Sketching with Silhouette

Have you ever sketched designs or fonts with your Silhouette machine? It can give your projects a unique look or just be fun to play around with.

I’m fascinated by the countless creative applications Silhouette users create with sketching options, from addressing envelopes to crafting signs and beyond!

Today I wanted to share some tips and resources that can help when you are sketching with your Silhouette machines. Sketching can be done with all Silhouette machine models, with the right tools.

This week I released a new video on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel sharing information on sketching with the Silhouette Cameo 5 and the new Type C pen holder. Even if you do not have a Cameo 5, the information in the video can be helpful and I’ve had several comments from users who learned new things.

Check out the new video HERE.

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Sketching Supplies for Silhouette

As I mentioned above, sketching can be done with any Silhouette model machines. However, the tools for each machine may vary just a bit.

That’s why I wrote up the Sketching Supplies blog post and have broken it down into a list by machine model.

Find out which Silhouette pens fit in each machine model, what adapters you might need, and which pen holder is compatible with your Silhouette machine HERE.

How to Fill in a Sketch with Silhouette

One of the most common things we see asked is how to fill in a font or design.

The Silhouette machines do what the user tells them to do. They are designed as cutting machines, so the red cut lines that you see on the screen around a design is the exact path that any tool placed in the Silhouette machine would follow.

In the photo above, the design is showing exactly what a pen would sketch out using a font called Willow Bloom Modern Calligraphy Font by Angele Kamp. The red lines that you see are the exact path the pen would follow.

Since all text that is typed in Silhouette Studio now defaults to Cut Edge, you don’t need to weld it prior to sending, however, you still want to look closely to make sure that the letters are overlapping. If a letter does not overlap another letter, then it will be sketched as an individual letter. Personally, I always weld my text, just because it’s a routine step in my process and I know I’ve looked closely at the font to make sure it’s going to do what I want before I send it.

Remember that once you change a font in any way, such as welding, it is no longer editable text and is now a vector design. I recommend making a copy of the text so you always have an original before you make changes.

Another big thing to note here is that since text now defaults to Cut Edge, that also affects some sketch fonts and how they behave. In the example below, I used BFC Fantasy Sketch by Blush Fonts. Notice how there are sections that are missing or are not highlighted bold red? It is going to sketch exactly as you see on the screen.

This is easily fixed by selecting the entire design and choose Sketch instead of the Sketch Edge. The most important factor here is that the design has to be selected first before you can change the action.

Now that we’ve covered the normal behavior of a font, can you fill in a font or design? Yes!

The best method to use is the Line Effects or Sketch Fill Panel. This is the same exact panel, however, the name has changed depending on the software version you are using.

The Sketch Panel gives you the most fill options and can be used for a wide variety of things.

Keep in mind when filling in a design or font, that the pen follows every single red line in the design. If you use a tight fill pattern, the pen will completely fill in the object, however, it can also be more difficult to remove from the cutting mat as the pen has gone over and over that design many times.

Check out the full tutorial on the Silhouette Sketch Panel HERE.

Tips for a Successful Sketch

• Scribble with the pens prior to installing in the machine to get the ink flowing. The machine writing with a pen is just like writing with a pen by hand. If the pen won’t write smoothly by hand, you can’t expect the machine to magically make it happen either.
  
• Use a clean cutting mat free of debris.
  Any bits of paper or debris that are stuck to the cutting mat will affect how that pen reacts on the paper and you could have skipping in the sketch.
  
• Keep the Silhouette cutting mat completely level and flat the entire time it is sketching. If the mat is hanging down in front or behind, it can bubble up in the middle and the pen can hit it and cause marks as it travels to complete the sketch.
  
• Keep the material completely flat and secure on the cutting mat.
  Any variance in the thickness of material can affect how it sketches. For example the flap on the envelope will create a bump that can affect how the pen writes over that area. Keep that in mind when you are sketching.
  
• When using the Silhouette pen holders, use the pen holder cap to set the pen depth. Not sure what I mean, check out the YouTube video and I show a demo of how this is done.
  Or another method is to place a popsicle stick (craft stick) underneath the tool housing. Then place the pen in the housing. When the tip touches the popsicle stick, lock the pen holder in place.

This is easier to do on the older Silhouette machine models. The newer machine models have different housings and not as easy to maneuver.

And DON’T FORGET to take the popsicle stick out after you are done setting the blade depth.

• Test, test, test!!! Have fun with it!

Want to see how a font will sketch out? Type out the name of the font style and select that font and then sketch it out. The photo above is an example how I did just that. All of these are fonts I have from the Silhouette Design Store and that is exactly what I did.

This is a tip I shared last year in the Silhouette Secrets+ weekly newsletter. If you’d like tips, information, news, sales, and more “secrets” delivered to your inbox on a regular basis, make sure to subscribe and confirm your subscription.

Want to learn even more?
Check out the Silhouette Sketch Pen & Sketch Pen Design Class on the Silhouette Secrets+ Teachable site HERE!

The Sketching with Your Silhouette class has been one of my most popular classes released. I have been blown away at the feedback from this class by those who’ve enrolled.

And just have FUN!!!!

Oh and if you have a Silhouette Curio 2, there are even more possibilities for sketching on thicker materials too! The Silhouette Curio 2 has a clearance of 20 mm, which is the highest clearance of any cutting machine out there!!! So exciting and fun to play with!

Find more details on sketching with the Silhouette Curio 2 HERE.

And …. there’s more!!! The sketch abilities can also be used for foiling projects too! Check out more information on foiling with the Silhouette Heat Pen HERE or with the We R Memory Keepers Foil Quill HERE.

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

Enjoy !

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