Laser Cutter 1

This is my first go on laser cutter. I just cut the tress out on plain white paper but I still feel it is effective.

Skill

Learning how to cut out my illustrations using a laser cutter

Approach to Learning

I went to a laser cutter induction last year and thought that I would remember how to carry out the process with help from my notes. However, it proved more difficult than I thought. Luckily, Katy had had an induction in the morning and she reminded me how to set everything up. I watched Katy cut her dinosaurs out first, then I cut out my tree.

Process Notes

Key Tips from the Learning Process

1. Time management. I did not realise how long it would take to cut my tree out. Due to all the intricate detail, it took just over 40 mins. I wanted to cut some more trees out of acrylic but I only had a 1 hour slot. I could have used this 40 mins to do something else while the tree was being cut out.
2. Write notes on the process down in more detail. This would make it easier for the next time I want to use the laser cutter.
3. Double check all files are compatible with the laser cutter computer. Katy told me all files have to be saved in Adobe Illustrator CS3 because the laser cutter computer isn't up to date yet. I had problems opening my files in Illustrator because it was too large. I learnt to scan the image straight into Illustrator instead of Photoshop.

Overall...

I found working with and from a fellow course member really easy and useful. If there where were any problems there were two of us trying to work things out- there was always someone there to help me. Although it did not happen this time, a possible problem with working with someone else is we may chat while we could be could be getting on with some other work. Overall, I feel that learning how to use the laser cutter properly is a great new skill, it suits my style of illustration. I will definitely use the laser cutter again in the future.