Guitar Picks
We hope you will join us all season for One Book, One Chicago!
A special thanks to Michael for putting together this class.
Download the template
The template is located at the bottom of the page. Right-Click on the download arrow and save the template to the Desktop.
Open the Template in Inkscape
Right-Click on the template file and select Inkscape to open.
Choose a Pick Type
Design the Shape of your Pick
Select the Create Stars & Polygons icon on the left toolbar.
At the top toolbar, select the Polygon icon and change Corners to “3”.
While holding the Control (Crtl) key, left-click and drag your mouse across your work area to create an outline of your guitar pick.
At the top toolbar, change Rounded to “0.110”. This will add some curvature to the corners of your shape.
If you are creating a Triforce pick, you are almost done!
The next step, however, will help guide others in the process of morphing this outline into the shape of a Standard pick.
Round the Pick
Select your pick, then go to “Path --> Object to Path”. This will turn your shape from a true polygon into a free-form object that you can adjust to your liking.
Select your pick. On the left toolbar, click “Edit paths by nodes”.
We currently have 3 nodes (1 at each corner), but need to add 1 more node to give the top some more roundness. To do this, hold the Shift key and select the top 2 nodes. Then, click “Insert new nodes into selected segments” at the top toolbar.
In order to make sure these top 3 nodes are aligned properly , hold the Shift key and select all 3 nodes at the top. Click “Make selected nodes symmetric”.
While holding the Crtl key, select the middle node only and raise it upwards to add some roundness to the top.
While holding the Shift key, select the 3 top nodes. Click “Make selected nodes auto-smooth”.
Turn your shape into an outline
Select your image. Click Object --> Fill and Stroke.
Fill should be turned off.
For Stroke, select Flat Color.
Change the Stroke width to “.003”. We do this because the laser head is exactly 3/1,000 of an inch large.
When you’re done, your pick will look something like this:
Add a logo or online image to your pick
Open an internet browser window and navigate to http://images.google.com to search for an image.
Tip: Add the words “silhouette”, “vector”, or “outline” to your search. (Ex: “Band logo outline”, “Alien vector”)
Right-click on your image, Save it to the desktop, and File-->Import it into Inkscape.
Trace your image
Select your image so that the arrows are pointing outward.
Go to “Path-->Trace Bitmap”. Under the Mode tab, the following features should be selected:
The other boxes can remain unchecked. Click Update and then Ok perform your trace. A new version of your image will be drawn directly on top of the original. Click and drag the new image to peel it off of the old one.
This new image is called a vector. It might look exactly the same as the original, but you’ll notice that on the new one, you will now be able to Edit Paths by Nodes. Performing a Trace Bitmap allows you to convert an image into a vector with nodes which have a set path that the laser can follow as it cuts.
Finalizing your guitar pick
Adjust the size and placement of your logo/image as necessary so that it fits inside of your guitar pick.
Using your primary Selector tool, drag a box around your guitar pick. Click “Object-->Group”.
Now that your design is one solid object, we can adjust its size to conform to the dimensions listed above.
(Optional) Add a hole to your pick to make a necklace pendant or keychain
Draw a Circle inside your pick to create a hanging hole approximately .12” (3 mm). Be careful not to place it too close to the edge or else it might break easily.
Change the circle’s Stroke width to .003” (Object-->Fill and Stroke).
Save your file as an “.SVG” onto the thumb-drive provided in class.
