Lesson One: Adjust an Object Freehand

This lesson shows how to edit half of an object, delete the unedited half, mirror the object to create a completed object, then offset to create a matching second layer.

There are also instructions for an alternate version.

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.

Place a one layer 4 x 5 #501 Heart Template into the FrameShop Design Editor.  

Bring into Trace via the Right-Click Menu or from the Cut Preview Screen.

Stay on the Trace and Draw tab.  

Click the Edit radio button.

Click Options > Show Control Points to turn on displaying the Control Points of each segment.

Move your cursor to the lower right side of the Heart until the Cursor turns into Four Arrows. 

Click and move the Point of the Arc/Curve toward the left and up.

• See how the design changes as you move the Point Left/Right and Up/Down.

Click to place the Point.

Draw an axis line to use as the Reference Line to Mirror the new Heart shape.

Click the Draw radio button.

Click the Line button. 

The Cursor turns into a Cross.

Right-Click on the Bottom Point of the Heart to snap to that point. 

Right-Click on the Top Point of the Heart to snap to that point.

The Left Side of the Heart cannot be deleted until the Heart is Exploded into the individual entities that make up the Heart.

Click the Edit radio button.

Click on the Heart to select it; it will turn white.

Click the Explode button.

The design will turn Gray. 

The Heart is now Exploded into the separate entities that can be edited individually.

If you click somewhere on the Heart, only the individual Arc/Spline selected will be highlighted, showing that the Heart is no longer a single object.

Select and delete the Left side of the Heart so we can replace it with our newly edited version.

Hold down the CTRL key and click on each segment that makes up the Left side of the Heart. 

Click the Delete button.

The Left Half of the Heart is deleted, leaving only the Right Half behind.

We want to Join the Segments to make Mirroring the design easier.

Hold down the CTRL key and click on each Arc segment that makes up the right side of the heart. 

• Do not select the Line which we will use for reference.

Click the Join button.

The individual Arcs are now Joined together and will act as a single object.

Mirror the Heart half to create the other half of the Heart.

Make sure the Heart is still selected.

Click the Mirror button.

Right-Click on the top point of the Reference Line.

Right-Click on the bottom point of the Reference Line.

The Heart has been Mirrored using the Center Line as the axis point.

Click on the Reference Line.

Click the Delete button.

The Line is Deleted.

Now we will Join the two halves of the Heart together as one object.

Hold down the CTRL key and click the Right Half then the Left Half of the Heart. 

Click the Join button.  

The two sides are Joined and is now one Heart object.

Now we'll Offset the Heart to make a second layer.

Make sure the Heart is still selected.

Leave the Reveal value at .25".

Click the the Left < Offset button.

The Heart is Offset to create the second layer.

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.

Click on the Set Bevels tab.

Click Add to add a new layer that we can trace the second layer onto.

Click on the Top Layer.

Click on the outside heart opening.

Select the desired Bevel Type then click Set.

The outside of the heart turns the color of the Bevel Type selected.

Click on the Bottom Layer.

Click on the inside heart opening.

Select the desired Bevel Type then click Set.

The inside of the heart turns the color of the Bevel Type selected.

The design is now completely traced.

Save the CutArt.

Load the CutArt.

Cut the CutArt.

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

The Heart design is completed.

You can achieve a different design by retaining the original Left Side of the Heart and only editing the Right Side. 

Offset the Heart to make the second layer.

Continue as described above.

You can see how much we changed the design when you compare it to the original version.