Dream Catcher Vector/Raster Buffalo

[Jesse Anderson]

This is one of the projects i made up at the beginning of my career as a fabricator and laser engraver. I did this with a Epilog c02 laser 75 W. I would like to get some opinions, remarks. Maybe even a revised design. The vector is cut out of wood. Then the buffalo is engraved. All of it is about 1 foot in diameter. The feather are done separate. I did notice that the lines in my vector cuts are a little jagged. but it kind of gives it the dream catcher look to it.

Here is the link to the Jpeg Format file. http://www.sdengraving.com/images/thumb_img11.jpg

I can provide a Corel Draw file if any one is interesting in cutting this piece out of birch. It looks pretty nice.

[Ron Thompson]

Jesse,

I'd be interested in the corel file. Please post it here for everyone.

Ron Thompson

[Chad Fitzgerald]

i would also be interested in the file. looks nice!
thanks chad

[john swank]

I would be interested also.

[Jesse Anderson]

I will post it later on today after i get my work done.. I forgot to mention that the birch is 1/4 inch thick. Just the right thickness. But not thick enough to cause problems. When i fabricated the picture i used actually the Paint program that is on every windows computer ""Barbaric i know". Then i sent it over to corel to have my design quick traces with a hairline for the vector. I then edited the vector and put a black and white image of a buffalo. Made a oval in corel draw. Placed the buffalo in the middle. Then moved it over to the center of my dream catcher. I use the virtual segment delete to clean up and merge the area's all into one picture. """The virtual segment delete in Corel 6x is my most used tool.

[Jesse Anderson]

Here are the Corel Draw File's ""If i uploaded them correctly".... I had trouble earlier uploading a jpeg file and have only been using links. One of the designs is for the Buffalo with Dream Catcher. The other is for the 4 Feathers that hang off of the dream catcher. The whole project was done with 1/4 birch wood. But i suppose any thickness or wood would work fine. The thinner the wood though the less strength the boarders will have.

Here are the links

http://www.sdengraving.com/uploads/Dream_Catcher_Design_Vector_With_Raster_Buffalo.cd r

http://www.sdengraving.com/uploads/feather_vector_and_raster.cdr

Side Note: Draw the buffalo into the outlined vector and it will work fine. Other wise its not yet ready for a job.
Side Note: There are suppose to be 4 feathers in the feather file. U can just copy and paste one of the other one's. Do a view of the wireframe so u can see the cuts prior to printing.
Side Note: U might want to weld some of the line's in the buffalo dream catcher. I think i did it already but i am not sure. ""Just so the laser is not hoping all over the place and less efficient.
Side Note : Project looks allot nicer if u put a clear coat on it after the job is completed. It gives it a very nice rustic look.

I would love a person to make a modified version or give some feedback. I am thinking about making some Earrings. With 1/8 acrylic...

Enjoy Guy's. I have more projects that i think u would enjoy. I would love to hear feedback.

PS: I had trouble uploading these file's because they exceeded the size of file you are aloud to upload. So i just uploaded them to my website that is under construction.

Have fun.

[Ron Thompson]

Jess,

Could you save it as Corel X5 for those of us that don't have X6 yet?

Ron Thompson

[Jesse Anderson]

Jess,

Could you save it as Corel X5 for those of us that don't have X6 yet?

Ron Thompson

I guess i did not thing of that Ron. Can u explain to me how to convert a file real fast. I did a quick search and could not find a solution. Let me know and i will upload a converted version

[carl Harden]

Corel draw can save files as PDF file. just shrink the image to fit 8.5 x 11 page size. click file save as pdf. to open a pdf file in Coreldraw, just right click it and open file with choosing corel draw.

[Bert Kemp]

Here are the Corel Draw File's ""If i uploaded them correctly".... I had trouble earlier uploading a jpeg file and have only been using links. One of the designs is for the Buffalo with Dream Catcher. The other is for the 4 Feathers that hang off of the dream catcher. The whole project was done with 1/4 birch wood. But i suppose any thickness or wood would work fine. The thinner the wood though the less strength the boarders will have.

Here are the links

http://www.sdengraving.com/uploads/Dream_Catcher_Design_Vector_With_Raster_Buffalo.cd r

http://www.sdengraving.com/uploads/feather_vector_and_raster.cdr

Side Note: Draw the buffalo into the outlined vector and it will work fine. Other wise its not yet ready for a job.
Side Note: There are suppose to be 4 feathers in the feather file. U can just copy and paste one of the other one's. Do a view of the wireframe so u can see the cuts prior to printing.
Side Note: U might want to weld some of the line's in the buffalo dream catcher. I think i did it already but i am not sure. ""Just so the laser is not hoping all over the place and less efficient.
Side Note : Project looks allot nicer if u put a clear coat on it after the job is completed. It gives it a very nice rustic look.

I would love a person to make a modified version or give some feedback. I am thinking about making some Earrings. With 1/8 acrylic...

Enjoy Guy's. I have more projects that i think u would enjoy. I would love to hear feedback.

PS: I had trouble uploading these file's because they exceeded the size of file you are aloud to upload. So i just uploaded them to my website that is under construction.

Have fun.What version of Corel? these files won't open with x5

[Scott Shepherd]

You should also upload photos and files to this site and not put them on your site. If you remove the links at some later point, then it'll all be broken links on this forum. You can upload photos and corel draw photos here, while posting.

[Jesse Anderson]

Yea i figured that. Eventually i will have to remove the file's from my website. I will correct everything later and upload a picture, Pdf, and Corel Draw x5 file.

That way every one is happy and the content will forever be etched into the fabric of the internet.

[Lee DeRaud]

...and Corel Draw x5 file.Or maybe v12: I doubt anyone has anything older than that, but some (a lot?) of us are still using X3/X4.

Some feature of a newer version may have been required to create a given file, but for about 99.99% of the stuff posted here, v12 can render and save it.

[Jesse Anderson]

I am having trouble with uploading the converted file to the site. They are to large. So if anyone wants me to send them the converted file so people who are using Corel 12 . Or need it as a PDF just Message me with your email and i will send it promptly.

Thank you.

[Ronald Erickson]

I've recreated the file in CorelDraw X6 (built from the ground up based on the original design with new vectors to eliminate the jaggies). I'll post the .CDR in version 12 tomorrow after I get a chance to try it out on the laser. :)

256140

[Jimmy Phillips]

Excellent job Ron! Let us know how it turns out......

[Jesse Anderson]

Yea looks very nice. The line's are allot straighter . I do have a quick opinion. Originally i wanted the line's smooth like in your illustration. But when i got the jagged version out on my laser with birch wood it gave the borders of the dream catcher allot better contrast for some reason. It looks pretty nice. I slapped a coat of stain on it. Then decided to glue the feathers on rather than hang them from leather string. Put a coat of semi gloss clear coat. A high gloss would of been to much...

I am going to try your design when i get a chance. Thanx

[Ronald Erickson]

CorelDraw files (.CDR) have a file size upload limit of 433KB on the board, so I can understand why you were having issues uploading the file Jesse. ZIP files have a file size upload limit of 1.91MB which allows for some larger .CDR files to be uploaded (if zipped). You should be able to take your originals, save them to a lower version, then zip them to allow SMC uploading.

My whole purpose for recreating the files was purely for my education; I'm still new to CorelDraw and Lasering in general, so I like to see what other's have done and then tweak and/or recreate them.

Here are the recreated files in version 12 and version 16:

256203
256202

This is a scan of the four inch version I cut in maple veneer. The buffalo image itself needs some tweaking to assist with the contrast of the buffalo and I believe I need to tweak my laser engrave settings a bit. (My material settings for Trotec JobControl corrupted and I haven't finished re-testing the settings after I was forced to reload.)

256201

I've included a hidden layer "Unmerged Buffalo" that has the vectors prior to positioning the buffalo and using the Smart Fill Tool to create the cut vectors. This will allow the use of other images in place of the Buffalo if desired.

Thank you Jesse for sharing your work. It's given me ideas on how to create other dream catcher type projects. :)

[Ronald Erickson]

256213

Here's a dream catcher idea that I threw together this afternoon (that has subsequently inspired me to make a clock). It's 10 inches in diameter and took about 6 minutes to cut (1/4 inch maple mdf veneer from Menards):)

256214
256215

[Lee DeRaud]

I am having trouble with uploading the converted file to the site. They are too large.That's odd: usually a file saved in an older version is smaller. (My guess is, the newer versions embed a lot more header/font/whatever info that isn't necessarily applicable to the actual drawing.)

EDIT: just recalled that your file includes a bitmap...could be that the resolution was changed at some point, which could have a huge effect on file size.

[Jesse Anderson]

Very nice Ron....

I have a feeling i will be talking with u in the future and sharing mutual interest in idea's. I am also fairly new to Corel. Some times i feel its a up hill battle. Some time's i can throw a file together and it looks like it would be comparable to George Cloony's Dental work. Other days i throw stuff together and it looks like Richard Simmons sweating to the oldis..

Also Ron: Did u ever try to cut the feathers out ??? I cut out 4 of them and used wood glue to arrange them on the outside of my dream catcher. It looks flawless . It is now hanging in the Mayors officer here in town. I made a much larger version. 5 times bigger. So instead of the work area of 12x24. I used a work area of 60x120....

Has any one else tried to use a larger format. and do a very large project in sections ???

Sorry for the bland analogies..

[Roy Nielsen]

Jesse and Ron,

Jesse, thanks for posting the initial design. It's a beautiful piece.

Ron, thanks also for recreating and posting in CDR12 format, also for your second piece.

I'm just getting started with CorelDraw and a new used laser, mainly looking to do hobby projects for now, and am trying to collect ideas for design and technique. I greatly appreciate threads and files like these.

Roy

[David Rust]

Very nice Ron....

I have a feeling i will be talking with u in the future and sharing mutual interest in idea's. I am also fairly new to Corel. Some times i feel its a up hill battle. Some time's i can throw a file together and it looks like it would be comparable to George Cloony's Dental work. Other days i throw stuff together and it looks like Richard Simmons sweating to the oldis..

Also Ron: Did u ever try to cut the feathers out ??? I cut out 4 of them and used wood glue to arrange them on the outside of my dream catcher. It looks flawless . It is now hanging in the Mayors officer here in town. I made a much larger version. 5 times bigger. So instead of the work area of 12x24. I used a work area of 60x120....

Has any one else tried to use a larger format. and do a very large project in sections ???

Sorry for the bland analogies..

Jesse,
Do you have a picture of your larger dream catcher? It would be great if you could post it, i would love to see you work.

[Jesse Anderson]

Some more idea's for sawmilll Peace sign in Jewelry Format. Dream Catcher with horse. Looks Snazzy

[Ronald Erickson]

I've had some questions on how to change the image in the Buffalo Dream Catcher I posted above. I've put together an instructional montage on how to change the image and rebuild the cut vectors. Please let me know if there is anything that needs clarification. Unfortunately, the file size limit on SMC is too small, so I've hosted the images on Photobucket.

Slide 01

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson1_zpsab72a420.png
Slide 02

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson2_zpsaf0b3174.png

Slide 03

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson3_zpsb8a0666f.png

Slide 04

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson4_zpse807cfd9.png

Slide 05

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson5_zpsf9a589d6.png

Slide 06

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson6_zpsbbc60790.png

Slide 07

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson7_zps953d235c.png

Slide 08

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson8_zpsd194e016.png

Slide 09

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson9_zps02a4b381.png

Slide 10

http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s649/ronalderickson/BuffaloLesson10_zps21e1489e.png

[Jesse Anderson]

Thank u for the extra info. This will give people an idea on how to edit these images.