Need help

[BRYAN REDFORD]

IM LEARNING TO USE COREL X4, HAVING PROBLEMS WITH A BUNCH OF THINGS ...
BUT MAINLY WHEN I FIND A PICTURE LIKE A JPG. OR COLOR PIC AND I WANT TO CONVERT IT TO A B/W SO I CAN VECTOR ENGRAVE IT OR RASTOR ENGRAVE IT....
I DONT KNOW WHAT IM DOING WRONG..SO I NEED A STEP BY STEP INSTUCTION (talk to me like im 5yrs old)

im attaching 2 pics that my wife an I wants..please help

THANKS BRY

[Dan Hintz]

Raster images (e.g., JPGs) cannot be vector-engraved unless you trace them first. Changing a color image to B/W is best done in CorelPaint.

Not step-by-step instructions, but it should help lean you in the correct direction.

[donald bugansky]

Lots of free videos on the web that will show you how to convert bitmap to vector image.

http://www.advancedartist.com/video/powertracetute.html

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&source=hp&q=corel+draw+tutorials&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=igo8S_-hEcXclAfUzfmXBw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCEQqwQwAw#

[BRYAN REDFORD]

I tried to change it to b/w and when i did, the palm trees, some of the parrot, and some other thing dissipeared !!
Can you rastor cut if i do a greyscale ??

[Chip Peterson]

To build off what Dan said, open your image in Corel paint. Click on "Image" at the top, and go down to Convert to grayscale. That will produce a B&W image. If you want to use it in CorelDraw, copy your image from Paint ("Edit" - "Copy") and go back to CorelDraw. In CD, you can edit paste, or "control V" just like in MS Word and other programs.

If your color image is in CorelDraw, you can do a "copy" from there directly into Paint. Copy your image, open Paint. Click on "File", "New from Clipboard", and there's your image.

Does that help?

[Chip Peterson]

I tried to change it to b/w and when i did, the palm trees, some of the parrot, and some other thing dissipeared !!
Can you rastor cut if i do a greyscale ??

For the sake of understanding Bryan, "Raster" and "Cut" are really two different things..

Raster is typically the engraving, and Vector is for cutting.

Now with that said, and at the risk of confusing things, you can get the engraved, not-cut-though look, by using your engravers vector settings with a combination of high speed and low power. You might someday want to use that to engrave for the outline of circles or other shapes. That way, your laser isn't going "left....right....left.....right... all day long. If you "vector" it, it's much faster.

[Dee Gallo]

Bryan,

My recommendation is to get a better starting point than a 72 dpi jpeg that's only 2-3" big, like your Jimmy Buffet pic is.

If you have a decent image, you can raster it straight sometimes, I've found, but it would be even better if treated with the Gold Method (do a search here for PhotoShop instructions and macro) or PhotoGrav or at least bitmap adjustment in Corel.

If you need a line drawing of it, you still need a better image.

But when you start with a poor image, it's almost impossible to make auto-trace work. You can re-draw it, but that's quite a complex image. I'd do it in layers, such as the bird on one layer, the words on another, the trees on another, etc. Then assemble and group. That way you can work on shading where you want it, but have outlines and crisp edges where you want them.

If that little thing is all you have, I recommend this technique: print it out as big as it will stand and get some tracing paper. Use a black pen and trace the parts on separate sheets. Light behind it will really help you, like tape it to a window. Then scan those sheets and use CorelTrace (black & white line art). At least then you will have a reasonable place to start without your elements being all tangled up with each other. This will give you good practice with the bezier curve tool and controlling nodes. Practice is what makes each person competent, it is not easy or automatic.

I estimate it would take me about an hour or so to do that image.

My 2¢, dee

[Barb Macdonald]

For the sake of understanding Bryan, "Raster" and "Cut" are really two different things..

Raster is typically the engraving, and Vector is for cutting.

Now with that said, and at the risk of confusing things, you can get the engraved, not-cut-though look, by using your engravers vector settings with a combination of high speed and low power. You might someday want to use that to engrave for the outline of circles or other shapes. That way, your laser isn't going "left....right....left.....right... all day long. If you "vector" it, it's much faster.

Thanks, Chip!

Another light bulb went off!


The Creek Rules:)

[Dee Gallo]

BTW- if you google Margaritaville, you will find the same image at 48k, which is a little better. And if you looked more, you might find it in a nice big clear file.

:) dee

[Bruce Volden]

Raster and cut are 2 different worlds. However, I do like vector images as it allows me to use different shades of gray/black in different areas on the same image! Also, vector files can be enlarged without losing any quality of the file. That being said, keep playing and learning! :D

Bruce

[BRYAN REDFORD]

Thank you all for clearly clouding it up for me..lol

i really im trying to learn all this...i guess i need to watch some one or have a step by step instuction sheet on exacty what to do...
I have color pictures that i want to engrave on to acrylic...
Some areas i want to see thru...and some areas iwant to be rastor cut...how do i do this ??
Please help again !!!

Bryan
bbred721@yahoo.com

[Bill Cunningham]

Hi Bryan; What your asking for can not be fully explained in a few simple answers. I've been using corel since version 2, and hardly a week goes by when I don't think to myself ..wow.. I didn't know I could do that!! Youtube has a whole raft of videos on using Corel and the laser, the learning curve can be steep.. It's not something you will master in a week/month/year/etc.. Learn a bit at a time, read as much as you can.. I would start like a lot of others here did, with post #1 on this forum.. Once your back to 'this' page you will have a education you'll never find anywhere else... Be patient, have fun..