How I made the vinyl:
Since I did not like any of the images I found online, I drew my own using Illustrator. There were three layers, each with about 50-100 strokes. After I had that done, I had to use "Image Trace" to separate the image by color. I used the "Three Color" trace to get my three colors separated (red, orange, and yellow). After I had the colors separated, I had to ungroup them so I could move them all independently. I then moved each of them to their own corner and created a new artboard for each different color. Once I had this, I moved over to the vinyl cutter software and individually cut each layer. I had to make sure that all the settings (such as fitting to media, polling size, and the physical size of the vinyl sheet) were to the right value to get the actual correct size of my design.
Since I did not like any of the images I found online, I drew my own using Illustrator. There were three layers, each with about 50-100 strokes. After I had that done, I had to use "Image Trace" to separate the image by color. I used the "Three Color" trace to get my three colors separated (red, orange, and yellow). After I had the colors separated, I had to ungroup them so I could move them all independently. I then moved each of them to their own corner and created a new artboard for each different color. Once I had this, I moved over to the vinyl cutter software and individually cut each layer. I had to make sure that all the settings (such as fitting to media, polling size, and the physical size of the vinyl sheet) were to the right value to get the actual correct size of my design.
Using the aforementioned cutting software, I cut each layer of the design onto a different colored vinyl sheet. Once I had all three individual pieces, using a process called weeding, I used a dental tool to remove all the unnecessary film off of the designs. After that, I used a squeegee to apply transfer tape to the front side of each vinyl to allow for me to take the vinyl home and actually apply it to something. Once I had all the pieces transfer taped, I took off the paper backing and applied the vinyl to the glass on my computer. There were a few gaps (as expected), but, I still think it turned out great.
What I learned:
From this rotation, I further built up my skills using Illustrator and gained an even better understanding on how to use Cutting Master. The main thing I learned, however, is how to use Illustrator to draw my own designs. This is the first time I have used Illustrator to draw something of my own and it turned out much better than I thought.