Marquetry patterns software recommendation

[Steliz]

I'm about to try my hand at marquetry and I have a few photos to get me started. I want to convert my pictures into line drawings with the various areas sectioned out but I don't know what software would allow me to do that.
I've tried with the basic Paint programmes that come pre-installed on my laptop but the best they offer is a freehand pencil tool which I would need a very steady hand to complete. I know Adobe Illustrator would work but that offers a lot more complexity than I would need and has a subscription and I have used Visio before which has a tool that allows the user to trace around lines in a series of clicks but again, that is too complex for my needs and not free. I would prefer a programme that is simpler and preferably free.
Does anyone here already use this process and what software would work?

 

[xy mosian]

My use was not for scrolling. Still if you can manipulate the colour balance, contrast and brightness, of the image, to bring out the, presumed, edges you wish to pattern. Then simple tracing paper on the screen and a pencil will give you a line drawing.
I have found this does not work with a touch screen.
geoff

 

[Ollie78]

@Steliz
I would say you definitely need to work with vectors. So they can be scaled without loss of detail.
When I do cnc inlays I use Vectric Vcarve pro to do the tool paths and final layout.

Before putting my designs into vcarve I make sure they are vectors, if they are bitmaps or jpegs from a photo scan for example.
To do this I use a program called Vector magic. Vcarve has its own bitmap tracer but vector magic is very much better.
You can rent the online version to try it out, it's £7.99 a month with no obligation to continue using it, there is a desktop version too with more features. There might be a very basic free version, I forget now.

An example of a workflow I would use.
If you are more comfortable drawing with real pen and paper then draw what you want, use Microsoft lense or similar document scanner on your phone, or if using a photo skip that bit.
Load to your PC. Drag your drawings or photo into vector magic, let it do its thing, download vectorised image.
Input into vcarve pro for editing and generating tool paths, input the g code to uccnc and cut.

I have tried Inkscape ( it is free ) which many people really like but for some reason I cannot get on with it, I am sure illustrator or photoshop might do it too but Adobe is expensive. You might be able to do it in Gimp (also free) which is more like photoshop.

In my experience vector magic is the best method of taking a drawing or photo and generating a decent set of vectors.

Hope this helps

Ollie

 

[Sachakins]

+1 for gimp2.0, free, good manipulation and relatively easy learning curve. Great for ripping out backgrounds read yo export it vectoring programme.

 

[Steliz]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Having done a little more research it would seem that Inkscape is a good Adobe Illustrator simulator and GIMP is the Photoshop equivalent. I think I'll give Inkscape a try first.

 

[Johnwa]

Have a look on YouTube at Scrollsaw Workshop the guys name is Steve Good. He uses a free "app" that is readily downloadable and he goes into detail in how to do just what you want. You can also look on the Scrollsaw Workshop website, you can access the videos from there too. Well worth a look he's a pretty good bloke.

 

[Steliz]

Have a look on YouTube at Scrollsaw Workshop the guys name is Steve Good. He uses a free "app" that is readily downloadable and he goes into detail in how to do just what you want. You can also look on the Scrollsaw Workshop website, you can access the videos from there too. Well worth a look he's a pretty good bloke.

Thanks for that. I need to use an online file converter to make a vector graphic of my image and then use Inkscape to create the line drawing. Here's a link to his video if anyone else wants to know.