: ...take an image and convert it to a sketch? . . . Linda wants to
: burn a new image and needs it to be converted to a sketch to
: make it easier to transfer onto the wood. . .

Several ways. Adobe illustrator lets you import a digital photograph as a template. It would appear as an underlying layer. You could then draw on a layer on top of the image and print out just the line drawing. They also allowed you to use a feature called autotrace to create a line drawing of a photo. Unfortunately I don't have my old version of illustrator running, and the new one hasn't arrived yet (gotta buy it this week). Adobe's website has some interesting offers on their new software. They allow you to try the latest version for a few days for free, and you can buy it (lease it?, rent it?) by the month!

If you are working with almost any photo editing software, you can just kick up the contrast all the way to knock out midtones. Depending on your image that may be all that is necessary.

For a person who likes traditional methods, though, why not do things the old fashioned way? Put a piece of tracing paper over your photo and go over that with a pencil, pen, or marker. To start, you can make your picture any size you wish by scanning it and printing it out on regular paper using just black ink.That lets the computer deal with converting any colors to monochromatic images. Then you just need to follow the outlines by hand, with an eraser handy. Tape the tracing paper over the area you want to place the image and burn through paper and wood.

With tracing paper there is no learning curve, no software to install, and the job is done in a few minutes. Mistakes are quickly corrected, and multiple versions can be made and easily compared.

If you don't want the tracing paper in your way, you can put carbon paper between it and your wood and go over the lines to transfer that image to the wood. NO carbon paper on hand? (It is getting scarce) Use a soft (#1 or#2) lead pencil and rub over the back of the paper to lay down a coating of graphite. It takes a bit more pressure, but you'll get a neat transfer of your design without any waxy residue from carbon paper. Or, you can scan your line drawing, print it on an inkjet printer and t-shirt transfer paper in a mirror image, them use a clothes iron to apply that image to the wood just as you would apply the image to a t-shirt.

Hope this helps.

PGJ