Scanned jpg to vector

[bleeth]

Other than the image in the center it looks like you are dealing with all geometric shapes with a few small leaves added.
The cross itself and the geometrics can be created with vector lines and 3 point arcs and there are many 3d images of leaves out there.
I would just draw the boundaries of the cross and work on creating it from scratch from there. A grid overlay will go a long way in helping you keep the proportions close to original.
I've seen similar pieces offered as ready to cut files from some of the eastern European designers on E-Bay and the Artcam Forum.

[robtown]

Other than the image in the center it looks like you are dealing with all geometric shapes with a few small leaves added.
The cross itself and the geometrics can be created with vector lines and 3 point arcs and there are many 3d images of leaves out there.
I would just draw the boundaries of the cross and work on creating it from scratch from there. A grid overlay will go a long way in helping you keep the proportions close to original.
I've seen similar pieces offered as ready to cut files from some of the eastern European designers on E-Bay and the Artcam Forum.

The good news is, that besides the middle circle, you only need to trace half of this. Then mirror it over.
also, there is a lot of repeating shapes, so trace one and copy/reposition.
Your options are pretty much 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other.
i don't think hand tracing, scanning, doing the conversion , then clean up will be any quicker than just sitting down and doing it in a drawing program. I've been doing this for almost 20 years.

[sawkerf]

Thanks guys. As I mentioned earlier, I'm mainly a cabinet guy who would love to do more of this type stuff. Given my limited experience, I will probably take an all inclusive approach to drawing this thing out. I do hope to find some ready-made artwork for the leaves and the lamb. You can't tell from the scan, but the lamb in the center is actually a separate piece that will be applied afterwards. Once I figure out the CNC portion, I then get to figure out gold leafing! I'm hoping that won't be too hard. Thanks again for your input!

[Brady Watson]

The good news is, that besides the middle circle, you only need to trace half of this. Then mirror it over.
also, there is a lot of repeating shapes, so trace one and copy/reposition.
Your options are pretty much 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other.
i don't think hand tracing, scanning, doing the conversion , then clean up will be any quicker than just sitting down and doing it in a drawing program. I've been doing this for almost 20 years.

There are pearls of wisdom in there...

Many times we have to reevaluate some of our ideas & thoughts about design. For instance, there must be an idea floating around out there that this type of work is easy...that you, 'just push a button' and you get a perfect facsimile - or something along those lines. If this type of work was that easy, we'd be seeing every product on the market embellished with gorgeous, perfectly aesthetically pleasing decoration - but we don't - because it IS a lot of work to get a good result.

It also depends on how bad you want something (if for personal use) or how much the customer is going to pay (to feed you while doing it) - when it comes to more sophisticated designs. However, as Rob points out - this isn't that complicated of a design & you only have to draw half. (Actually less than that if you consider how many things can be mirrored over...) Aside from the center & acanthus quatrefoil and other little elements, this is pretty straightforward.

I wouldn't be discouraged or intimidated by this design. As James Booth taught me years ago, break the design down into its individual parts. Good design keeps the eye moving...as a designer, if you don't know this, this eye movement can keep you from focusing on replicating it & instead confuse you - making it seem more complicated than it really is. Print out your design & color in or label all the common shapes that you only have to draw once...You will quickly see it isn't as hard to do as you may have thought!

-B