Newbie's first intarsia project - maybe.... help!

[Brandlin]

Hi i was recently given a cheap scroll saw and have seen some of the great intarsia work shown off here and have decided to have a go.

For my first project I want to do a picture of my son's pet bearded dragon like this.

Is there a recognised method for taking a photograph and converting it into an intarsia pattern?

I'm predominantly a DIYer turning towards more refined wood work, so I don't have the kind of stocks of offcuts of various hardwoods that you more established guys might have. So where can I get supplies of small quantities of suitable wood?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Droogs]

go around local joiners and ask for offcuts. You don't need large sizes and the offcuts they have a too small to be of use to them and will usually just be used to heat the wksp. You may even get some for nowt.

I use gimp for changing pictures into line drawings for patterns

 

[Silversam]

I had the same problem getting hold of some nice hardwood. Went to loads of lumber yards but was told they only do soft woods. I bought some pine and made a few with that and used acrylic paint and also food dye to get some colour into the project. I kept searching for better wood and eventually found a yard that stocks hardwood in Doncaster. Not cheap though and they wouldn’t give me any scraps. Maybe when I’ve been a few times I might get some. A few peopl on here recommend charity shops to get old cheap damaged furniture to cut up.i keep my eye out for any wood in skips as well.

 

[ScaredyCat]

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I hesitated recommending this guy because it's already hard to get bargains as he becomes more popular but I will anyway because his service is always great and good sellers need ot be encouraged.

I buy a few off-cuts on ebay from https://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=ayesha-simba - if you get it at the right time you can get quite good bargains from him. He's always quick to send them out too. Often there'll be some purple heart and other exotics in there too.
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There's a nice bundle of mixed hardwood in his listing, currently around £20 - but unless you get lucky it'll probably end at around £45 ...​

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/sherwingroup also do standard and large craft selection boxes (£30-£60) - I've only used them once and that experience went ok.
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[aramco]

just checked these site's out lot of stuff to choose from some good timber for intarsia, and general wood work did not know these existed till now will keep checking back.

John