Here are my first two attempts at engraving pictures on wood. I tried it on darker hardwood and it doesn’t look as nice to me.
I’m open to tips on how to make them look even “sharper”. Thanks!
One thing that will make them sharper is to clean the smoke residue off.
There are lots of ways to do this, everyone seems to have a different regimen. I like damp denatured alcohol rags, but some people swear by ammonia wipes, and some people even just dunk the entire piece in water.
No matter how you do it, removing the smoke residue will enhance your contrast and clean up your edges.
What’s old is new again 
6 Likes
Agreed - water is my fav here.
And it’s all about contrast. Play with the contrast in Gimp to get the greys reduced.
1 Like
Good idea, but I say learn about using curves, it’s a much finer touch than the contrast slider.
3 Likes
Did you already study the Glowforge Tutorials on using Gimp or Photoshop to prepare photographs, or the similar discussion threads (here and here) in Tips and Tricks on the same topic?
2 Likes
Well true. Curves are way better.
2 Likes