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Tracing with the Stipple Tool in Silhouette Curio
  • By Design Bundles
  • 05 Apr 2019
  • 9 Mins
  • Silhouette Tutorials

Tracing with the Stipple Tool in Silhouette Curio

The Stippling Tool in Silhouette Studio is designed for the Cameo 3 and up as well as the Curio machines. The Stippling process is a serious of tiny dots instead of cuts used with designs and text. It can be used to create an amazingly artistic effect. We will show you how to trace with the Stipple Tool for the Silhouette Curio.
Images such as JPEG and PNG can be used but you will need a high contrast image. For this tutorial we will use a SVG and JPEG file from a zodiac signs svg bundle by Digital Rainbow Shop. You can also use any Graphic Elements design if you want something a little different.
 

Step 1 - Adjust the Page Setup for Curio


We need to first set up the page for the Curio machine. Click to Open Silhouette Studio and then select the Page Setup panel on the right hand side. Click on the Machine drop down menu and change to Curio. This will allow you to change the cutting mat and media size specific to the machine. We set our Cutting Mat to Auto Curio (cut) and Media to Auto (8.5 x 6).
When the settings have been changed the screen will show the Curio mat setup.
Change Curio Page Setup
 

Step 2 - Add your design and use the Stipple Trace



You can add your design to the mat one of two ways. Go to File at the top and select Open then select your design. You can also locate the file where your design is stored and drag and drop it onto the mat. You may need to resize the design to fit onto your mat.


Load design into Silhouette Studio

We chose to use the SVG for Virgo and JPEG for Pisces. Let us first begin with the SVG.
 

Use Stipple Trace with SVG


On the right hand side click on the dotted Star. This will open the Stipple Panel with two options at the top. Click on the second one called the Stipple Trace. Next, click on Select Stipple area then click + drag a trace box around the SVG design.


Stipple Trace area Silhouette


A basic Stipple fill will automatically be applied.


Basic Stipple Fill Silhouette



With the design still selected, adjust the Density to 100, Refinement to 4 and the Grid Spacing as low as possible. The Grid Spacing in our case went as as low as 0.063cm. You can experiment with the adjustments if needed to achieve the desired result.



Change Stipple Settings Silhouette


We left the Stipple Style at Regular-1 but you can go through the settings to see what style you like. We found that Regular-1 gave us a cleaner stipple look. Now, click on Create Stipple. Your design may look blotchy but it will appear fine under the Send Panel.
Click to Create Stipple Silhouette
 

Use Stipple Trace with JPEG


Using Stipple Trace with a JPEG follows the exact same steps as using it with a SVG. The reason we are showing a JPEG example is because sometimes the trace doesn't work so well from the beginning. A higher contrast image is best. But you may find that some areas are missing.
Follow the same steps as above to trace the area and make the same adjustments. As you can see from the image below, there are dots missing from the left top side of the bottle.
Issue with Stipple Trace Silhouette
To fix this we adjusted the Stipple Style until we were happy with the result. For this design, Regular-7 worked best. Then we clicked Create Stipple.
Adjust Stipple Style Silhouette

Step 3 - Go to Send panel and adjust settings


We are now ready to go to the Send Panel. At the top right of the screen click on Send to open the panel options. At the bottom of the screen click the machine icon and select the Curio option.



Select Curio machine Send panel



Select your Material option, we chose Cardstock, Plain. Next, click on the Action drop down arrow and select Stipple. Then, for the Tool option click the arrow and select the Pen Tool. We selected the Pen tool to be used with a sketch pen. Be sure to select both designs and click on Sketch.



Adjust Stipple options Silhouette



Place your material on your mat and the sketch pen in the carriage relating the one on your screen. Double check your settings then click Send.  Now watch the magic happen. One thing to note is that Stippling can take quite a long time depending on the density of the design.



If you liked this tutorial and would like to learn more, have a look at our other tutorials such as using the sketch tool, sketching with multiple colors and editing text in Silhouette Studio.


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