Printer or Cricut?

[DeadRabbitArt]

So for the most part I've been drawing onto my substrate with white charcoal pencils or using graphite paper to transfer my drawing onto the paint surface. Then working mostly freehand from there. I like the results I've been getting for the most part. One thing I don't like is the transition from main focus of the painting to the background feels too soft when I work all freehand. So I'm considering a copier/printer or a cricut to make stencils.
Those of you who have one or both, which do you prefer? I feel like the cricut cuts out alot of the work of having to cut stencils yourself and also the cost of ink cartridges. But maybe I'm missing something. What say ye?

 

[speedbeagle74]

Well... I have both but I have not been able to sit down and commit to figuring out how to use the vinyl cutter. I have an older Silhouette Cameo which is the same really. When I first got back into painting about a year ago, I spent a month gathering reference material I thought I would like to cut out with the cutter. But then I sat down to process them and it was more work than I wanted. Granted, I was not using the right program. I used the Cameo software which should have worked but getting an exact outline of more intricate designs proved to be difficult. I also used Photoshop when I really should have tried Illustrator instead. I think if you can find a efficient way to get the designs processed, then a vinyl cutter is helpful. But I really think you'll still find times when it's just better to run off a quick photocopy and start carving.
As far as ink and all that, about the same time I began painting again it was time for me to replace my old ink jet and because I knew I would be making a lot of stencils or art related prints I decided to go with a monochrome laser printer, xerox B210. This thing will make gobs of copies before needing a new cartridge plus they don't dry up when they sit for long periods without use which mine certainly does. Granted, a color printer would be handy but I hate the hassle. Black and white is fine for what I do.
I'm probably opposite from you in that I always use stencils of some sort. My painting yesterday showed that I need to do a little more freehand because my I have a real hard time running accurate lines. My eyes cross and I forget to keep my eye on where I'm going. Stencils will give you that sharp edge you're looking for and don't think it's cheating. There's a whole art to just using templates/stencil/ freehand shields not to mention making them in the first place.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Silhouette Cameo 4....
Cricut is so so , 2 of my Neighbors have them and both said the same thing after the 30 free trail period ends the machine sometime will cut and sometime will not cut something they have made before.
While Cricut supports SVG right out the box , The Silhouette basic supports PNG , DXF and of course studio3 , Upgrade to the silhouette is a one time pay and not a monthly fee like others are. I run the business class edition which was on sale for 50.00US.
Now I can use pretty much any programs file. AI, EPS, SVG, DXF, PNG and a few others.

My neighbor noted that the Cricut while great for simple designs struggles with complex cuts like I make on the Silhouette Cameo 4.
On a side note he shelved the Cricut and bought a Silhouette and in the 2 weeks he has had it has been able to produce more stencils and vinyl stickers then he did the year and a half he had the Cricut.

As far as a printer goes and hand cutting the stencil layout. Pros it is faster in a lot of way. Cons the water may become to wet while using it , You have to have multiple copies and matching exact cut line from one copy to another is an art form. While sometimes you can get all the cuts you need on one sheet. depending on color used covers some of the detail.
Plus as you get better and say paint something on a car or bike or what ever that can run into damage the mylar stencil I now create with the silhouette will hold up for decades vs I have some paper stencils I used on some projects in the past that didn't

If you want to see some of the thing I have designed into stencil you can find it here https://airbrushforum.org/threads/so-what-i-have-been-up-too.24550/
Some are stencil design I bought and some on from photos I made into stencil and some are drawing I have turn into them.

Oh before I forget. Both the Cricut and the Silhouette run 33 max ftlb on the cutting blade. With the great suggestion from @twood I bought the cb09 blade holders and blades for the silhouette and I am happy I did , The blades hold up longer then the stock blades from either machine.
The Cricut had to holders one for blade and one for a pen. The Silhouete has 2 blade holder one for normal cutting and the 2nd is more for simple designs for cutting things like leather. But it comes with adapters to allow for different tools and pens and they do have a pretty good selection of pens.
Hope this helps

 

[DeadRabbitArt]

Well... I have both but I have not been able to sit down and commit to figuring out how to use the vinyl cutter. I have an older Silhouette Cameo which is the same really. When I first got back into painting about a year ago, I spent a month gathering reference material I thought I would like to cut out with the cutter. But then I sat down to process them and it was more work than I wanted. Granted, I was not using the right program. I used the Cameo software which should have worked but getting an exact outline of more intricate designs proved to be difficult. I also used Photoshop when I really should have tried Illustrator instead. I think if you can find a efficient way to get the designs processed, then a vinyl cutter is helpful. But I really think you'll still find times when it's just better to run off a quick photocopy and start carving.
As far as ink and all that, about the same time I began painting again it was time for me to replace my old ink jet and because I knew I would be making a lot of stencils or art related prints I decided to go with a monochrome laser printer, xerox B210. This thing will make gobs of copies before needing a new cartridge plus they don't dry up when they sit for long periods without use which mine certainly does. Granted, a color printer would be handy but I hate the hassle. Black and white is fine for what I do.
I'm probably opposite from you in that I always use stencils of some sort. My painting yesterday showed that I need to do a little more freehand because my I have a real hard time running accurate lines. My eyes cross and I forget to keep my eye on where I'm going. Stencils will give you that sharp edge you're looking for and don't think it's cheating. There's a whole art to just using templates/stencil/ freehand shields not to mention making them in the first place.

Thanks Speedbeagle74 for the thoughtful response. I definitely love the clean edges on paintings I've produced using stencils in the past. I've mostly been working freehand to try to get better control and learn to control overspray. But yea, freehand airbrushing, especially on smaller paintings, my lines tend to be less clear.
I was looking at monochrome printers last night. I'm in the debate with myself on a monochrome printer or a vinyl cutter. I can do everything by hand too. Even the stuff I would print or cut are designs I would likely create myself.

 

[DeadRabbitArt]

Silhouette Cameo 4....
Cricut is so so , 2 of my Neighbors have them and both said the same thing after the 30 free trail period ends the machine sometime will cut and sometime will not cut something they have made before.
While Cricut supports SVG right out the box , The Silhouette basic supports PNG , DXF and of course studio3 , Upgrade to the silhouette is a one time pay and not a monthly fee like others are. I run the business class edition which was on sale for 50.00US.
Now I can use pretty much any programs file. AI, EPS, SVG, DXF, PNG and a few others.

My neighbor noted that the Cricut while great for simple designs struggles with complex cuts like I make on the Silhouette Cameo 4.
On a side note he shelved the Cricut and bought a Silhouette and in the 2 weeks he has had it has been able to produce more stencils and vinyl stickers then he did the year and a half he had the Cricut.

As far as a printer goes and hand cutting the stencil layout. Pros it is faster in a lot of way. Cons the water may become to wet while using it , You have to have multiple copies and matching exact cut line from one copy to another is an art form. While sometimes you can get all the cuts you need on one sheet. depending on color used covers some of the detail.
Plus as you get better and say paint something on a car or bike or what ever that can run into damage the mylar stencil I now create with the silhouette will hold up for decades vs I have some paper stencils I used on some projects in the past that didn't

If you want to see some of the thing I have designed into stencil you can find it here https://airbrushforum.org/threads/so-what-i-have-been-up-too.24550/
Some are stencil design I bought and some on from photos I made into stencil and some are drawing I have turn into them.

Oh before I forget. Both the Cricut and the Silhouette run 33 max ftlb on the cutting blade. With the great suggestion from @twood I bought the cb09 blade holders and blades for the silhouette and I am happy I did , The blades hold up longer then the stock blades from either machine.
The Cricut had to holders one for blade and one for a pen. The Silhouete has 2 blade holder one for normal cutting and the 2nd is more for simple designs for cutting things like leather. But it comes with adapters to allow for different tools and pens and they do have a pretty good selection of pens.
Hope this helps

Mr. Micron, you are becoming my lifeline in this airbrush journey! Lol. I will definitely stay away from the cricut unless one happens to fall in my lap. It's looking like a monochrome might be the cheapest route to move forward. Maybe a vinyl cutter is a thing to wait on until I can see if this hobby can bring money in to help pay for it.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Mr. Micron, you are becoming my lifeline in this airbrush journey! Lol. I will definitely stay away from the cricut unless one happens to fall in my lap. It's looking like a monochrome might be the cheapest route to move forward. Maybe a vinyl cutter is a thing to wait on until I can see if this hobby can bring money in to help pay for it.

Good ideal on waiting , Before I buy I research and ask questions too. As far as printers I just print here at work I consider that a perk of the job.

 

[erwin de pan]

A plotter is fine for making freehand shields, logos and, for example, a line drawing.
But if you want to convert a photo of a landscape into a cut file it's a lot of work, and I find it easier to cut it by hand.
The silhuette software is free, you can just try it out.
The printer, ecotank printers are also much cheaper in the cost of the ink.

 

[speedbeagle74]

If your thinking about a printer, also try to get something with some flex. My Xerox networks easily and I can print something right from my phone. I find conveniences like this help out a lot when it comes to making decisions. If something requires a bunch of hassle I likely won't do it. I don't have a good computer that's quickly accessible for projects.. My laptop is probably 20 years old and runs WIndows 7. Printing from my phone on a stand alone printer is very advantageous. Even for the times I've snapped a quick pic of cool mushrooms growing in the yard. 30 seconds later I can be cutting out my stencil. Not every printer has that. I have a lot of time to research things at work and printers are definitely something you want to research. There's things people take for granted when they buy printers and then they get them and find out it doesn't operate the way they hoped and it was a waste of moola. Ink price - features/functions - connectivity- speed - quality - all things to consider.

 

[DeadRabbitArt]

A plotter is fine for making freehand shields, logos and, for example, a line drawing.
But if you want to convert a photo of a landscape into a cut file it's a lot of work, and I find it easier to cut it by hand.
The silhuette software is free, you can just try it out.
The printer, ecotank printers are also much cheaper in the cost of the ink.

Yea. The only reason I was considering a plotter is cutting by hand is tedious. It's a skill I should definitely work on. I'm going to continue to work on freehand painting and maybe cut stencils for the outside edges of a major shape.

 

[DeadRabbitArt]

If your thinking about a printer, also try to get something with some flex. My Xerox networks easily and I can print something right from my phone. I find conveniences like this help out a lot when it comes to making decisions. If something requires a bunch of hassle I likely won't do it. I don't have a good computer that's quickly accessible for projects.. My laptop is probably 20 years old and runs WIndows 7. Printing from my phone on a stand alone printer is very advantageous. Even for the times I've snapped a quick pic of cool mushrooms growing in the yard. 30 seconds later I can be cutting out my stencil. Not every printer has that. I have a lot of time to research things at work and printers are definitely something you want to research. There's things people take for granted when they buy printers and then they get them and find out it doesn't operate the way they hoped and it was a waste of moola. Ink price - features/functions - connectivity- speed - quality - all things to consider.

Yea. For sure any printer I would buy would need to be able to connect to my ipad/phone. I have a laptop but I prefer a tablet over the laptop. I do a little bit of digital art using my iPad too. So being able to print from it would he ideal.

 

[Kingpin]

Yea. For sure any printer I would buy would need to be able to connect to my ipad/phone. I have a laptop but I prefer a tablet over the laptop. I do a little bit of digital art using my iPad too. So being able to print from it would he ideal.

SiRoxx has done some pretty cool pics using the ipad and I think it was procreate

Check some out Here

 

[DeadRabbitArt]

SiRoxx has done some pretty cool pics using the ipad and I think it was procreate

Check some out Here

Yea. Thats what I use too. Procreate is great. Pretty cheap for what it is. I just not get quite the fulfillment out of digital art as I do from graphite drawing or painting.