A Self Portrait!!

[Dale Thompson]

Hi Folks,
GOTCHA! :D A self-portrait of moi will someday be an archeological treasure and presently carries the price of a "king's Ransom"! Sorry. :rolleyes:

When I recently bought my DW788, I also picked up a copy of, Scroll Saw Portraits by Gary Browning. It cost me $12.99 with a 10% discount. In the book, Gary does some rather interesting things with pictures to make scroll saw patterns. He normally uses 1/4" plywood and spiral blades to make his "portraits". I get the impression that he is a scroller and not a woodworker. He buys his frames from "Discount Houses". Whatever, I think that he gets into a lot more detail than is necessary in that he uses computer programs to lighten, darken, contrast and even "layer" his pictures to get the right look to his patterns. In any event, I thought the idea was interesting and the book contains quite a few portrait patterns so it was well worth the money.

I've attached some "pics" so that folks like Tyler, Spring, "Rudy" San Josey, David and many other "reading challenged" users can feel a part of this forum. ;)

Gary uses a black satin background for his portraits. I tried a "Camo" pattern for the "Buck". To some, a background pattern may take away from the "portrait". I sort of agree with that but I wanted to try something "new", even if it is stupid. That's me! :o

The "Buck" is from the book and the "Earnhardt" is from Gary's website with some modifications of my own. I'm flying free next time. I've got a "Babe Ruth" portrait in mind and on paper. My Grandson's "baby" picture will be next.

I"m kind of impressed with the "Portrait" concept. But, then again, I am impressed with the fact that I win MOST of the five-game chess playoffs with my neighbors dog. :cool: :cool:

Dale T.

[Ted Shrader]

Dale -

Those are very nice. Indeed, a lot better than a true self portrait! :) :) :)

Regards,
Ted

[Dale Thompson]

a lot better than a true self portrait! :) :) :)

Ted[/QUOTE]

Ted,
ANYTHING is better than a self portrait of ME!! :o :cool:

Dale T.

[Bruce Page]

Very nice work Dale. I particularly like the one of your namesake. ;)

[John Miliunas]

Well, dang it all, Dale! You done that Dewalt justice, my friend! :D Both are beautiful pieces and I think the camo pattern is really unique! I like it. Very well done, indeed! :D Proud to call you a fellow Cheesehead! :) :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

Well, very nice stuff, Peshy...what did it cost you to get your neighbor to do them up for you?? Don't sneeze too closely to that elk...he looks fragile! ;)

[Rob Bourgeois]

Hey Dale..

Here's one I made of my daughter. They are fun to make as you can turn a piece of wood into a living thing so to speak. I like the deer and will probably use that cammo back ground in the future on a duck hunting one. Something else you might look at is mirrored backgrounds, I have seen these used on a sail boat one that made it look like a sunset. Nice work, if you decide to give the pattern making a try I can offer some advice not in his book.

[John Miliunas]

Hey Dale..

Here's one I made of my daughter. They are fun to make as you can turn a piece of wood into a living thing so to speak. I like the deer and will probably use that cammo back ground in the future on a duck hunting one. Something else you might look at is mirrored backgrounds, I have seen these used on a sail boat one that made it look like a sunset. Nice work, if you decide to give the pattern making a try I can offer some advice not in his book.

OK guys, I'm no where near ready for such fancy work, but I'm really, REALLY interested in the pattern making from pictures! :) Is the book a "have to have" item or something a guy can find out online? Can you give this old WI po'boy any hints/clues as to the process? :confused: :cool:

[Dale Thompson]

Hey San Josey,
You better not sneeze AT ALL or you'll blow your ear drums and eyeballs out. :D :)

Rob,
Thanks for the offer. I can use all the help that I can get. A PM would be great but maybe the board would also apreciate your expertise. :)

C'mon Spring,
Let one of your servants or butlers finish hanging that six-month mirror in the bathroom. "Spring" for the book. I don't think it's a "must have" but it does have some hints that could save you problems down the line - like put your temporary adhesive on the pattern, not the wood. I know you will be completely befuddled by the computer stuff but you can just skip that and look at the pictures. As I said before, the book also has some nice patterns and, just for your benefit, they're PICTURES!! :rolleyes: ;)

Thanks for the comments folks. They are much appreciated. :)

Dale T.

[Dale Thompson]

Hey Dale..

mirrored backgrounds, I have seen these used on a sail boat one that made it look like a sunset. .

Rob,
A followup. Funny you should bring that up. I was sitting here just last night looking at an old mirror stuck behind one of my bookcases. Who says that great minds don't - ??? - I forgot the rest. :o :)

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

"Spring" for the book. I don't think it's a "must have" but it does have some hints that could save you problems down the line - like put your temporary adhesive on the pattern, not the wood. I know you will be completely befuddled by the computer stuff but you can just skip that and look at the pictures. As I said before, the book also has some nice patterns and, just for your benefit, they're PICTURES!! :rolleyes: ;)



Yeah, I'll get the book. One of our other members was kind enough to email me, letting me know there are some discount prices available for it out on eBay, so I might just order through there. (Yeah Peshy,...My daughter typed this for me! ) :cool:

[Rob Bourgeois]

I will look at writtng up my procedure to post, alot of it is "feel" more than anything as to how to change the contrast and brightness. My biggest hint is to save very often. I use Adobe Elements to do my conversion but other photo programs can be used.

I have his first edition book and havent looked at the second edition yet. John you might want to make sure you get the newest one even if its a bit more...( unless you want to buy my first edition so I can buy the newer one ;) ).

Heres a few links to help you guys out. There isnt any better way -just ways that all lead to slightly differnt patterns.

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/creativewood/addendum.htm

http://www.geocities.com/bandjhughes/ScrollingPictures.html

http://groups.msn.com/scrollsawportraits/sitecontentbeta.msnw

The last link is a forumn that you can get alot of help from.