Pictures done with lots of little holes

[tonyb]

Hi
Have any of you guys worked out how to do thoses pictures that are done with hundreds of small holes that are drilled through a piece of light coloured material to expose a darker substrate below. I've been playing around with Corel trying to get a black and white image into a realy low resolution bitmap but I'm not having much luck. It can't be that hard
Tony

[artisan]

Anthony, can you provide a website, a pic or a better description of what you're trying to achieve....D

[tonyb]

Hi Darrell
I have only ever seen three pictures done like this.(These are big pictures on the roadway).They are done two ways. The first is just a sheet of aluminium with holes. The second is a layer of Aluminium then a space,(3mm) then a layer of black colored board. small holes(3-4mm) are drilled in areas of the picture were there would be shadow. the density of the holes corisponds to the darkness of the shadow. They look great. I would think it is the same as the pixels on a black and white TV, with lower resolution.
I will try and get a photo on the weekend. It is suprising that somthing that sounds so simple can have such depth
Tony

[rookie432]

Tony,

Try looking up Rayzist.com They are a photo mask supplier for making etched glass stencils. They have a way of converting normal photo's into a low resolution pixelated photo they convert to a sandblast stencil. Sounds like this is what you are trying to achieve. I'm not sure how you would convert those pixels into points for milling though. I think I would load the pixelated pic and then sketch in the points over the pixels.

Sounds cool. Good Luck
Bill

[info@amada.com]

I haven't seen the software, but about 10 years ago I was at a trade show for metalworking equipment.(IMTS in Chicago) A company called US AMADA, ( a Japanese manufacturer of CNC turret punch presses) was taking photos of people, running it through a software package and then making large digitized pictures of them on the turret press by punching lots of holes in thin steel plate. The result was very impressive. Its been a long time, but someone there might remember or be able to guide you to the software.

info@amada.com or 1-800-626-6612

[tonyb]

Thanks Bill and Trent.
Trent, that's it exactly.
I think if I can get an image to a low res bitmap I can do it on a ShopBot.
Tony

[artisan]

Isabel is at the door howling.... I have a general idea of what you're after....though I would still prefer to see a picture. There are so many ways to approach this problem graphically. First of all....to change the resolution, use the "RESAMPLE" command under the "bitmap" flyout on the toolbar. You can set the pic to any resolution there. Also, first make sure you've converted your photo to a grayscale image if it's in color...before you do ANYTHING. Afterwards, you can use one of the artistic filters such as "Pen & Ink" with the box "stipple" checked to give you an approximation of what you're after. You can also use "pointillism" to produce a similar effect.

The simplest method however is to select "MODE" under the "Bitmap" flyout again, and select "B&W (1 bit)...Then select "FLOYD-STEINBERG" in the bar beside "CONVERSION". Slide the slide-bar to the midpoint next to "options". VOILA! You've got your image. Try out the "Stucki" conversion as well. You should be able to generate a DXF file one layer deep. Hope this helps....D

[ssmith@skeeball.com]

Darrell, it looks like you are describing steeps in a particular application program.

What one?

It sounds like a cool idea.

[artisan]

Sorry Scott...I guess I wasn't clear. At the beginning of this thread, TonyB asked for a way to achieve a certain look in CorelDraw..... a pointillistic approach for machining a photo. I only listed a very easy method, though there are plenty of other filters and methods and again....I have never seen a photo of what he's after....so, I'm just guessing. I'm going to try the effect tonite... in my spare time. I'll let you know if it machines as cool as it looks....D

[srwtlc]

What if instead of drilling holes, a 60 or 90 degree v-bit were used at varying depths? If you were using a wood such as maple, you could allow for a light sanding after sealing and lightly misting several times with a black spray paint. I've used this method with v-carved lettering(sometimes with high tack paper mask) with good results. You have to be very careful to not get the paint to wet otherwise it will bleed in the grain. Or you could veener a piece of walnut with some maple veener.

Just a thought ;-)

Scott