Hi,
I am not sure if I select the correct section.
I did use the Glowforge to engrave things, cut and it’s ok, I just try the parameters and find a way to make it great.
But I do not know how to “emboss” things, can you tell me how or please share with me some links? I hope I use the correct word 
(you know using a drawing with gradient and burn more were it’s black)
Thanks.
I think if you search the forum for 3D Engraving, you will find some answers. Basically you need to create a file that has various shades of grey, and use the Vary Power setting, or choose 3D engrave in the Proofgrade settings. Not all materials will show these settings, just the ones for which 3D engraving makes sense (Draftboard, etc).
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As this is not something that the support staff can deal with I will send it to Beyond the Manual.
If you are looking to have the design raise above the material that is not possible but you can make the rest of the piece lower, If you are looking to have a relief carving you need that only has a special type of image that white is the high places and black the lowest with grays between and no other shading. When engraved with a variable power this creates a relief pattern like this…
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I am going to link you to a person selling 3D files to show what can be done. This person lists the Glowforge settings used for each project.
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Wow, you can do this? I can’t keep up with the possibilities.
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Well, I personally have not done this, but the designer obviously has and his work is terrific.
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I’ve bought some files from this guy as well and they are great/easy to cut.
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The files are great. I have bought some, too, but these are optical illusions - what is known in French as trompe l’oeil. While they look absolutely amazing and 3D the actual difference in depth from the highest to lowest spots is really negligible.
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If I’m not mistaken, what 805LaserSpot is doing with most of these - they are actually flat engraves. Though the settings say vari-power, it’s because they are 3D models that he is making and then dithering outside of the Glowforge. So what you’re getting is an image that’s been converted to dots but appears to be a 3D engrave. It’s a great optical illusion.
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Hi, thanks for your answer, I try to access on the Vary Power but unfortunately I didn’t see it. I do not use a proof grade material, it’s because of that? I try many materials, just to try and wait for the proof grade after my testing pass.
Thanks.
EDIT : where is 3D Engraving section?
After my previous message I tried to use a SVG file but I cannot use a gradient. Must be a PNG or PDF file?
EDIT 2 : no, PDF is worse.
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You don’t need to use Proofgrade material, but there are certain materials that don’t give you the 3D option because they don’t work well. One of those materials is plywood. There is a pretty good discussion of file types and materials here:
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Vary power will only appear for raster files (like PNG or JPG), not vectors. So if you are trying to use a vector gradient, it will not work.
If you are using Illustrator, try rasterizing your image to a PNG. That will give you Vary Power as an option in the Glowforge engrave settings area.
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Thanks. Definitely bookmarking that one for future reference.
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