by Sandy McCauley | Jan 26, 2015 | Boolean Join, Eraser, Free Files, Free Videos, Hearts - Designing, Jigsaw Puzzle Generator, MTC, Shadow
Long time, no post! Hopefully today’s topic on designing a custom shaped jigsaw puzzle will help make up for my absence!
There are a number of different methods for combining a puzzle from MTC’s Puzzle Generator with any shape to create a custom-shaped puzzle like the one shown above. Other MTC owners have posted their methods, including Bryan Williams in one of MTC’s Tuesday night webinars. His method and mine are virtually identical other than how we edit the puzzle to remove extra lines. Anyhow, here’s a link to the new video I made:
Designing a Heart Shaped Puzzle
This is a great exercise in learning two of MTC’s most valuable functions: Boolean Join and the Inverse Eraser.
Then, if you haven’t used the Puzzle Generator, then you might also need this video:
MTC Puzzle Generator
Finally, the heart I created is also available in case it’s something you can use in one of your upcoming Valentine’s projects:
Free Puzzle Heart Files:
KNK Format
MTC Format
PDF Format
Finally, if you do not yet own MTC, it can be purchased for only $57.99 at this link. Let me know if you have any questions!
by Sandy McCauley | Dec 4, 2012 | Editing, Erase, Eraser, Free Videos, Make The Cut, MTC
Reason #20: Erase Tool
Reason #21: Inverse Erase Tool
These are two more reasons to check out Make The Cut software! The ability to simply drag the mouse to erase parts of a vector image and, equally handy, to add to a vector image provide easy modifications to your cutting files. The eraser size can be anything from 0.03 mm thick (we’re talking eyelash on a ladybug thin!) to, basically, unlimited.
And not only can the Erase tool be used to erase or add to images, but the 0.03 mm provides a great tool for slicing and dicing shapes. While there is a Knife tool available for this purpose, I personally prefer using the Erase tool in most cases, because it results in a closed shape, rather than leaving it open. Here’s the difference:
The Knife tool always does a straight line cut. The Erase function has the option of a freehand movement or you can hold the Ctrl key while using and achieve a straight line erase, as show in the right heart above. Of course there are situations where the open path resulting from the Knife tool could be exactly what is needed. The nice thing is that you have a choice!
As always, videos are the best way to show you how these cool tools work! So, have a look at how the Erase tool was put to use in several different ways in these two demonstrations:
Erase and Inverse Erase
Using the Inverse Eraser to Edit a PNC Trace
If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment here. As always, MTC is available for sale in my online store here. Also, be sure to check out other free MTC videos available at this link, as well as the downloadable user manuals for MTC, which have been recently updated!
by Sandy McCauley | Apr 9, 2012 | Eraser, Free Files, Free Videos, Ginsu Knife, Inline, Inset Shadow, KNK, Make The Cut
Carol B contacted me asking for help with designing what I’m going to call a “shaped inset”. The original file was a onesie-shaped greeting card and she wanted to have a separate shape cut that would contain text for the inside of the card. She wanted it to be the same shape as the card but smaller so that there would be an even border or margin around the smaller shape, as shown in the screenshot above. Conveniently, I had another similar onesie file that I had designed several years ago, so I used it for experimenting and for making the videos for today’s post.
Since Carol was asking me how to do it in EITHER KNK Studio or Make The Cut, I decided to show how to do it in both programs since it is equally easy in both programs! In KNK Studio, I used the Ginsu Knife tool to bisect the card, followed by the Inline function under Transform>Outline to shrink the shape. This created a nice even border to appear around the smaller onesie shape. In Make The Cut, you will use the Erase tool to bisect the card, followed by the Inset Shadow function under the Shadow Layer to shrink the image, creating the same kind of border or margin.
Here are the links to the two videos:
Creating an Inset Shape from a Shaped Greeting Card in KNK Studio
Creating an Inset Shape from a Shaped Greeting Card in Make The Cut
If you want to follow along during the video and repeat exactly what you see, then the file I used can be downloaded here:
Onesie in KNK Format
Onesie in MTC Format
