African Art:CNC Vs Light

Appreciating light in art

Step 1: Making the Back-lit Print

Wanted to come up with something new age (contemporary) from a friends African girl digital art.

My main motivation was to play around with various light effects on the same piece.

So, first we prepare the image to be printed(A2 size) on back-lit paper. I did this using Illustrator then

took it to my print shop

Step 2: Making the CNC Piece

Ok, first we need to understand that CNC(Computer Numerical Control) machines use black & white images.

This meant I had to edit my image to fit this format. I used Inkscape for this. Once this is done were good to go

and after the machine was done running we had this piece.

Step 3: Checking Out the Light Effect

Now I have both pieces ready to be framed.

Step 4: Mounting the Art to the Lightboxes

I made my lightboxes from 9mm plywood and led light rods. There is a tonne of info online on how to assemble light boxes, used specific dimensions since my prints were A2 size. I used a grinder at the back to give an earthy finish.

Step 5: The Party