First, find the image you want and remove the background to eliminate any distractions. I copied the image of our dog Koda using iOS's press and hold to copy just the subject of the portrait without the background, and I saved that as a separate image.

From the various projects and tutorials I've read on engraving photos, I've gathered it's best to resize a photo and set the resolution to the exact size/resolution wanted for engraving before importing the image into any laser software. I used Affinity Photo to resize the image to 70mm high with a density of 254 dpi (the equivalent of 100 lines/cm in XCS). I didn't use any of Affinity's filters, because I knew eligibility in the Furry Friends contest required using XCS's image filters and/or tracing. [I learned from watching The Amazing Race: read all the instructions for a competition!]

So with the image resized, I downloaded it as a PNG file and imported it into XCS.

Now it's time for XCS to do its magic. Place your material of choice in your engraver. I wanted to engrave on a desk organizing cube. I have the M1 riser base, so I inserted my honeycomb panel at the appropriate level to engrave on one side of my wooden cube.

To prep for engraving, first place your material so it's under the auto-measure spot. Since I'm engraving on an object that doesn't lie flat on the engraving bed, I set my processing type to Open plane. Depending on your project, you may need to use risers and set the laser distance manually. Check out this article if you need guidance on how to do this. XCS successfully auto-measured my desk cube, so I didn't need to set this manually.

Then, for an engraving effect similar to what I've shown for this project, set the filter for your image to Comic 2. After many tests (I mean…a lot) on similar material, I determined the best settings for my situation, which are listed above. Your image and material may require different settings. So run some tests first.

Anyone who follows my projects knows the next words I'll share here: Frame your project!

Run Framing to ensure your image will engrave where you expect it to. Adjust the material or design appropriately if it doesn't meet your expectations.

Now it's time to process your job. Click Process and then Start. If you have an air assist kit, turn it on. Now press the button on your machine to start. (I don't really need to tell you that, do I?)

I'm truly impressed by how my xTool product engraves photographs. If you look closely, it's really weird. It doesn't seem like it would look like the companion you remember. But pull back, and the effect is impressive. The various depths and densities of the areas engraved faithfully represent the image you selected.

We'll continue to remember and love Koda, and this keepsake will help us keep our memories alive.