How to Digitize a Portrait with Sfumato Stitch

This page offers a step-by-step tutorial on how to digitize a photographic portrait for embroidery using the Sfumato Stitch tool in Embird Studio NEXT. It guides users through importing a photo, outlining key features like the face, mouth, and hair with the Sfumato tool, adjusting parameters for color and stitch density, and saving the finished design. The tutorial also showcases examples of sfumato designs created with different color palettes, including multicolored, sepia, and grayscale.

Sfumato generates stitches from a picture (photo) imported into the background of the work area. The user draws boundaries of areas that will be turned into stitches and assigns appropriate parameters to each area (object).

Adjustable parameters of sfumato objects are described in the Parameters - Sfumato chapter.

1. Import Photo

Use the main menu > Image > Import command to import a photo into the Work Area.

The resolution of the raster picture determines the size of the finished design. The ratio between picture units (pixels) and design size is 100 pixels per centimeter, which is 254 pixels per inch. This means that a design with a 10-centimeter (3.94 inches) height should have 1000 pixels. Each time the sfumato stitches are generated, the underlying picture is used. Therefore, a sfumato object cannot be resized without also resizing the underlying raster picture.

The imported photo must have the correct resolution: 100 pixels per centimeter (or 254 pixels per inch) of the required design size.

2. Digitize Face

Use the Sfumato Tool to draw the area you want to fill with stitches. Each area can have up to 9 shades of the 'basic color'. In this example, draw the face area as the first object. Make the face object so that there is an overlay into the hair. The face will be filled with shades of skin color.

Sfumato tool

Vector outline of the face digitized over the raster photo.

We want to make the mouth in another color. Therefore, use the Opening Tool to cut out the mouth area.

Opening tool

Please note: besides Openings, Sfumato objects can also have Carvings.

Carving tool

Carvings are lines or curves that are drawn immediately after the Sfumato object. They can be used to emphasize some hardly visible edges in the Sfumato object.

Face object with a hole. Stitches are not yet generated.

3. Adjust Parameters

Select the face object in the Work Area or in the Object Inspector and invoke the pop-up menu. Choose the 'Edit' command from the pop-up menu. The face object switches to node editing, and the Sfumato parameters are displayed in the main control panel.

The Mode combo box at the top of the Sfumato parameters panel allows you to switch between these working modes:

1. Parameters Mode
2. Pick Color from Image - click in the work area to pick a color from the picture in its background. Use the pop-up menu to choose where you want to use the picked color (basic thread color, mask color, etc.).
3. Shades Layout Preview - this preview mode renders the Sfumato object in the work area as a color map to let you see the layout of shades within the object. Change the respective thresholds or mask range to accurately adjust the color layout.

Select the Pick Color from Image (eye dropper) tool from the combo box in the Parameters panel and pick a 'skin' color from the photo as the so-called 'basic color' of the object. The program automatically generates 5 shades of this color.

Please note: The same combo box allows you to switch to shades layout preview to see the influence of adjusted parameters on the Sfumato object in the Work Area.

The Color tab on the Parameters panel contains 5 enabled shades of the basic color and their parameters. The rest of the shades are disabled by default, but you can enabled them if you need more shades.

Parameters in each row are:

Decrease the contrast of shades using the Contrast control.

Click the Generate Stitches button or use the same command from the pop-up menu. This will finish the editing of the face object.

The first Sfumato object filled with 5 shades derived from the basic color.

4. Digitize Mouth

Select the mouth opening in the Parts Inspector window and use the main menu > Convert > Fill & Sfumato > Create Fill from Opening command to create a mouth object.

Adjust the parameters of the mouth object. Because it is a very small object, it is not necessary to use 5 color shades for it. Disable 1 or 2 shades by clicking on the respective check marks (A).

Mouth Sfumato object with 4 shades of pink color.

5. Digitize Hair

Create the last area, hair, in the same way as the face and pick an appropriate color for its fill using the Parameters window. Switch to shade preview mode and adjust the Shade Threshold (D) to give the hair a better shade balance.

6. Save Design

Generate stitches for all three objects. The portrait is finished. Save the design as a *.EOF file, which is the native Studio file format. Use the main menu > Design > Compile and Put into Embird Editor command to place the design into Editor for saving in the desired embroidery format. If you are not a registered user of Sfumato Stitch, this command is disabled.

7. Other Examples of Sfumato Designs

Multicolored Design

Multicolored design (6 basic colors, 22 thread shades), height 16.8cm (6.6 inches).

The design contains 6 vector objects. Each object has a number of shades chosen according to its size and complexity. For example, the "mouth" is a small object and required a low number of shades.

Background - 4 shades

Face - 5 shades. The face object contains a hole for the mouth.

Mouth - 2 shades

Sweater - 2 shades

Cap - 4 shades

Jacket - 5 shades

Sepia Color Scale

Height 21.8 cm (8.6 inches), 1 basic color (5 thread shades)

The design contains just one vector object - a simple rectangle that covers the whole photo. Shades are generated automatically from its basic color.

Grayscale Design

Height 20.8 cm (8.2 inches), 1 basic color (5 thread shades)

The design contains just one vector object - a simple rectangle that covers the whole photo. Shades are generated automatically from its basic color.