Lasers, baby. First time ever using a laser cutting tool this past week at the MakerLab and I couldn’t be more pleased with my work. I can honestly say this was the first time I had produced something that I was especially proud of in terms of the aesthetic look of my creation. I’ll explain why later.

The machinery that printed followed the same trend of other printers. That is, it used x-y coordinates to accurately vector cut and burn into the material. This technology isn’t new but I am getting the sense that it is becoming more and more available to the amateur maker in the same way 3D printers and the smart stitching machines. The fact that these machines are becoming more and more available to makers all over have great implications for the maker movement. Namely, the paradigm of making power is continuing to shift in the direction of the small guy.

Daenerys Targaryen is my love

So what did I use the laser cutter for and why am I so proud? So in honor of tonight’s season premier of Game of Thrones, I decided to print out a graphic that I made of my favorite character (and crush) form the show, Daenerys Targaryen. The process was extremely simple but it did take some toying with in terms of saving the file and setting up the printer up correctly. It took me two tries to get the above piece 100% correct. I made a slight error and didn’t vector cut a square so the art was just burned into a large plane. Isn’t she a beaut?

Birthday gifts are always a hassle, at least for me. This is why I am stoked about the above cut that I made using the laser cutter. I printed a cut of the country Lebanon with the focal piece of the national flag right on top. My dad is from Lebanon and even though this piece isn’t exactly useful for much or easy to display, I thought the wood and the burnt edges made the cut be especially meaningful considering the country is known for her great cedar trees. Look at me, trying to be deep!

I’m looking forward to returning to the maker lab two classes from now!