![[Laser cut and engrave] Laser Engraved Wizard Bird with Staff and Castle Background](https://storage-us.atomm.com/resource/xtool/community/attachment/xtool-community/e72a4cce-0caf-4eab-9f9b-8e8767a89c4e.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_1200,h_900,limit_0/interlace,1/format,webp/auto-orient,1)
The Great Birb Wizard
Information
My wife and I love animals. We have 3 dogs and 15 birds. Two of our birds are cockatiels and we swear they are little magicians. They seem to disappear from one area of their room and appear in another area and we don't even see them move. So, when I saw that AIMake had the ability to make one of our pictures into a wizard, I took advantage of that. I loved the image so much, I engraved it.
The instructions I include in this project will walk you through how I achieved the engraved look as shown above. It came out quite clean without needing any sanding or wiping.
If you like this, help promote it by giving it a like.
Instruction
Step1: Before you begin
I used birch plywood for this. Normally, on photo engraves, I use maple but for this, I used a scrap piece birch I had laying around and loved how it turned out.
This project is a 2 level engrave. I found that if you engrave the darkest parts first, then follow that by engraving the entire picture to bring out the details, you get a sharper and cleaner image. In the attached file, the images are already stacked on each other.
The size of this is 4.2"x7.4". You can adjust it if you desire to a different size, but be aware that the time it takes to engrave this will be higher if you make it larger. Also, be aware that if you adjust the size, you need to adjust both layers.
One of my cockatiels, Kona, was the inspiration for this piece. After uploading his picture, I selected the Wizard Style and asked AIMake to make my bird a wizard with a forested background and standing on a gnarled branch. While it did not have Kona standing on a branch, a castle was added to the background and I still loved how it turned out.
Step2: How I set up the images for success
I start by importing my image of Kona as a wizard into XCS Studio. Then I selected it and pressed “Edit” at the top of the screen. In the sidebar that opened up, I selected “Adjustments” at the top and then clicked the “Auto Adjust” button. I did not change the strength of the auto adjust.
After it processes the image and auto adjusts it, I checked the “Grayscale” box and then proceeded to adjust the settings to bring out the darkest parts while muting the rest of the image. (See the first attached photo for the settings I ended up using and how the image looked.)
Next I copied that image and pasted it down. I selected the copy and selected the “Adjustment” option again. This time, I changed the settings to bring the details back but I did not fully return everything to their original numbers. I made sure to adjust to a satisfactory color scheme of blacks and whites to achieve what I wanted. (See the second attached photo to view the settings I ended up with and how the image looked.)
VERY IMPORTANT: Once I have both images, I then make sure to assign a different color to each layer. I make one light blue and the other purple. Do this by right clicking each layer and assigning a color to them from the palate of choices at the bottom of the menu that appears. (See photo 3 attached to this step) The reason for this is explained in the next step
After making the adjustments and assigning a color to each layer, I then stacked them atop each other by selecting both layers and then selecting the align option at the top. I then select the “Center” option. This will stack the two images on top perfectly aligned on all four sides. (See photo 4 attached to this step)
Step3: Processing the image
Before processing the image, I needed to make sure that the lighter layer engraved first. To do this, open the “sandwich” at the bottom left of the screen. Make sure the layer that is the lightest colored is at the top of the list. In my case, it was the blue layer. Then on the right side, click the button beside “Process” in the lower right. Change “Processing Path” from “Auto Planning” to “User Defining” then make sure to select the “By layer” option so it turns green. (See the attached photo). This will engrave the lighter layer and then engrave the detail layer.
Once this is done, set up the image on the screen to overlap your material. (Remember that you have two layers so move both. Once you are satisfied with the image placement on your material, press the Process button in the lower right.
It took my image a total of 45 minutes to engrave but it turned out beautiful, I think.
Step4: Like it? Then give it a like!
If you liked this project, then help promote my work but just clicking that thumbs up button. Not only that, if you liked this work, then check out my other projects and click that thumb button on those too. A lot of work goes into almost all my projects (not all are as easy as this one was, lol) and likes are greatly appreciated. Most of my projects are free but I do have a few premiums. You can find them here:
https://www.atomm.com/profile/15190?utm_source=Social_Share
Thank you for checking this project out!
Happy Crafting!
