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How to Add a Name in Silhouette Studio on a Curve

Melissa Bastow

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Adding a name on a curve can seem daunting, but it's actually pretty easy!  I usually use photoshop, because it's the program I'm most familiar with.  But not everyone needs it on a daily basis like I do, and the cost is quite high for the casual user.  So this is how you can achieve the name-on-a-curve look in Silhouette Studio.

I did this in version v3, so it's possible that your version has a few different options, but it should be similar.

First of all, open up the design you want to print.  Make it the right size for whatever it is you're making. 

Then take the "Draw an Ellipse" tool and make an oval right where you want your text to go.  It will be the line that the text gets typed on, so make it at the bottom of the text area.  You can always tweak your oval once it has been created, so don't worry too much about getting it perfect on the first go.

When you have the oval created and in the right spot it will look something like this.

 

Then you need to select the text tool (all these tools are off to the right in my software but they could be at the top - the text tool looks like an A with a cursor by it).  Do a quick double left click on the edge of the oval right where you want the text to start.  You'll notice that the oval has changed colors and you can see the cursor blinking and ready.

Type in the name you want to use.  It should run along the edge of the oval.  If it's still just going straight you missed the double click thing.  It actually took me a couple tries to get it down but then once I did I felt pretty dumb with how easy it actually is. So don't worry if it takes a couple tries.  Because if a self-proclaimed double click master like myself didn't get it right away, you lesser mortals will for sure need a try or two.  (Oh, the jokes today.....sorry, I can't help it.)

Off to the right you can change your font, size, and leading. 

And you'll need to fill your text with a color.  Silhouette Studio thinks in cutting lines and not what will print, so until you fill it with a color (by using the paint bucket tool, found in the options in a tab near the text options on the top right) it will just think you want to cut it on the machine.

This is what my whole screen looks like at this point.

You can even move or size the oval to tweak the position of the name.  Select the oval if you want to change where it is and how it's shaped.  Select the text to change the font and stuff.  Don't select the artwork behind it though - it needs to stay put.  

Once you have it exactly like you want you're ready to print!  You'll still see the oval in your software, but as long as you don't fill it with color it will be invisible to the printer.

But make sure that if you're using the Silhouette to cut around the design after printing that you delete the name and oval first, because, like I said, it wants to cut it.  It just likes to cut things.  And you don't want that name cut out.

And that's it!  Play with the ellipse and text tools a little bit, and you'll get the hang of it really quickly!!  The software is pretty user friendly, and FREE with the Silhouette machine.  So there's no need to be obsessive and only do work in Photoshop like some people I know.  (ME.  I'm talking about me.)  

 


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