Here is the current state of my layers project. I am very pleased with how it looks currently, however, I ran into many problems while making it. The biggest of these problems was trying to trace the bitmap of the original file I based the piece off.
This is a screenshot of my progress tracing the bitmap of the original file. The file was split into six sections to improve resolution. After tracing the bitmap of two sections, my Inkscape file started to crash. I believe this is because the file was to big. I tried simplifying it, but this led to the letters and numbers being too distorted to read. I decided the method of tracing the bitmap was not worth it.For plan B, I decided to trace the map by hand in inkscape with the “Draw Bezier Curves” tool. This worked well, however it was time consuming, and it didn’t include as much detail as I hoped. I added more detail by taking screenshot of small portions of the original file, tracing those bitmaps, then incorporating them into the final design.
A question I have about my work is weather painting the wood would add more depth or look sloppy. I am worried it would look sloppy because I already glued the piece together, believing the wooden color is what I would like best. I believe trying to paint different layers different colors will be hard if they are glued together. However after seeing other students projects with color, I realized it might add more depth to the piece.
Why did you choose Salem as your place of focus?
I’d recommend using minimal color if you choose to paint to preserve the clean look of the piece.