Practical development/ material considerations...

I've been trying to get my head around how i would need to prep the artwork if i did find myself able to laser etch on pre-painted wood ,like in the previous Hydro74 & 123KLAN examples. 

I'm envisioning them on 20x20cm wooden panels, that could just be hung like picture frames - or if the wood used was thin enough, it could possibly be placed inside a box frame? This is all hypothetical of course, and i'm probably getting carried away with this all. I'm thinking i should maybe save some of this hands-on practical creativity for my extended practice projects as i don't want to rush it all at once, OR use up all my best ideas too soon!

I had a play around with a few of the mini mask designs; making a mask out of the white areas of each design until i achieved the desired effect by cutting those white areas from the 'painted' black wooden surface. To find out whether this would work when it comes to actually laser etching the wood, i would need to consult the woodwork tutors to get their thoughts.In theory, this does appear to be how the artwork would be prepared.

With woodwork slots booked for Wednesday and Friday of this week it might be asking bit much to research and source the materials i need, apply them then getting them etched in time. If that's the case then ill just experiment without the black paint and see how the designs come out burnt into the various woods available to me (example below).

If the laser cutter rooms are open next week after we break up for xmas ill also try and get some time on them then. That will give me some time over the weekend to look into what sort of paints are recommended to use, plus any other info regarding how to prime and prep wood in general.Wish i'd paid more attention in my Woodwork classes at school now!

With all these new possibilities cropping up it'd be easy to forget the fact that I've still got 5 full character posters to design and produce...so easy that in fact i did briefly forget! But I'm still fully focused on achieving what I've set myself, even though i do have moments of panic about how much time i do actually have left to get it all done by. 

I have my print dungeon and laser cutting slots booked for January so have my final practical targets in place to keep me in check. Obviously if i can nip in for drop-in print sessions before those dates then i will - but i don't fancy my chances at this time of year.