Scroll cutting & shading practice #1

[sam]

Well, I have to say that I'm pleased and impressed with the results so far!

Mitch: A beautiful job as I expected. Beautifully shaded and I like the enhancements you made with the design. Plus you had fun in the process I love doing these kinds of things...just experimenting, etc. Not much else to say...it's top flight work and I'm taking note of some of the things you've done and will try them myself.

mrthe: Yours is beautifully cut as well! Your graver control is excellent and I like the way you have shaded the leaves. And you're getting good tapering to your cuts which makes a huge difference in the work. Congratulations!

Gemsetterchris: Looking good, mate! Really nice dark background. We're all waiting to see what you come up with shading wise.

Chris Malouf: You're a hoot, and I really do hope you'll take this one on

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I agree with Mitch...............it was fun to cut!!

Here's my go at it.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Dimas]

Hola a todos, Bueno gracias a Paolo por avisarnos de la buena iniciativa, ya la pusimos en nuestro foro, http://www.grabadomanual.com/showthread.php?750-Placa-de-practica-de-Sam-alfano&p=3034#post3034
y quise hacer tambien mi practica. me gusto y tendre que seguir practicando. un saludo.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

I just realised it`s well over 6 months since i`ve cut anything
Anyway a few months of "theory practice" reading the forums can`t be all bad.
Sorry about the pic quality

Done my best & here she is ( with abit of "dot" practice in the mix).....

 

[yakob]

in my opinion mrthe and mitch has done the best.

 

[sam]

What a great thread and excellent cutting examples. I think this is valuable study to see how several engravers handle the same pattern. For me, I see things in each one that I like and might incorporate into future work. Andrew and Chris Malouf's examples are really cleanly cut and finely shaded, and I like the sparkle in Andrew's and the beefier modifications Chris made to the design. Obviously the shading is excellent in each one as well. And thank you Dimas for your participation, too. Nice cutting and modifications And Gemsetterchris' lines & dots combo is an interesting approach, plus you did a background treatment. For not engraving for 6mos this is great and I hope it inspires you to do more

I think what I like most of all is that some of you reported that it was fun.

 

[mtgraver]

Funny thing with this thread is I've done more drawing on this than most projects ..... I know that's a good thing, but I typically do a rough sketch then I can visualize what needs to be done to shade it. I find some elements give more difficulty than others. I will cut this after a show this weekend when I take the time to transfer since I rarely ever transfer images.
Now Chris! all that mumbo jumbo ........... and you won't finish?! 5 more minutes and it would've been complete but noooo, too much fun for one day eh? Go ahead, put in some gold, relieve the background .............. and go for it , or not!
Thanks Sam, this is a great thread and wonderful cutting by all, now to get to work on my own.
Mark

 

[Gemsetterchris]

That was very fun, i might have another go with it on paper.
One question though.. would those experts who cut this tackle the shading the same way had they done the background??? i guess you would but leave a clear edge?

Thanks for putting this practice up Sam it`s got my interest renewed

 

[Jörmungandr]

Thanks for the challenge Sam. I have begun working on an art knife that I will have a scroll design engraved on mammoth ivory. The most advanced scroll design I've cut on antler or ivory. So figured I could use the practice and your design came like a grouse on a slighly overcast day.

Anyway, here's my attemt. Just outlines so far, very tricky to cut those sharp bends. Might have to regrind my tool if I'm going to to alot of this :thinking:

I'm am going over the lines one more time, to smoothen them out and broaden some a bit.



PS: Sorry for the odd cross cuts and deep grooves that spoils the design.. This was the only scrap piece I had flat enough for a design like this

 

[sam]

That was very fun, i might have another go with it on paper.
One question though.. would those experts who cut this tackle the shading the same way had they done the background??? i guess you would but leave a clear edge?

Thanks for putting this practice up Sam it`s got my interest renewed

That's an EXCELLENT question, and I'll let those who cut the design answer as it pertains to what they cut. I will say that if you plan to have a black background you must keep this in mind when creating darkly shaded edges of leaves, etc., or you can 'lose' that dark edge where it meets the background.

Jörmungandr: I will be waiting to see your finished product It looks good so far!

 

[Dimas]

Hola de nuevo, Perdonar por el idioma, pero no tengo ni idea de Ingles y tengo que estar traduciendo,
He vuelto a intentar repetir el ejercicio, ya que no me pare a ver el Tutorial de Sam al completo y me copie de Mrthe, vi que nos remitia a este otro tutorial, http://igraver.com/beveling.shtml
Aqui comprendi, que el ejercicio trataba de ser un patrón a biselar, y este es el Biselado:

Ahora tendre que intentar sombrear, Saludos
PD, Gracias Sam, por este ejercicio.

 

[santos]

engraver's cafe , what else?

There is a lot of nice engravings here. Congratulations for all you guys. I have engraved mine this morning and put some colours on it for fun.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

One question though.. would those experts who cut this tackle the shading the same way had they done the background??? i guess you would but leave a clear edge?

Correct............. I would cut the shading in the same way but leave a thin "white" edge on the leaf so the shading didn't blend in with the background.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[mrthe]

wow Jean look very nice your titanium plate! and the lettering too very nice!

 

[mitch]

One question though.. would those experts who cut this tackle the shading the same way had they done the background??? i guess you would but leave a clear edge?

i thought that over and for the most part, no, i wouldn't change the shading much at all if i were relieving the background. there are a few areas where i might not go quite as 'black' to allow a bit more contrast, but would definitely not leave any white outlines.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

Thanks for the replies to my question.
Santos...that looks cool, nice photo.
Also looking forward to seeing how that scrimscroll turns out.

 

[Jörmungandr]

Chris, se ei on scrimshaw, se on sarvetkaiverrus! Paljon tärkeä .

And for the non-finnish population, lucky that you do not need to suffer from my lack of vocabulary ;-). I tried to say that I wasn't doing scrimshaw, but antler engraving.

Anyway, what I did on that piece of antler is not scrimshaw. It is engraving, like metal engraving, a V shape is cut in the antler. It's just that you only cut one side at a time. It is deeper than scrimshaw, when I do scrimshaw with lines, I only use a scalpel and gently cut a very shallow groove in the surface, not removing any material. However, with this style of engraving, I cut out and raise a burr (if cut properly) similar to the burr that raises when you engrave metal. This is all done with a knife that looks kinda like one of those small flat screwdrivers.

//DQ

 

[Mario Sarto]

This is a great design, Sam! I'd like to add my shading-version. It is a pencil-sketch only, sorry. But it shows, what i would try if i could

 

[sam]

Bravo, Mario! That is fantastic! You make my outline look great!

 

[GTJC460]

Here's my go at it