Newbie in search of a turtle

Thanks for the reply, Dman. I'm good with the cribbage part...just looking for turtles to add to the surface. I was hoping for a vector that looks something like this, but not as intricate.

Hi Wendy -

I went searchin for your turtle, and the sea turtles I found pretty much all had some major detail (in the legs and heads).

I like the shell... so I did a little remake on the one you found. Don't laugh too hard at my first attempt; I wanted to post this tonight before I went to bed.

OutoftheWoodwork said:

@MEBCWD Mike, she's using Aspire

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Okay, I'm getting blind in my old age. She was looking for a vector file and there might be free ones out there but I do know that there are sets of files for low prices that save a lot of time. Like this file

https://www.etsy.com/listing/751988...f=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1&bes=1

She could also use the original image that she has and fit vectors to it and edit it to work with her design. That would be a good node editing project for a beginner.

Or she could draw her own image in Aspire that would already be in a vector format and use the vectors to create a 3D model to use in the project, it would be a good project to delve into 3D design.

It boils down to time constraints for the job, file availability and cost, time involved finding a usable vector file versus creating her own vectors, and also how far she wants to take the project.

Wendy,

About your design layout, you might look at the hole spacing for the inside line of holes. As that line goes around the smaller curved ends of the board they look like they are getting really close to each other. This might cause problems when drilling the holes. Even if the drilling does not cause problems the pegs might end up breaking the fragile edges of the holes.

Look at the attached image, the red arrows show the possible problems. To see if there might be a problem without cutting the entire project you can copy the vectors in a small area that contains the possible problems and paste them into a small file for testing. Just create the test file with those hole vectors and the drilling or pocketing toolpath you chose to use. Cut that file and you will be able to use the pegs to test the fit of the pegs in the holes, their spacing for gameplay and if the edges might be too fragile. That way you don't have to cut the entire project and waste material if the holes fail testing at that point.

OutoftheWoodwork said:

I opened it in Aspire last night, and broke it down, trying to eliminate some of the detail, but it didn't look right. It needed to be colored in (in my opinion) and my workings with the program (as you know) is below novice/newbie/KnowNothing at the present. I couldn't see where maybe I could take all those little markings, delete some, and make the remainder a bit larger?? idk but Aspire was my first try, and since I can't maneuver in there very well, I went to paint. Not my best work, I'll admit.

Click to expand...

This is where working with the software is a great learning experience. I do realize you were trying to get something for Wendy to look at as quickly as possible and that is why you reverted back to your graphics software.

Remember you won't see the results of your work in Aspire until you run the toolpaths and preview how they cut. You can add color to the toolpaths and also create a few "cheating toolpaths" that can be used to color areas of the projects that will not acctually be cut when doing the project. That way you can actually test stain/paint colors before you cut and finish the project. The "cheating toolpaths can also be used when doing inlay projects to show people how the inlay will look in the piece of the project.

This is a picture to show how using "cheating toolpaths" can help decide colors for a project finish or send pictures for approval for a project. There are 4 toolpaths that will be not be cut and 2 toolpaths that will be cut using v-bits.

Dunno where I got this... probably a trace of some bitmap clipart.

My first try. I need to edit a bit so the shell perimeter is clearer and the inner area not so deep. This is fun

I have discovered that one could blow an entire evening without realizing it while editing nodes. Hopefully I'll get faster with practice.