vectorizing and optimizing noob Q's

[maxcady]

i was slightly disappointed by the end result of importing a simple line drawing into Quickshow and doing "quick trace" using one of the three methods it offers you. I was wondering what the best method is to get really wonderful and smooth optimized ILDA frames from works of art like an Egon Schiele sketch for example..

I've seen threads about using Inkscape, illustrator, all kinds of programs, usually multiple steps, often going thru ILDSOS etc.. The threads are from all different years, I'm wondering what the best method is today in 2016 for someone just beginning like me. i want to invest in the proper software, whatever that may be.

I've also started using lasercam, and I'm wondering if instead of the realtime aspect the software offers, if i should be saving lasercam recordings to my hard drive and then running them through an optimization step to get better results.

I'm aware of the limitations and i'm not trying to give my laser anything that isn' too complicated. A lot of the frames that are packaged with Quickshow seem to be more complex than the drawings i'm trying to import, and they look smooth and wonderful.

[masterpj]

First rule is: Never use quick trace or any audto tracing tool again.
The zoofpack has an tool to turn SVG vectors into art and that kinda works yes.. but when it comes to drawing in laser I always recommend trying to go native if you don't have to do a huge bulk of animated frames.

Practice drawing in the laser frame drawing tool and explore is the best advice I can give you as everyone has to find his method of drawing to get comfortable with it.
The biggest problem you will find in QuickShow is that it tries to "help out" by detecting some things as corners while they are not and you have to fight against that whilst drawing.

Draw in wacky colors which stand out from your background first and then do the coloring.

Optimization is limited.. you can only fine tune since you do not have control over the spacing of every section you'd like.

[Guido]

Hi MaxCady,

can you upload your Drawing here ?
I spend many Hours in my Tracingtool and i am very interested in "Testframes".
I will send you the result as ILDA for testing.

[Grix]

ILD SOS is still a pretty good program for optimizing and adjustments like this.

[dkumpula]

I've also started using lasercam, and I'm wondering if instead of the realtime aspect the software offers, if i should be saving lasercam recordings to my hard drive and then running them through an optimization step to get better results.

Yeah, that's what I do for capturing complex animations. Specifically, I use Lasercam Pro to capture high contrast video from my desktop then ILD SOS after to reduce point counts and remove any stray dots. Occasionally, I'll clean up some of the frames manually.

. . . A lot of the frames that are packaged with Quickshow seem to be more complex than the drawings i'm trying to import, and they look smooth and wonderful.

Yeah, like PJ said, spending the time drawing a frame from scratch (assuming you have a good grasp on what you are doing) is the best way to get those smooth / sharp graphics and beams. From what I recall, the folks that made the frames for Quickshow were really careful to ensure that they would look good on a wide range of projectors (including some of the junkiest out there).

One downside to graphics when drawing by hand is the results frequently look "cartoony". The LaserCam/ILD SOS method captures things a bit differently, so you get what I think is a more 'realistic' representation. For example, the Saturn 5 launch (at 1:59) here was captured from high contrast video:



-David

[maxcady]

so even tho lasercam is realtime, its better to record a video stream to an ilda file using lasercam, and then do further optimization etc with ildsos.

theres no realtime program that does this in a realtime stream though? i guess i'm wondering how one would be able to do something like a realtime ild sos on a lasercam video stream in realtime. or is ILDSOS a realtime program as well?

[james]

ildSOS is built on top of an old version of the LaserBoy base code.

LB lets you bring a bitmap file (BMP) into the background of the frame so you can use the LB drawing tools to trace over it.

http://laserboy.org/forum/index.php?topic=551.0

You can also import DXF frames or frame stets into LB and optimize them with techniques that are not in ildSOS.

It finds redundant lines and stray points.

There is also a method of reducing points based on proximity or insignificant distance.

Once you learn the ropes, LB is very good at optimizing art for display.

LB reads and writes all forms of ILDA files.

LaserBoy is free and runs in all version of Windows and can be compiled for Mac OSX and Linux.

James.

[dkumpula]

so even tho lasercam is realtime, its better to record a video stream to an ilda file using lasercam, and then do further optimization etc with ildsos.

theres no realtime program that does this in a realtime stream though? i guess i'm wondering how one would be able to do something like a realtime ild sos on a lasercam video stream in realtime. or is ILDSOS a realtime program as well?

You should be able to control the point count in lasercam in real time by manipulating the Optimize parameters (e.g. reducing scan speed and target FPS) as well as adjusting the detail, contrast and brightness levels. I don't use the Lasercam in real time, but it was designed primarily for this purpose, so you should be able to get some nice results with a high contrast input.

-David

[masterpj]

Autotracing is a bad advice to give if you want to do it properly.. even when using an optimizer. I encourage you try try and draw natively above anything. Maybe people try to fiddle with an autotrace and it "just does the job" but it just isn't good enough.. It's better to invest the time now in doing it the right way then being caught up with it later.

One downside to graphics when drawing by hand is the results frequently look "cartoony".
-David

Debatable. This depends if you spend time in refining coloring of works.. a lot of people prefer clarity over "realism of color" because the latter goes at the cost of a lot of brightness.
I have done realistic with shading manually per point and color tones based on light direction and material.