Category Archives: Art

Laser cutting a door sign

I’ve got a nice stone slate, perfect for a door sign.

I wanted to paint our names and house number. But now that i’ve got a lasercutter, lets do that.

I’m going to use the design i’ve used for the Folkband Bags, and add some stuff.

First test on the back of the slate

Using a Sculpfun S9, Power 100 and speed 100mm/s

I will add the final result to this page

Playing with lasercutter steppermotors

Busy day: I’ve airbrushed some 3D pieces a few days ago, but i need 50 or so more.
Meanwhile is was reinstalling octoprint, and making a new version of my Bluetooth page flipper. (Android Music Sheet Pedal Thingy. Which i also didn’t post apparently)
But the main project was this:

I was curious how fast the stepper motors are on my laser cutter. And for what can we utilize this!

So I took a Raspberry Zero and some rotary encoders, lets make an etch-a-sketch like thingy.


Some rotary encoder modules I had.

Next to do: 3D print a pen holder, and alter the code to enable the laser when moving!

CODE

Below code uses a simple rotary class, and generates control GCodes for the steppers/Sculpfun

import time
import serial
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
from encoder import Encoder

def valueChanged(value, direction):
    print("* New value: {}, Direction: {}".format(value, direction))

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)

e1 = Encoder(20, 21, valueChanged)
e2 = Encoder(16, 12, valueChanged)

x = 0
y = 0
arduino = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 115200, timeout=.1)

newx = 0
mystringx = ""
newy = 0
mystringy = ""

arduino.write(str.encode("G00 G17 G40 G21 G54\r\n"))
arduino.write(str.encode('G90\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('M4\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('M8\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('G0 X41.5Y36.05\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('M3\r\n'))
#arduino.write(str.encode('G91\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('G1 X2.5F6000S0\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('G1 X0\r\n'))
arduino.write(str.encode('G1 Y0\r\n'))

try:
    while True:
        data = arduino.readline()[:-2] #the last bit gets rid of the new-line chars
        if data:
                print (data)
        arduino.write(str.encode("G1 F10000\r\n"))
        newx=e1.getValue() *5 + 100
        newy=e2.getValue() *5 + 100
        mystringx=f"G1 X{newx}\r\n"
        mystringy=f"G1 Y{newy}\r\n"
#        print(mystringx)
        arduino.write(str.encode(mystringx))
        arduino.write(str.encode(mystringy))

except Exception:
    pass

GPIO.cleanup()

At last .. my own lasercutter

I did a lot of lasercutting at Fablab Utrecht, but they stopped a few years ago, and I moved to Hilversum.

I loved making this at this Fablab.

  • Lasercutting : Boxes, A cryptex of my own design, Xmas ornaments, Shogi game, things in acrylic, Rubber stamps
  • Cutting plotter ( Nae Bother Case logo’s )
  • CNC Machines
  • Vacuum form

Then i bought a mini engraver, which you can attach to your 3D printer.

But I really wanted a cutter, so there it is … the Sculptfun S9

First test. crafting paper. No burning and a really high resolution!

This laser module has a new optical design, so it can cut wood as thick as 10+ mm.
It can engrave metal, cut non-transparant acrylic, leather and more.

Software:

I’m using Inkscape, with the lasercutter tool plugin from Jtech.
https://jtechphotonics.com/

I’ve also tested with LaserGRBL, which can be run under linux using Wine.

I’m trail testing LightBurn. (Native Linux App)

I will post my findings and test on this post.

UPDATE: 20230221

A stone slate engraved
Speed3000 mm/s
Laser Power100%
Lines per mm10

UPDATE: 20230306

Calibrate your machine! .. But NOT as found on YouTube using a 10x10mm or 1 inch by 1 inch. square.
As big as you can. This is far more precise!

My list of settings (Work in progress)

I have to check mm/s versus mm/minute!

MaterialSpeedPowerLines/mmPasses
Slate (engrave)
(using lasergrbl)
3000 mm/s100%101
3mm Plywood (cut)20 mm/s90%x8?
Craftpaper1500mm/s70%x1
Cardboard10 mm/s100%x4
Leather
Cork (6mm)

Blender rigging

Last week i’ve been learning about rigging in blender.
Before that i’ve learned about bumpmapping .. cool stuff

Bumpmapping

Below is a little shorthand/lab notes/screenshot dump, there are far better tutorials on the interwebs!

First add Rigify Addon

Get a model in T pose, and add armature.
(Not my model, just used for demo purposes)

Rendering images from dos till now

I like creating Art, painting, drawing, sculpting but also computer generated. Most of the things i create are for adults. So i can’t post my best work.

Below are some of the programs i’ve used, these are NOT the generic drawing programs like Gimp, Photoshop or alike.
Ony programs that generate (photorealistic) graphics.
I tried to start with the oldest ending with Blender. There is an overlap and sometimes i’m not sure when I used these programs.

BMRT

Blue Moon Rendering Tools, or BMRT, was one of the most famous RenderMan-compliant photorealistic rendering systems.

Could not find examples?

3DS4

3D Studio, not to be confused with the later “3d Studio Max” product, is a DOS-based tool from Autodesk for creating 3d models and animations.

Vivid

This is the Vivid raytracer. It will only run in a dos environment.
http://paulbourke.net/dataformats/vivid/

Povray

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, most commonly acronymed as POV-Ray, is a cross-platform ray-tracing program that generates images from a text-based scene description.

Example povray source
megapov -geometry 1600×1200 +L /usr/share/povray/include/ +L /data/povray/megapov-1.2.1/include/ +L /data/povray/povray-3.7.0.RC3/include/ ./mine.pov

#include "colors.inc"
#include "metals.inc"
#include "woods.inc"

global_settings { ambient_light rgb<0,0,0> }

#declare Jump_Start  = 0.5;
#declare Jump_Height = 7;
#if (clock < Jump_Start )
 #declare Camera_Y = 1;
#else
 #declare Camera_Y = 1
   + Jump_Height*
     0.5*(1-cos(4*pi*(clock-Jump_Start)));
#end

camera {
 angle 38
 location <0.3,Camera_Y,-3>
 right x*image_width/image_height
 look_at <0,1,0>
 rotate<0,-360*(clock+0.01),0>
} 

plane { 
  y, 0  
  pigment { checker color LightGray color White } // checkered floor
}

// deze later spotlight maken
//light_source { <10, 10, -10> color White }
//light_source { <-10, 5, -15> color White }

light_source
{ <100, 200, -150>/50, 1
  fade_distance 6 fade_power 2
  area_light x*3, y*3, 12, 12 circular orient adaptive 0
}


light_source {
  <3,7,-4>     // position
  color White
  spotlight    // specifies spotlight
  radius 15    // cone opening from its axis in degrees. Light start to dim outside of this.
  falloff 20   // outside of this, there is no light.
  tightness 1  // over-all coherence of the light beam
  point_at <0, 2, 0>
}

box 
 { <0,-200,0>, <143,1100,33>
	scale 0.001
      texture {T_Wood4}  
translate <0.42,-1,0.65>
	rotate <-20,0,0>
 }

#declare plank1 = box 
 { <0,0,0>, <143,2200,33>
	scale 0.001
      texture {T_Wood4}  
 }

#declare size1 = union {
object { plank1 }
#declare xpos = 153;
#declare xpos1 = -10;
#declare ypos = 90;
#declare zpos = 16;
#declare xfinal = 1000;
#declare yfinal = 2200;
#declare zfinal = 1000;
#while (ypos <= yfinal)
    #torus { 10,5 rotate<90,0,0> translate<xpos,ypos,zpos>  texture {T_Chrome_4E} scale 0.001 }
    #torus { 10,5 rotate<90,0,0> translate<xpos1,ypos,zpos>  texture {T_Chrome_4E} scale 0.001 }
  #declare ypos = ypos + 200;
#end
}

union {
object { size1 
	rotate <0,0,-20>
}
object { size1 
	rotate <0,180,20>
	translate <1,0,0.033>
}
	rotate <10,0,0>
}

Bryce

Bryce or Bryce3D, is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation program specialising in fractal landscapes.

More about the webcam controls https://www.henriaanstoot.nl/1998/10/23/made-a-webinterface-for-my-diy-webcam/


Poser

Poser (Pro) is a 3D computer graphics program optimized for the 3D modeling of human figures.

Blender

Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool set used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D-printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and, formerly, video games. Blender’s features include 3D modelling, UV mapping, texturing, digital drawing, raster graphics editing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animation, match moving, rendering, motion graphics, video editing, and compositing. (Dutch developers started it in 1994)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software)

Below here not really for art but graphical generators .

Others: Zbrush, Xara3D, Sketchup, OpenScad
Terrain Maker, Terragen

Planning the cocktail bar, same month i did the whole house in Sketchup
Used an android app before to figure out the picture sizes, sketchup works also

I made the double chanter in blender in this post
https://www.henriaanstoot.nl/2021/07/02/3d-printed-double-chanter-proof-of-concept/

Below my openscad version

difference(){
    difference(){
difference(){
    union(){
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 100, d1 = 16, d2 = 16, center = false);

translate([-12.5,0,0]){

cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 70, d1 = 25, d2 = 25, center = false);
}
translate([12.5,0,0]){
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 70, d1 = 25, d2 = 25, center = false);
}
}




translate([-12.5,0,0]){
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 70, d1 = 17, d2 = 17, center = false);
}

translate([12.5,0,0]){
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 70, d1 = 17, d2 = 17, center = false);
}
}
translate([-12.5,0,65])
rotate([0,90,0])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 20, d1 = 10, d2 = 10, center = false);
}
translate([0,0,70])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 50, d1 = 12, d2 = 12, center = false);



}
translate([0,0,69]){
difference(){
union(){
translate([0,0,0])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 5, d1 = 16, d2 = 16, center = false);
translate([-12.5,0,0])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 5, d1 = 25, d2 = 25, center = false);
translate([12.5,0,0])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 5, d1 = 25, d2 = 25, center = false);
}
translate([0,0,0])
cylinder($fn = 180, $fa = 12, $fs = 2, h = 5, d1 = 12, d2 = 12, center = false);
}
}
SUperb example of generated boxes for 3D printing using dimension variables.

NSFW Galleries:

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Weird comix, doodles and drawings i did

Blind parents often think their children are blind due to genetics.
Miffy learns DNS (Domain Name resolving)
Biological fly fly swatter trap

Here comes the plane!! ..
Fear for flying learned at a young age
More realistic spiderman

Postman, please drop some catfood in the mailbox every day?
Stopcontact = powersocket, spijkers = nails, aquariumslang met water = hose with water, lampje = lamp and using a clothespin to turn light off or dimming it
If you know .. you know
Waldorf and Statler (Vincent and me)
A friend and I having both backpains, mixing pills and alcohol will do the trick? Made a blender image to post in our Mattermost channel

I admire people who excel at things they do

These are my lists, but i’m open for discussions/questions
Work in progress

Actors

  • Tom Hanks
  • John Lithgow
  • Dennis Lee Hopper
  • Jack Nicholson
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Dustin Hoffman
  • Rutger Hauer (RIP) .. see “De kijk van Koolhoven” why

Art

  • H.R. Giger
  • M.C. Escher
  • César Manrique
  • Comics ( Details from  André Franquin, Dark Humor Koen Hottentot,  Don Lawrence, Don Martin ) to name a few, they are spot on
One of my comic collections – Don Martin

Classical Music

  • Paganini
  • Ludovico Einaudi

Composers

  • Ennio Morricone
  • Hans Zimmer
  • John Williams ( with a remark )
    Some of the Starwars Suite was taken from already existing music
    ( See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN3vl-JnUF8 ! )
    Gustav Holst – The Planets Suite – Mars part for example

Folk/pipers (composers)

  • Gordon Duncan (RIP)
  • Fred Morrison
  • RS MacDonald
  • Paddy Keenan

A (bad) comic i drew about Gordon Duncan in 2012

Opera

Bands (non folk)

Rammstein – I know, seems like a obvious populair choice.
But hear me out.

I like classical till metal. But it has to be musically interesting.

Most (non-german) people don’t listen to the lyrics, i did not either.
I found the music okay. Then i started to listen to the lyrics.

The lyrics are surprisingly deep.
Layers in the text, word jokes like:
Du… (you)
Du hast… (you have, but sounds like hasst .. You hate)
Du hast mich… ( You have me, or sounds like you hate me)
Du hast mich…
Du hast mich gefragt… (You have asked me)

Although people think they are fascists or far-right. Coming from the punk scene, they are kind of the opposite.

Everything they do has a meaning, but sometimes you can “paste” different stories about the song.

Listen to Ohne Dich, and then see the Music Video.

Have a good listen to Germany, and Man gegen man.
There are others better in explaining .. see:

And a AI generated Music Video .. perfectly matching the Lyrics

Bonus:
Check out this YT channel, all kinds of musicians .. transcripted (is this a word?) by this dude.

https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeCollier

Workshop Cyanotype

The cyanotype (from Ancient Greek kuáneos, “dark blue” and túpos, “mark, impression, type”) is a slow-reacting, photographic printing technique. It produces a cyan-blue print used for art as monochrome imagery applicable on a range of supports, and for reprography in the form of blueprints. For any purpose, the process usually uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate or ferric ammonium oxalate, and potassium ferricyanide, and only water to develop and fix. Announced in 1842, it is still in use.

This technique was also used as a method of copying drawings.
For example buildings and schematics. While making copies of drawings with the exact dimensions of the original, making the result untemperable was another big plus. ( You could not move/redraw walls for example on the copy)

I’ve printed a photo on transparant sheets to experiment with.
(Next time, i’ll take a larger size, and fix the contrast.

The most interesting ones i’ve made today: