THE 3DWAXMILLER CLUB.

p schmidt · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:33 am Post subject: here's a couple

some stuff I've been working on

p schmidt · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:37 am Post subject:

a couple more forgot to show you the back side of the initial

p schmidt · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:38 am Post subject:

and a mistake

Winstone · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 690 Location: Dallas,Texas

Pat,
"Portrait" is the proper spelling. It could bring you some grief. Check it out. great idea, wonderful. I have done a similar thing with baby pictures, then each year a new image, makes a terrific seller for grand parents, family members, etc. each year is a seller, baptism, confirmation, first communion, marriage, etc. Family events are a guaranteed seller, especially in silver as well as a mix of silver and gold. Birth stones, promise rings, promise charms, looks good.......winstone

p schmidt · Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:51 pm Post subject:

my bad... my bad spelling that is!!

p schmidt · Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:22 pm Post subject:

had to mill something so I don't loose my touch... a good candidate for my new mother child line? ..milled on the 15.... apx 19min

p schmidt · Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 7:03 pm Post subject:

re did the coin for fun and am making a pendant or two! all will be cast in silver...done on the 15 with mod player 4 ...might have to sculpt in some hair!

Winstone · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 690 Location: Dallas,Texas

Wonderful works,
And ample space inwhich to add birth stones to each pendant or charm.
may I also suggest that you take your MDX-15 and scan the new US Nickel to see how they did the face of Thomas Jefferson as a 3/4 view instead of a profile? Then use those proportions on photos of real mothers and children in pendants. or for children as they have their 1st birthday, 2nd, 3rd, etc. a real money maker for large families, Easter, Christmas, etc. holidays, as well as during the year. With your MDX-15 you can make items on a dime, mount stones, and open up a whole new world of portraiture to your patrons.
winstone

Winstone · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 690 Location: Dallas,Texas

Shoot your own pictures,
This is especially important, as you can control the contrast, lighting, and as they are your own photos there is little danger of copyright disputes in the future. Shots from Sears, Pennys, etc, could pose problems for you in the future wen merchandisers see how popular a series of custom potraits of a kiddo becomes. To avoid all hassles and possible enfringement claims, do your own photos shots, I prefer to shoot outside, with flowers in back ground, or with sunlight hitting side of face either in morning or late afternoon. Flowers lend themselves to a floral rim for girls, and open field can be used for boys with baseballs, sports themes or such. Flowers make a nice background for setting birthstones,
also if gold is too expensive, use Agrentium, then gold plate the floral background which will be lower than the portrait face, still a money maker and two toned pendants are real seller. .... winstone
ps
Its these "bread and butter projects that pay bills." w

Jwlrymkr · Joined: 30 May 2004 Posts: 851 Location: Waco, Texas

Honestly Winstone.
If I take my kid to sears or pennys to get a photo, how does that photo become property of sears or penny? I dont ever remember signing a contract stating that I cant use the photo I paid for in any manner I wish.
Shadows and backgrounds in outdoor photography will wreak havok for doing photo charms.

Winstone · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 690 Location: Dallas,Texas

Ken,
When I was at University in the 1960's I was a professional Wedding and Party photographer. I paid for my own education with this work. Later, I worked in Dallas with leading Wedding photographers as a contract photographer. Contract photographers do 98% of the instore shots for Stores like Sears and Pennys. In our contractual agreement as independent contractors all pictures taken at a job belong to the Store which has a blanket copyright of all works preformed on their premisis. Although we owned the backdrops, setups, and most of the equipment, our salaries came from numbers of kids shot, and not from the sales of prints. Some stores are stricter than others. Chain are very strict, and protect their product with vigor. If your portrait is a winner, do you want bean counters in the headquarters legal department to set your amount of profit? It is up to you. I like my overhead to be under my control.
As a past professional photographer who shot hundreds of pics of kids for stores that had setups, these photos are always copyrighted. The sale of prints is where they make their money. I recommend that you take pics of your own, and have backgrounds that you can use with the pic or without. I have a series of stock photos that I shoot for backgrounds for Weddings, Baptisms, kid photos, and athletic teams. I paste the subject onto the set background to give contrast between the surface and the portrait.
Here in Texas, Rodeo is a big deal. I have been making cameos of riders, barrel riders, and other similar events. A line drawing of silhouette of background action made with the mill to show place and scale, with the portrait in reduced deminsion following the US Treasury engraver's proportions for coinage, makes a better form than guessing and layering. Besides, if it is good enough for our currency, then it is good enough for a portrait of your kid. Livestock, farm animals, horses, and riders are other subjects that we make custom portaits. Also, by making smalls or samplers of what the mill can do, can lead to future projects. You never know who will see your products and how recording important events in the life of a young person effects others? I make these items for under $30 or less, yet they payback many times over the years. It has worked for me, maybe it will work for you in your area?
When you can show that you shoot your own picture, then any use of that product is yours. When you use someone else's labors and make an image, you open yourself up to copyright infringement. Litigation is expensive and destructive to your reputation. But, that is your choice, I am not interested in what you do, but only offer you what I do to avoid legal hassles. I am a trained and tested Texas paralegal assistant. I worked for a Dallas County retired district judge for over eight years. Maybe I am too cautious, but I would rather be safe than sorry. winstone

Winstone · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 690 Location: Dallas,Texas

Guys,
We have stock backgrounds, also make custom boxes for works, and we also use gold plating a lot, because of the cost of gold. To make that plating look richer, we use a trick that we posted a while a go, but may go un-noticed.
First if you are casting in Sterling, or even Argentium, the white metal color can make gold plate look limpid or weak. We finish the piece which is one of our stock backgrounds. Paint everything that you do not want plated, rim of the edge, back, etc, let the red fingernail polish dry. Then place the painted finger nail polish jewelry into a cool bath of Spirex with steel tongs. The steel will create an electrolytic reaction which will copper plate the stock area of the pendant. The copper underlay will make the gold plating look rich. We leave the finger nail polish on the piece, neutralize the copper pating with baking soda in solution, and wash the pendant to remove all traces of soda. Then we gold plate the background with gold plating solution. If you are using a Cyanide base plating solution it is critical that you netralize the spirex from the piece prior to plating with gold! We do not use Cyanide base plating, but plating solutions used for weapons, firearms, and knives which gives a better result in my opinion for wearability, and color. Firearm plating is acid based, so there is no cyanides involved, nor OSHA hazard permits required.
My pendant backgrounds are pre-made, the potraits are milled seperately and attached with two pins to the backgound and spot welded to the plated pendant. In this way, I control both the photos of kids, can make sets for families, baseball teams, camps, Churches, Military Alumni, Firefighters, etc.
We custom make our cases as mini-puzzles which also protect the pieces for shipping. It is that little extra elegance and care that pays off.
Each piece is the best we can make, because after I die, God will not tall me what pieces I made will survive me. So I make each item as if it represents the quality and care I take on all my work. This way I cover all my bases. Also, I try to use my mill to show my patrons what I can produce for them even in times that are hard, and money is short.
winstone

Jon · Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:29 am Post subject:

Can someone point me to instructions for converting a picture to a raised relief?

Or links to some Forum discussions of same?

JonS