The Glade 4.0

Ok its March so only 7 months to Halloween. I am starting work on some decorations and this year I want to make some really nice tombstones. The ones I have are ok but pretty plain. What I am looking for is the best way to transfer a design to paper so I can put it on my foam for cutting.

For example I found a celtic cross design I would like to do, it is a pretty complex design so how could I transfer it to paper to tape onto my foam? Of course I could print it out but it would not be to the scale I want, so I need to create the correct scale and then somehow print it out in sections that I could then put together to give me the correct size template to use.

I know we have some artsy people on here so I thought I would see if you all had any suggestions. I don't really have any graphic programs to use but if there is one that I could get that would make this easier any suggestions would be appreciated.

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

The cost of printing to a large format output device is pretty inexpensive, especially compared to the hassle of printing sections and assembling the composite. Just about any AEC print shop should be able to handle your needs. A 24x36 or 30x42 size sheet shouldn't cost more than a couple dollars for black and white line work, a few more for color. Of course larger is possible, but those are standard AEC size sheets and have generic pricing. The shop we use the most here can print up to 10' wide by the length of the roll of paper, but its a specialty job and runs higher cost. Its also full color with insane resolution, but if you are just trying to get line work for a template to cut the foam, you won't need that.

And depending on the thickness of your substrate, most print shops can print directly to the surface up to 1/2" thick without much problem. Thicker than that requires a more expensive piece of equipment, but its doable.

If it is something you drew and don't have electronically, they can also scan/copy the design for you at whatever size you want.

Worst case, and this would be my last resort... see if you can find one of those overhead projectors that teachers used in school to project transparencies. If you have line work, you can copy that to a transparency and then project any size you want on to the surface.

Another trick, if you are working with smaller images you don't want to cut out but leave as lines (say scroll work on the celtic cross), copy the design onto the transparency, then wet surface of your desired medium with acetone (won't work with Styrofoam, but will with foam-core boards) and press the transparency to the damp surface and hold for a few minutes. The acetone will dissolve the tone off the transparency and move it to the paper without damaging the paper, then evaporate, leaving the toner stains on the paper.

hmm I guess I didn't think of that duh a much easier solution. Just take the design I want to them and have them blow it up and print it for me.

Thanks

I don't think I can use acetone on the foam it will melt it, I use things like non latex paint on it sometimes to get a melted effect but you have to be careful what you use and how much.

Just having the ability to trace over the image into the foam is good enough for me though.

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

Another option that artists use is to break the original design into a grid (drawing a gride over the image) and using a similar but bigger grid on the target medium you can hand draw it over there square by square rather than trying to redraw it as a whole.

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http://www.dickblick.com/products/speed ... m-cutters/



Get one of these. I have one and used it for making prints out of Linoleum.

If you can have your image drawn onto the foam and use your speedball to cut out the lines, your impression will be the negative space. I then would leave it like that or take a black sharpy and color in the space you cut out. Be careful with the speedball though the blades are extremely sharp and I almost severed my thumb off when I dug into the linoleum. It slipped and went right into my thumb. Hurt like hell and I passed out at the amount of blood coming out of my hand. That would work in your case thought for tombstones.

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"None is more important, none more legitimate, than that of rendering the people safe as they are the
ultimate guardians of their own liberty."- Thomas Jefferson

"Yeah, I'm rehearsing my poker face. I don't handle stupid well. *sigh*" - Farsky

Thanks for the suggestions. Oonagh I use my dremmel for cutting out the letters or my heat tool depending on what I am doing. The biggest issue is just getting the designs onto the foam. My artistic talent lies more in straight lines drawn with a ruler so tracing is a good option for me.

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I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

My goal is to eventually get to ones like this

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil