be tangified with less distortion, which will give a smoother cutting path for the design.

  • Click on Edit > Tangify all Circuits.

    • This makes each arc tangent to each other for smoother cutting.

  • The degree of Tangification is set in the Tangify field; the default is six degrees.

Convert Arc to Splines
Tangify All Circuits Definition

Trace the Design

  • Click on the Set Bevels tab.

  • Hold down the CTRL key and click on each Drop of the design, if applicable.

  • Select the desired Drop Bevel Type then click Set.

  • The Drops of the design turn the color of the Drop Bevel Type selected.

L11DrawTraceDrops70800.png

  • Hold down the CTRL key and click on each Opening of the design.

  • Select the desired Bevel Type then click Set.

  • The openings turn the color of the Bevel Type selected showing that the design is now traced.

Traced
L11DrawTraceOpenings70800.png

Save and Cut

  • Optionally, you can also bring the CutArt straight to the Cut Preview from Trace.

  • The design is completed.

Comparison

You can see how much we changed the design when you compare it to what we started with.

Default Settings

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