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Author Topic: Creating silhouettes.  (Read 934 times)

June 21, 2018, 02:41:28 AM
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ivanlc

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Hi. I know this will be a very simple question, but does anyone know how I can use Inkscape to generate an outline of a simple shape? Been trying to find a way to do this for days and zero time to get the project done, so I've not the time to spend learning the vast number of ways to do things in the application...

I need to use a laser engraver to cut foam into simple shapes to create a nice backing for some bats that I'm making.

I've scanned the bat itself and so have the image whose shape I want to copy and cut out of the foam. I'm sure it's very easy, but I'm not well-versed enough with Inkscape/drawing applications in general to know how to turn said simple image into what would effectively be a silhouette. Any input would be greatly appreciated...

TIA
  • 0.92
  • Windows 7 Professional

June 21, 2018, 05:50:53 AM
Reply #1

brynn

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Welcome to the forum!

I can't image what a "bat" is, in the way you're using it.  But generally, there are 2 ways to do this.  And since I don't know exactly what it is, I'm not sure which would be best.

The first step is to import the image you scanned into Inkscape.  File menu > Import.

After that, you can either trace it "manually" using Inkscape's Pen/Bezier tool, or trace it automatically using Path menu > Trace Bitmap.  If it's a very intricate and highly detailed image, you might be better off tracing with the Pen tool.  If it's relatively simple, Trace Bitmap should work fine.

Next, if it's not still selected, click on the imported image with the Selection tool  :sel:, to select it.

Path menu > Trace Bitmap

The Brightness Cutoff option is probably already selected by default.  Depending on the image, the default Threshold value is probably fine.  If the scanned image is very clean, you can probably just click OK, to start the trace.  If it's not so clean, you might need to switch to the Options tab in the Trace Bitmap dialog, and get rid of the stray marks and smudges.

The trace will be created right on top of the original.  If the original is black, you might not notice that anything has happened.  But the results should be there.  Just drag the result away from the original.  And there you go!

It sounds like you must already know what to do next.  Like I guess you need to save the results in a certain format?  Or maybe you need to use a gcode extension?
  • Inkscape version 0.92.3
  • Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit
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