# Help - photograph to rhinestone design



## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Ok, I've avoided this for almost 7 years, but my time is up. I have received 7 photographs in the past 24 hours with request to convert to a rhinestone transfer, and I don't have a clue.

My software has a bit map feature that I can use, but in reality, it would put so many stones on the design that it would be too expensive.

Any pointers to tutorials or other helpful information would be greatly appreciated. Also, before you guys start telling me "it's easy in Corel Draw", just know that I only have a little more than a clue of how to use that, so any instructions will need to be basic.

Better yet, I'd be more than happy to just send these photos to someone and have them send me back files.

Thanks.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

Here is a post involving winpcsign...WinPCSIGN 2012 - Convert an colour image into rhinestones pattern - YouTube
not much help if you don't have the program. I know that DAS had a video showing how to do this...as I recall it involved converting the photo into black /white..then vectorized...the do the stoning


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

allhamps said:


> Ok, I've avoided this for almost 7 years, but my time is up. I have received 7 photographs in the past 24 hours with request to convert to a rhinestone transfer, and I don't have a clue.
> 
> My software has a bit map feature that I can use, but in reality, it would put so many stones on the design that it would be too expensive.
> 
> ...


The most important thing is what is it a photo of and what you would want it to look like afterwards... 

Full color... really can't be done...

You can see the attached photo of thepuppies and then the finished design... Here I can bend from the original a bit but a person you are not going to be able to bend as much...

Plus this image isn't overly detailed....












The reality is... To do it right... In my opinion.... The image can't be overlay detailed or it needs to be huge... 2-3 colors of black and white would be best...

For best look and detail... Hand placing each stone would be best... Clicking some magic button is going to give you the look of clicking the magic button...

WinPC SIgn, rStones both have a magic bitmap conversion button... But that's what the end result looks like too...

Kevin


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Thanks guys. I have the bitmap conversion feature in my DAS software, but that is not the effect I'm going for. That process will fill the bit map with thousands of stones. I guess what I"m looking to do is to take a photo like the one attached, turn it into some decent line art, that still resembles the person in the photo, sort of like a cartoon version, and then stone it. I'm not having any luck with vectorizing programs like Vector Magic, so I was wondering how others who are doing this get it done. I'm testing out a company to vectorize the photo as line art for me, but I would rather not have to incur that fee.


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

allhamps said:


> Thanks guys. I have the bitmap conversion feature in my DAS software, but that is not the effect I'm going for. That process will fill the bit map with thousands of stones. I guess what I"m looking to do is to take a photo like the one attached, turn it into some decent line art, that still resembles the person in the photo, sort of like a cartoon version, and then stone it. I'm not having any luck with vectorizing programs like Vector Magic, so I was wondering how others who are doing this get it done. I'm testing out a company to vectorize the photo as line art for me, but I would rather not have to incur that fee.


How big is the final design going to be?...


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## rubyred (Aug 22, 2007)

An idea might be to turn it into a black and white or grayscale, then rasterize. You might then have an idea of whether you are able to get the look you're after if you were to rhinestone it. Good luck with your project!


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## rubyred (Aug 22, 2007)

http://www.t-shirtforums.com/rhinestone-decoration/t95637.html
This link might be of some help.


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

Carol, you actually have one of the best programs for this (StoneCut Pro). I pulled that photo and imported it, then vectorized without grouping any colors. Then I broke apart some of the combinations and welded them, and placed rhinestones. You'll have to do some clean up and add some stones by hand, but I think it's enough to get you started. The vector pieces are hidden, just go to your layers and unhide them if you want to see them.

Be careful of overlapping stones, you may want to go into wireframe to clean them up.

I emailed it to your comcast account.


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

If you're using WonderFlock, you can tighten the spacing down to .3mm. Here are my settings for WonderFlock: 3.1mm stone size; (It may import my Jaguar settings for you, but if not 2 outputs w/the 60 zcut blade, 175 g, 24 cm/sec, offset .40, overcut .40, blade on #4.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

tankueray said:


> Carol, you actually have one of the best programs for this (StoneCut Pro). I pulled that photo and imported it, then vectorized without grouping any colors. Then I broke apart some of the combinations and welded them, and placed rhinestones. You'll have to do some clean up and add some stones by hand, but I think it's enough to get you started. The vector pieces are hidden, just go to your layers and unhide them if you want to see them.
> 
> Be careful of overlapping stones, you may want to go into wireframe to clean them up.
> 
> I emailed it to your comcast account.


I got it, thanks!! I certainly feel like I'm having a DUHHHHH! moment. I have never used the vectorize feature in my DAS software. I don't mind the clean up work, it's just nice to know I can get a good start (at least with a good photo). Thank you again for teaching an old dog a new trick


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

Yep you guys are on the right track for sure, 
I also agree that going to a invert black and white vector image will make this alot easier for you too .

Also when you have time check out the Drawing tablets like the bamboo wacom, 
What you draw and trace is a vector that is on your computer screen,, it works awesome for some of these photo images.

And you do have a powerful vector tool in your das program.


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

LOVE Wacom. I have the cintuq 21"


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

Glad I could help. I'm a big 'ol geek, and I can tell you that there is nothing else on the market in that price range that has vectorization algorithms that even come close to the quality of those that are used in the DAS program. Whether you do rhinestones or not, it's capability is worth the price as a stand alone vectorization software. In fact, there are only three multi-use programs on the market that use the correct algorithms... DAS, one for embroidery that is $$$$, and another that isn't even related to our industry. Everything else uses bad math and sub-par code. (Just my opinion, but I'm pretty smart when it comes to these things.)

I've had a Fujitsu laptop/convertible tablet for years that I use instead of a Wacom. I just flip the screen around and use the stylus to do the work directly on the screen, then flip it back and use it as a computer. With the new Windows 8 devices out there, I think this will become so much more convenient in the future. Portable, yet everything you need in one device.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Thank you again so much. I will have to become more efficient with that portion of the DAS software


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## jme6201 (Dec 12, 2012)

Super cute!


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## jasmynn (Sep 16, 2011)

allhamps said:


> Thank you again so much. I will have to become more efficient with that portion of the DAS software


Can you show us the design when you're finished. Excited to see the results!


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

tankueray said:


> Carol, you actually have one of the best programs for this (StoneCut Pro). I pulled that photo and imported it, then vectorized without grouping any colors. Then I broke apart some of the combinations and welded them, and placed rhinestones.


Hi Tankueray: I am new to this process, so I didn't understand what you meant by grouping colors or welding and when you vectorized, did you do it manually or did you let your software do it all? I have Corel (w rStones) and used the quicktrace and bitmap fill before, but both leave so very much cleanup work to be done I sometimes think I would be quicker off dong it by hand. But since I am no artist, it then doesn't look like much of the orginal photo.

Could you maybe elaborate on the process or share a link to a video that captures the process for an elaborate photo to a rhinestone template?

If I have clipart or a sketch i can do it, but I am at a loss as to how to convert a portrait photo into a rhinestone template.

Thanks much for any input!
Nadine


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

Nadine, 

Carol (the OP) and I both use the same software: StoneCut Pro from Digital Art Solutions. I had taken the picture she posted and converted it to rhinestones and sent it back to her, then told her what I did. I was explaining specific functions of that software, which are all one-click and automatic in SCP. I spent about 10 minutes doing the basic work and then emailed it to her to finish. 

Corel has the PowerTrace function, but it's not as accurate as SCPs, so I'm afraid it would be pretty difficult to do in rStone. Not impossible, though. First you need to learn how to vectorize a photo...some iPhone apps have a cartoon transform or something like that, you could cartoon it on your phone, then bring it into Corel for tracing...or you'll need to brush up on some tutorials for Corel's PowerTrace function. After vectorizing, you need to get the number of colors in the image down to the bare minimum (so that's why I welded a lot of it), then get your rStone software to place the stones and do the cleanup. 

But you're right, if it's a single order of a photo, setting it by hand is faster...and cheaper, depending what template material you use and how many colors the photo has.

DAS has a new version of StoneCut out that is less expensive than the Pro version, if you call and talk to Katie, she will be more than happy to walk you through it via webcast. If Katie's not there, make an appointment and wait for her, she's worth it (tell her Mandy said so!) The only regret I have about buying SCP is that I waited a year to finally do it because I thought it was too expensive. It paid for itself in days (literally, just not consecutively - I have a day job). I had an event that I took templates to and did bling on the spot, I did $800 in two hours, then a few weeks later I did a weekend craft show and that took care of the rest of it. Before I bought SCP it took me at least an hour to do a design in one of the other programs, now if I spend an hour on a design I know it's time to go take some more OCD medication, because I've been done for 45 minutes already.


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

Hello Mandy:

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! Here is what I understand the process to be and my remaining questions:

To get the look of the Obama rhinestone image (http://www.t-shirtforums.com/rhinestone-decoration/t95637.html) you would take a normal picture/headshot and then process it through the following steps:

1) Convert it to a painting. This looks a bit like a paint-by-numbers canvas. This weblink can do a conversion to a painting (as well as outline, sketch, etc.) and I think the painting look is the vectorizing look you were referring to, right? 
http://www.snapstouch.com/Default.aspx
This creates lines for those facial features that need to be rhinestoned, right?

2) Reduce number of colors. You said you welded colors, what does that mean? Could this be the Posterize feature of Gimp, which gives you the option to name the number of colors you would like for your image to have? Or is this something else?
To how many colors do you usually reduce a headshot?

3) Once that is done, I think it is time to place the stones and do cleanup work. Please let me know if I am missing steps here…

But what really shocked me was that you said you need 15 minutes for something this complex. I need hours, sometimes days to create a design from scratch. This makes me think I am either doing something horribly wrong or that I should really look into a better rhinestone software.

…any thoughts/opinions are appreciated!

Nadine


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

#1 - Yes, but it's going to output a raster (jpeg, png, etc.) file, which is okay. The point is to easily smooth out all of the lighting and skin tone differences in a normal photo. You could bring the photo into GIMP and do the same thing with the posterize feature, I only mentioned the app solution because it's so easy.

#2 - After you've posterized, you have to vectorize (PowerTrace in Corel). You'll end up with something that looks nearly the same as your posterized raster file. Then view it in wireframe and you'll see that there are multiple shapes in the same color that you weld (it's a function available in Corel, I think it's in the transform menu) together so your stones don't try to place on all the curves and outlines. You've got to play around with where to reduce the colors. Basically you want your paint by numbers to transform into pointillism. You need identifiable shadows and highlights, but you're also limited to the colors that rhinestones are available in. Dark skin tones have more options than light ones (and peach rhinestones aren't cheap!)

#3 - Yep.

Here's the non-cleaned up file that I sent to Carol, and pictures of the workflow. It's rough, but it took me about 15 minutes in StoneCut Pro to get to this point. Then it's a matter of filling in some spots and removing the overlap, which is maybe another 20-30 minutes. The design is 12"x10".


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

Actually, the Obama design in the other post looks like it was done with StoneCut Pro's bitmap conversion feature (one-click btw), which is a different feature than what I used. The bitmap conversion feature is better if you want a "pop art" kind of look, mine is better for a more realistic look.

BTW - I learned how to do all this years ago (way before I got into making shirts) in GIMP by taking a photo and hand tracing it into a painted image using my Toshiba tablet. That process gave me the "eye" to see where the colors needed to blend. The first one I did was for some friends for a gift, then later for my old logo.


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

Dear Mandy:

You are a treasure. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will need some time to reproduce your steps and learn my way through the process, but I will likely come back to you with more questions in the end.

I am just at the very beginning of a "rhinestoned life" and completely new to all processes, so sorry about all the many annoying questions that likely have been answered by many kind and sharing people here already.

One other question I do have for the moment. Since I really don't know anyone in the industry, I thought I might as well pose it here and now: I really, really like this design (see attached) and have been racking my brain as to how it was done. My best guess is that you have to have an artists eye to produce the line art needed for the stone placement. But since I am not an artist, I have been hoping that with all the awesome software technologies available some might be able to come close to create something like this. I know they can never really replace true artistry!

So would you or maybe others have an idea about what kind of image you have to start with to produce this?

Thank you!
Nadine


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

Most people usually start with the line art design or vector design to begin with to create something like your picture. You can find a lot of line art or vector art at many different websites or design companies. Action Illustrated, DAS, etc. have many designs like this and then all you would need to do it convert the lines to dots for the rhinestones.


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

You could trace it into line art in Corel, or you can print it, then trace it onto a white sheet of paper using a lightbox and a fine tip marker, then scan back into the computer and clean up the line art. Or, instead of tracing in Corel, "trace it with stones" by placing the stones on top instead of drawing lines.

For a different image, the lightbox method works pretty well (and fast) to reduce the image into just the lines you would need to stone. Kind of like how a tattoo artist takes a photo and traces it onto the water transfer they use before they start inking.


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

tankueray said:


> You could trace it into line art in Corel, or you can print it, then trace it onto a white sheet of paper using a lightbox and a fine tip marker, then scan back into the computer and clean up the line art. Or, instead of tracing in Corel, "trace it with stones" by placing the stones on top instead of drawing lines.
> 
> For a different image, the lightbox method works pretty well (and fast) to reduce the image into just the lines you would need to stone. Kind of like how a tattoo artist takes a photo and traces it onto the water transfer they use before they start inking.


Thank you, Mandy. I had to do a lot of research on your post, I didn't even know what a lightbox was. For anyone in the same boat, it lights up an image from the back . Here is a great video (tattooing, but concept works for us and such tracing paper can be bought in art stores, I believe) on manual tracing an image to get just the main lines of a picture/photo for stoning:

Tattoo Advice and Tips : Using Tattoo Transfer Paper: What to Expect When Getting a Tattoo - YouTube

Mandy, I have learned so much, if you ever come to Florida, lunch is on me 

Nadine


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

Hi:

This rhinestone design comes from the cstown.com website. Can anyone share a guess with what rhinestone software this might have been designed?

Thanks,
Nadine


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## tankueray (Apr 16, 2010)

That much detail requires a human. They show a CAMS machine on their site, and they're a Chinese company, so I'm guessing that it's a combination of manual designing and the program for their CAMS. The only two people I know of that come close to that in the US are Kevin Truax and a guy in New Jersey (can't think of his name, but he does beautiful dog designs).


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

Charles out in California does wonderful dog designs!!


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

Thank you, but I want to create such beautiful designs myself, so I wanted to know which softwares are capable to deliver this kind of detail and accuracy. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

Nadine


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

I doubt you are going to find a software that will do most of the work for you. You will find that most of the software or macros can do parts of these designs, but you will have to do a lot of clean up on a design this detailed. Its not going to be an easy click and done with any software or macro, though most of them will get you a good start. My personal favorite is to use Corel with a couple of good macros.


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## n2mouse (Nov 1, 2012)

I have Corel. Could you tell me which macros you use and what specifically functionalities you use each one for? Thanks!


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

I mostly use the Stone wizard from The Rhinestone World, but I have also used Rstones also. The Stone wizard has alot of nice features like fills and scatters and lots of great tutorials that are linked right to the macro. If you can't figure out how to use one of the features you just go to the video tutorials tab and click on the button you are trying to use and it will link you to the tutorial video that is just about that feature. Matt and his other employees are really helpful anytime you have a problem or question you can't figure out.


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