The first part of Getting to Know Trace showed all the buttons and functions of the Trace and Draw tab—where the real action of creating and altering a design happens.

But once the creation is complete, every item in the project will need cutting instructions. The Set Bevels tab is where you give items their cutting instructions. Every Trace project will involve setting bevels, so it is important to understand the options and processes on this screen.

Wizard users know that PathTrace is the alteration and drawing program within MatDesigner™. Trace is the FrameShop™ equivalent. 

Trace has many improvements over PathTrace and several added features. Whether or not you are familiar with PathTrace, an introduction to Trace will be helpful. It is a completely new program, after all. There are functions in different places, and some functions operate differently. An introduction to the operations of Trace may also spark ideas for new designs you could invent or improve knowing the capabilities of this tool.

Here are a few more ideas for decorative pen lines using the template shapes. This time, it is your turn to drive.

The premise for the designs in the earlier article about pen lines was to use the template shapes to add the decorative elements to the pen lines. No drawing, no extra alignment steps, and no merging. Then set the parameters to very small values so that the decoration would be almost subliminal. The pen can draw these details easily and impressively. No pen line would ever need to be just a plain rectangle. The details would be delicate enough that they could not possibly overshadow any picture.

The thought of “decoration” brings to mind baroque flourishes, and some framers—rightly—want no part of it. 

This notion has perpetuated an adherence to strict austerity: Every picture is presented best with no ornament whatsoever. However, this attitude ignores the fact that every aspect of the presentation—even its austerity—colors our perception of the picture. So some pictures could do with a little ornament—call it softening the rectangles, call it an echo of an element of the picture.

Decorative pen lines may be the perfect addition to solve the need for minimal decoration. The details can be small enough that they are almost subliminal. No line needs to be just a simple rectangle anymore, and Wizard’s FrameShop™ software offers endless choices to change the details for every line using just the templates and their parameters.