I admired the Pragmatic Costumer’s post on painting miniatures, but recognized that my desire for immediate gratification was going to run headlong into the small workspace formerly known as our dining room, where it would crash into my lack of practice at painting and result in unhappiness for all.
In recognition of my family’s right to peace in our time, I made like an ’80s artist and appropriated images.
After selecting gentlemen and an infant from 1761-1776, I downloaded the files and placed them in Illustrator where I could size them to one inch diameter circles. Why so small? Because to test this plan, I used rawther cheap little cabochon kits from Michael’s, and they were only to be found in the one inch size.
After cutting the images out generally, I trimmed them to the black line I created in Illustrator. (I don’t yet have a non-Illustrator answer to this process; I am lucky enough to have an ancient copy of CS Dawn-of-Time; let me think about a workaround.)
Here’s Henry Knox, my first trial. I was willing to ‘sacrifice’ him because although I admire his fortitude in dragging artillery across Massachusetts, he was a beast to Joseph Plumb Martin about post-war bounty land in Maine. I’m Knox-conflicted.
Some squishing and fiddling with the self-adhesive fronts later, here are three of the four miniature miniatures.
Yes, this is so ridiculously easy as to be evil.
What would I do differently next time?
I’d order proper cabochons and fronts in a larger size (I may convert these to bracelets).
I’d give painting a try, perhaps over the winter break at work. I’ll need time to get that right.
I’d string them on actual silk, and not polyester, ribbon. (It was handy, and the proper size).
But for a cheater’s way to miniature jewelry in under an hour, I suppose they could be worse.
Whatever you do, if you follow this example and “appropriate” images, don’t sell them. The Met may have millions in revenue, but it’s still wrong.
Ever since reading the very same post, I’ve been trying to figure out how to convert a photo of my father into a miniature painting. I lack knowledge of photo editing tools. With some fiddling, I think I have a rough, very rough, idea of what to do. Now, I just have to track down the electric file of the photo I want to use.
The jewelry aspect is an area I feel even less knowledgeable about. As I can’t just walk into the reliable store I used to knowing the owner would make me a neat little pile, where should I look for these bits?
OK! This can be done in Word pretty much the same way. You can create a shape and set the specific size up on the right side of the tool bar; this will allow you to then place and size the image of your father. (With some time, I could work up a little tutorial for that.)
As for the parts, I think your choices might be Amazon, by searching for cabochon frames, which will also return some bezels. http://amzn.to/1dtWeVR I haven’t ordered any yet, so I can’t speak to quality. You can find them on Etsy, too, http://etsy.me/19f7KDz which I sometimes prefer. It’s easier to convo sellers.
Locally, yikes! I couldn’t find them locally, not what I really wanted. The tiny ones came from Michael’s, in the steampunky jewelry section, in packs of two. I got two packages because I thought I’d likely mess them up, but didn’t!
Hope this helps– I can spend time on a Word tutorial this weekend, if that would help.
KC
I got my little glass cases at Hobby Lobby and right next to them there were some kits for pendants just like this! They came with cabs and settings and the proper glue, so if you are near a Lobby of Hobbies, they may be a good place to check. And Miss Kitty is right: MS Word (especially the newest one which is practically Photoshop, complete with “painting” and “sketch” filters) is fabulous for working with pictures! A tutorial is a wonderful idea. Just print the photo on matte photo paper once you get it the right size and go from there.
Hobby Lobby–I always forget we have one. Also, I’m often busy on Saturdays, or don’t have the car, but I will absolutely check that out. Thanks!
KC
I think I was over-thinking the photo to painting process. I was playing with Photoshop and Illustrator. I skipped right over trying Word. In PS, I found a few techniques that made photos almost look like paintings without losing too much clarity. I’ll take a look at what Word offers now. I suspect our art department may have more options for me if I were to ask a coworker or student.
Thank you for the proper words for the jewelry pieces.