How to Cut and Paste Graphics

So I used to wonder if I could make graphics whole. How to replace missing parts to make a whole model and dress out of the parts I'm given. I wanted a big full size fashion model out of one of the background ones in this World of Fashion plate from the 1800's, but she is half missing. We need to fix her. These prints come dark and bleak so first we lighten and brighten them until we get them looking good. I'm using the GIMP.

We will be cutting out a background fashion model and fixing her missing arm and clothes to make a whole fashion lady we can use. Of course we'll start with one from the public domain archive and then we'll clean it up and cut her out. 

Select the crop tool and cut out the background model leaving enough room for us to build her dress back on. We need to also make the graphic transparent 'Layer | Transparency | Add Alpha Channel'.

Looks like this now so we can remove everything in the background and also the dress in front of our model like this with our eraser tool and fuzzy select tools.

Now we need to cut out parts of our model and flip them horizontally and rotate the arm for the other side. We will need an arm, a shoulder plus sleeve and half the dress on three separate layers so we can make her whole. We will do that by duplicating the main graphic for each cut. I used the square selection tool on the top main graphic layer and then 'Layer | Crop to Selection' to do it. Then on the main graphic layer I removed the black part of the middle dress under the ruffle and erased some of the yoke lace and sleeve areas to make them a little narrower. Then I moved her over to the center of the canvas area because I'm going to add some ruffles to the outside edges of the dress where they look chopped off.

Duplicate the main image and cut a piece of the ruffle out. Duplicate that and flip it for the other side of the skirt. Cut another piece out for the middle ruffle that's missing and drag it to the bottom layer. Now we just position the sleeve and line up the shoulder. Keep the left sleeve piece above the layer of the main graphic so it will look right. 

Then we make the right arm visible, position it under the sleeve layer and rotate it into place. You could try different placements to see what you like best. Remember you can use the resize feature with or without the lock to squeeze the sleeve into the right perspective. Erase overlapping pieces you don't need. When you get it the way you like, merge all the layers 'Image | Merge Visible layers'. 

And it seems we're done making a complete head to toe fashion model. Save your graphic in an editable format and as a .png. Now if we want to take it a step further, we can cut away her bottom part to make a vignette of just her top half. We start by duplicating the image. Turn off the top layer and cut the bottom half completely off of the under layer at the hip line. Then turn that layer off and work on the top layer to cut out near the cut line erasing everything under the cut line except the hands.

Don't forget to check your transparent areas on a colored background. I usually use black and then white to make sure all the stray pixels and debris have been removed. Turn off the background layer and save your .png with a unique name so you don't overwrite the full size one we just made. It goes from this to this in just a few hours of work. It's magic!

 

If you've gotten this far then you now have some real skills you can use to manipulate graphics and make just about whatever you want. Remember you can do this with all public domain graphics to make them uniquely your own. You could mix and match arms, skirts, tops, hats and even faces with these. Have fun!

I'm really getting the urge to play with Easter bonnets after looking at all these fashion plates! Hmmm....

Cut Out Graphics the Easy Way

So you can make your own cutouts and stickers from vintage postcards and color plates. Many universities and libraries have public domain pictures you can get for free. I've always struggled to cut them out easily until I learned a little trick that saves me hours. We'll be cutting out the background from this picture.

In every program there is a 'fuzzy select' tool. In the GIMP (which is my favorite open source code graphics program) the fuzzy select tool really is magic. It's created to work with AI and it will work magic for you. To get the most out of it you will want to add a mask and make sure the settings are about the same as the ones below. Make sure to check the 'draw mask' box.

All you do is make sure your picture is transparent so add an alpha channel to it if needed. This picture is a .jpg so it is not transparent. 

Then select the fuzzy select tool and start with the corner of the picture, click and drag the parts you want to remove toward the center. Stop or back up if you select too much. You don't want to take any pixels out of your cutout and you want a nice clean edge. Keep clicking all the background areas you want to remove. Everything under the pink mask will be removed when we hit the 'delete' key. You can hit the delete key more than once and it will feather the edge a little more OR you can increase the radius on the 'feather edges' setting to about a 6 or 7. Play around with the settings until you get rid of all the white line around the cutout.

 

Single colored backgrounds are the easiest to convert to .pngs. With practice there is no reason why you can't make your own cutouts and stickers from any public domain image you want. 

I always check my cutouts on a white and then a black background layer to make sure all the artifacts and stray pixels have been removed. It's a good habit to get into if you work with graphics. If you skip this b/w check on your graphics you will be sorry because you may have to re-do them and it's a pain in the wazoo if you already have them uploaded in one or more places. You'll have to fix them all and replace them. (it's a hard lesson).

If it looks clean then I just brighten up the image a little and save it as a .png. And that is all there is to it. It's so easy to make your own cutouts and then let Cricut do the hard work for you!

Let's Do Butterflies in Cricut

So I haven't worked with my Cricut machine in about five years. Nothing's changed much. This is the new interface for my Explore Air 2. I uploaded my 6" x 9" .png files but you can also upload other graphic formats and then just remove the background in Cricut. 

The problem comes when you try to cut out larger files over 6 x 9. Cricut has a size limit and you will get the warning if you try to go much over that. If you print a larger file like an 8-1/2 x 11, you will have to downsize it so much that the graphics will be tiny So if you use files designed in 6 x 9 and print then cut in 6 x 9 your files should be the right size. I print out a label with mine but you can just erase it when you upload if it's not needed.

What I noticed first was that if I want my stuff to print the same size I designed it, I need to make the print area a little smaller to allow for the transparent border on the originals. 

You can store all your layers in the same file and just turn them on or off for print then cut. And you can resize them up a little bigger but they will lose print quality when you do.

Honestly, it hadn't changed that much. It accepts more file formats than it used to and you can still remove the backgrounds for free and it's still pretty familiar and easy to use. Look at all those butterflies! I never need to buy another one ever with all of these. Butterflies truly are free!

And the cuts are clean if you calibrate your printer by following the calibration instructions. That feature is better. I always select to print with a bleed around the edge and I use my own printer settings to get the best quality. The Cricut default on any printer is not good enough for a high quality sharp print. The highest quality setting is always the best. I use Epson. Epson ink tank printer and Epson card stock presentation matte paper. 

I can only find the paper on Amazon. They don't carry it in the stores any more... maybe an office supply store? The print on this paper looks like velvet! Use the highest setting on your printer. If you want professional quality you have to use the quality settings, ink and paper to get it. If you already have Cricut and a printer, you are already saving money making your own pretty things. 

An ink tank printer makes it the most affordable way to get your own collection of graphics and cutouts. I only have to buy new ink about every 18 to 24 months and I print a lot of graphics on mine. A lot. The ink cost about the same for four bottles as just one tri-color plus black cartridges were for my old printer. Of course if you have a laser printer then you will get better results than with an ink jet. But it is possible to get professional results with an ink jet.

So the upgraded application is better, the cuts are better, my machine does what it's suppose to do and cut them out well and so far I'm getting professional quality cutouts for pennies and I don't have any hand cramps from scissors cuttings. I couldn't be happier!

Teacup Flower Pop-Up 3D Card

ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST

This is a re-post from my original post from July 2019 on my old site because I think they go pretty well with my new teapot templates. I no longer update that site. I've merged it with my other crafts on this site. The card folds flat into approximately 5" x 7" depending on how many flowers you put on it. 

The teacup can be made for 6, 8 or 10 sided (optional) to hold your cutout flowers. Just score on the heavy lines to make a six sided cup. It is so simple to make, the instructions below show you how. Just click on the printed instructions & pattern page below to enlarge it, then right click on the full sized page that pops up and 'save as' or 'save image as' to your desktop. Then just print it out and make templates out of cardboard pieces to cut them out by hand. Attach the flowers on the cross pieces for a 3D look when the card is opened.

I have also put a file on Cricut if you want to cut the file out that way. Search for the SVG file in design space called 'Theresa's Tea Cup'. There is also a permanent copy of the instructions in the 'FREE Templates'  tab above.

    

SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS

for assembling the teacup:

Cut out and score the cup.

Fold the floating insert into a V and attach as shown.

Attach a piece of foam tape to the bottom edge and apply
glue to the rest of the tab. It is the bottom of your cup.
Center it on the doily and stick it down as shown.

This is how your cup looks from the top when open.
Attach flowers to the insert pieces for a 3D look.

Bend the back of the cup bottom edge toward the foam edge so it will catch and stay open. And just squeeze the cup to uncatch it to fold flat. That's all there is to it. Just decorate the card with your prettiest flowers and send! Enjoy! Here are a few of the teacups I've made with my pattern for a little inspiration.

How to Make Stickers

AND FIX BAD PICTURES 

I love making cards and stickers from old vintage graphics in the public domain. But what I love most about making them is fixing them. I have a theory that most people avoid the public domain images because they are dark and look bad, and maybe they don't know how to make them look better or cut them out. So I will show you how to cut them out and digitally enhance them. We start with a public domain picture. EEEEK! It's dark and looks messed up. 

I'm going to turn this picture into some cute stickers I can use with my cards. Go get GIMP if you want to follow along. You can take any picture and cut out just about any object to make stickers with. First we have to fix the color. It's too dark. On the GIMP menu select 'color | levels | adjust color levels' for this window. Then when it looks right just click OK.

It should look like this. With just that much, we've already improved this image 100 percent.

:

But let's do a closeup of that face. The printing looks off. YIKES! We're going to have to fix that. It looks like the printer plates didn't match up right and the ink colors were print misaligned. Poor kitty!

So now we need the smudge tool again to try to nudge those colors closer to where they need to be and soften all those black dots that would have been blended into the colors if they were printed right. So using the smudge tool just go over the harsh lines and start moving the colors close to where they look better. Remember with this tool, you can push color into other areas and dilute them. I like the smudge tool because it's the most like oil painting. You can lay down more color and push it around like a real brush. Play around with it enough and you will get good at it.

This is what takes some time to fix bad scans or printing errors on public domain images. But it will be worth it when you're done because you will have a one of a kind graphic with your copyright on it and it will look pretty. After some blending, your picture should look something like this.

It still looks a little freaky but you have moved the colors closer to where they belong and gotten rid of those harsh black dots for a smoother look. Use the zoom tool to get close up and to back away so you can work on the whole image.

Eventually you will reach this point where it looks about the best you can get it. Don't be afraid to use the paintbrush on a 4 or 5 setting to add whiskers, pinkness to the nose, highlights and color to the eyes. Yours should be looking something like this or better, depending on how much smoothing and painting you did.

Looking pretty good now from a distance and that's all we want for this. It's never going to be perfect and you're never going to be satisfied with it completely but you have to know when to stop. Remember if you make a mistake to use 'ctrl + z' to undo any mistakes you might make. Now it looks smoothed and refined. Fix any colors, shadows and lines that you want before saving.

Depending on your program, removing the background can be pretty easy or somewhat time consuming. The magic wand and the right setting will select areas that you can remove by hitting the delete key on your keyboard. 

It gets a little tricky on these older prints because they are printed in dots and the dots are not especially connected. So when you select an area to delete, the results will depend on the quality of the print and your settings. You will have to play around with the settings for each print. Sorry but there is no easier way to do it that I know of. Honestly, other programs are much better at selecting and deleting backgrounds than GIMP is, but you can still do it although you may have to work a little harder for it.

You could use the lasso tool to select areas but for me that tool is a lesson in frustration. One wrong click and your patience will expire. Use the eraser tool if needed to completely remove the background. Now you have a cutout on a transparent background like this. Export it as a .png to keep the transparency. If you export it as a .jpg at this point, it will default to a white background. Transparency in a graphics program shows like gray checkerboard until you export it. The background will be clear when you post it or combine it with other graphics.

TIP: If something is not working in GIMP you just may need to 'select | none' from the menu because if anything is selected in your program on any layer, it will not let you proceed until you 'select none' and then reselect the task you want to do.

So now we should have the kitten and shoe on a transparent background like this. The .png will display whatever color background you put it on. The shape has been cutout and saved as a .png because that is the format for transparent backgrounds. You could make a whole 6" x 9" sheet of these resized smaller to upload as a Cricut 'print then cut' file and let Cricut do the work for you OR you could put a bunch of these on an 8½" x 11" sheets in various sizes and print and 'fussy cut' them out by hand.

There you have it. And that is why graphic artists charge for their work. It takes a little time and skill to make these pretty things but you can do it yourself if you have the desire. And once you learn it, the skills carry over to most all other graphic programs. The tools are basically the same in all graphics programs with a few exceptions. 

Could it be better? Definitely. And maybe yours will be. Every time I look at it, I see something else I wish I had fixed because as an artist with a critical eye I'm hardly ever satisfied with my own work. I always think I can do better. BUT like I said, you have to know when to stop. 

Enjoy your new found skills and enjoy the free kitty cutouts!