breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,885 
Location: PNW
|
Post by breetheflea on Sept 4, 2016 2:14:29 GMT
Any links to good places to learn to cut vinyl on a Silhouette? I have an idea for some vinyl stickers for my car, but can't seem to find what I want already made.
I want a Pac-man, a Ms Pacman and four ghosts. Everything I am finding either doesn't have a Ms Pac-man, doesn't have enough ghosts (I have 4 kids) or only comes in one color (white) and I'd like it to be a little more colorful... etc. How hard would it be to cut this myself? I have Design Studio... Where would be a good place to order vinyl? Is there a particular kind for car windows? Tips for using the Silhouette to cut vinyl?
Any tips, pointers, or suggestions for tutorials?
Thanks!
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 4, 2016 3:13:15 GMT
For something like you're describing, I don't think it would be that hard. I would see if I could find a coloring book page online and try to vectorize it. Just make sure that the design is coming in at a high enough resolution to create a nice clean vector, if it's not I would print it out and scan in the printout at a higher resolution to open up in the software. To do multiple colors, the coloring book design would be the black outline and you would need to make a second backing layer to go behind each colored section of the design, or you could cut the inside pieces from colored vinyl and layer them on top of the black like in the second link below. Here's a link to a post at Silhouette School on how to do layered vinyl: Silhouette School
And here's a link to a short YouTube video showing someone doing three layers: Layering 3 colors of vinyl
There are a bunch of places that sell vinyl. What you want to look for is Oracal 651 which is an outdoor vinyl that has a more aggressive adhesive suited for permanent application. Vinyl is really easy to cut but you have to be careful not to cut into (or through) the backing paper or it will give you a LOT of trouble when you try to pick up the design with the transfer tape. Ideally you want to cut through the vinyl just enough so you're barely scratching the surface of the backing sheet and not cutting into it. I would suggest trying it out with a small one color project first and experiment with the software and machine/blade settings. I have a different kind of machine so I can't help with specifics but I'm sure you can definitely do it! |
|
breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,885
Location: PNW
|
Post by breetheflea on Sept 4, 2016 15:44:20 GMT
Thanks!
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Sept 5, 2016 3:22:55 GMT
I buy vinyl from Amazon from Craft E Vinyl. I've had decals on the van window for several years and it looks great. Just watch it with ice scrapers and keep the decal out of the path of a wiper blade. I buy black in 40 ft rolls for dirt cheap. I don't buy Silhouette vinyl. I find it lifts from the backing sheet and it ruins the cut. There are several vendors on Amazon that sell packs of colors in different sizes. I prefer the bigger sizes that are 12 X 24"--more options to make more things!
As far as how many ghosts to cut, you just copy and paste to add more. Super easy. Each color is a separate cut, so you can add as many colors as you want. You can buy an a file if you find one online, or just trace a photo or clip art you find online. A good image is helpful, but you can clean up edit points to make a good cut too.
I find cutting vinyl to be much simpler than cutting any other material. It cuts beautifully and cleanly. The detail is incredible. Take the time to get the depth of the cut correct--it will peel off the backing sheet without cutting the backing. If the cut isn't clean or it cuts the paper, change the settings. You just want to cut with the very tip of the blade.
Really, just go for it. The worst that will happen is that you will wreck a cut or two. But I learns 90% of what I know just by doing. Buy a roll of black in at least 10 ft and make all your practice cuts with that. Pretty soon you will be labeling everything in sight!
|
|
