It is quite some time since I’ve worked on an intarsia project and I have been asked to produce a piece, it’s a big one!
As you might surmise from the header image it is an owl in flight and when finished it will have a wingspan of approximately 85cm. It will probably get mounted onto a rectangular backing board likely around 1m x 0.65m,
This is a scratch project, that is, there is no pattern for it and I will have to draw up a pattern myself from the photo provided.
I expect the overall making of this piece will be presented over several posts and the drawing up that pattern will be the subject of this post.
I start the process in Affinity Designer on my iPad –
I find it is easiest to generate the initial layout on my iPad as it provides the convenience of being able to draw directly over the image using the Apple pen. During this process I make the image semi-transparent so that it is easier to see my lines as I dissect the image into what I feel will be appropriate separate pieces to be later cut from wood.
Ultimately the iPad screen is a bit small for working on the final print design. so once the initial layout is in place I move over into Affinity on my desktop Mac to finish of the layout and set the overall pattern to its final size.
Here, I remove the background so it is easier to see the detail of what I am working on.
Once I have a clear image to work with I use the node tool in Affinity to modify the strokes that I laid down on the iPad to more accurately follow the original image.
Modifying the feather tips.
Close up view of the feet and talons.
Once it is all done I change the stroke colour to red before printing as this is easier to follow when cutting on the scroll saw. Then I need to print a full scale pattern which I will use to layout the pieces as they are cut. Of course, at 80cm wide this is larger than my printer so it has to be “tile printed” and then taped together.
Full scale portions of the owl are printed onto separate sheets which I will glue to wood as patterns for cutting on the scroll saw.
And that’s it for now.
Next job is to riffle through my wood stock to identify suitable pieces for the project.
That’ll be my next post. For now I feel an afternoon of visualising (snoozing) coming on!
