Help, please: 100 scrolls designs challenge

[simone-cervellati]

Hey guys! I am in need of help, drawing is NOT my strongest feat and I’ve wanted to get better at designing and drawing scrolls for a long time, I have dabbled in it a bit, but never seriously, and it takes me a huge amount of time to get to a decent result (or at least what I think is decent, it probably isn’t )

I have read the books, watched the videos etc.. but it is time to do some serious practice..

so I have been thinking about doing like they tell you in art school, draw 100 of them, and see if my drawing and designing skills get better.

BUT, I have no clue what progression to follow, what rules to adhere to for this project, so this is where you guys come in. Here are a few questions I thought about, hopefully you can take the time to answer or add anything you think is important:

1: Border or no border?
Should I give myself restraints In terms of shape? If so what kind of shapes are easier/more complicated to fill with scrolls?

2: What progression do you guys think is better or have you experienced yields the best results?
e.g. start with leaves, move to 1 scroll, move to multiple, move to intersecting scrolls, etc..etc..

3: What elements do you think give that something extra to a design?
In other words, have you stumbled upon design elements that should be studied and practiced more? that make a design stand out more? It could be minute details such as the tried and true “making sure your negative space stays the same throughout the design” or things more complicated.

4: Which styles should I study?
I noticed people call different kinds of scrolls and leaves with different names and, to be honest, I haven’t been able to properly understand what makes them that particular kind of style (e.g. black leaf) and the fact that I’m based in Italy doesn’t help since everything here has 300 other different names

5: Add anything that you think I haven’t thought of? It’s probably a lot.

Thanks in advance to those who’ll respond, I’ve been at this seriously for 7 years now, and I remember reading more than once here that when You realize You can use the tools , that’s when the fun starts, because now you can start getting creative.

Best regards to everyone!

S.

 

[mdengraver]

They will probably tell you to practice simple Scrolls and there backbones 1st before evolving to more complicated designs you are not ready for. Also one of Ron Smith's books on scroll design. I recommend the Advanced Drawing if Scrolls by Ron Smith.

 

[tdelewis]

Draw! Draw! Draw! Sam Alfano's DVD helped me. I suggest it.

 

[Leland Davis]

Sam's DVD is a great help the chapter on point errors is worth the price of the whole thing.
Draw

 

[dcurrie911]

my practice increased 10 fold when I moved to Procreate. Perhaps you already use it but figured I would throw it out.

Dan

 

[MrCash1302]

I'm in the opposite position. I focused on drawing and am now trying to get my cutting skills up to speed. I spend the majority of my internet time over in the FB group, but I'm here, so I'll give my opinion...(my responses in blue, below)

Hey guys! I am in need of help, drawing is NOT my strongest feat and I’ve wanted to get better at designing and drawing scrolls for a long time, I have dabbled in it a bit, but never seriously, and it takes me a huge amount of time to get to a decent result (or at least what I think is decent, it probably isn’t )

I have read the books, watched the videos etc.. but it is time to do some serious practice..

so I have been thinking about doing like they tell you in art school, draw 100 of them, and see if my drawing and designing skills get better.

BUT, I have no clue what progression to follow, what rules to adhere to for this project, so this is where you guys come in. Here are a few questions I thought about, hopefully you can take the time to answer or add anything you think is important:

1: Border or no border?
Should I give myself restraints In terms of shape? If so what kind of shapes are easier/more complicated to fill with scrolls?

Design inside a border. You'll almost always have some kind of border when engraving, even if it's just the shape of the object. Figuring out how to fill awkward borders now will help you immensely in the long term. Use real world objects for practice...guns, zippos, oocket knives. Templates are easy to find. Might as well practice on the items you plan to work with.

2: What progression do you guys think is better or have you experienced yields the best results?
e.g. start with leaves, move to 1 scroll, move to multiple, move to intersecting scrolls, etc..etc.

Practice backbones first. They're the foundation for everything. Then add a simple leaf style. Also, script lettering is a great study. It truly does help with scrollwork. The line work uses the same concepts. Pay close attention to the small handful of strokes used in script letters. All your scrollwork is based on these few strokes.

3: What elements do you think give that something extra to a design?
In other words, have you stumbled upon design elements that should be studied and practiced more? that make a design stand out more? It could be minute details such as the tried and true “making sure your negative space stays the same throughout the design” or things more complicated.

Besides what's already been mentioned....banners. Study them and learn how to use them correctly.

4: Which styles should I study?
I noticed people call different kinds of scrolls and leaves with different names and, to be honest, I haven’t been able to properly understand what makes them that particular kind of style (e.g. black leaf) and the fact that I’m based in Italy doesn’t help since everything here has 300 other different names.

Bright cut/flare: cuts fast, looks sparkly, makes money. The bread and butter for generating income.
Lettering: Roman and Script. 75% of all my work involves lettering.
The 70+ hour, super high detailed jobs look great and generate attention, but they don't come very often. Keep your work fast and simple and you'll be better off.

5: Add anything that you think I haven’t thought of? It’s probably a lot.

Thanks in advance to those who’ll respond, I’ve been at this seriously for 7 years now, and I remember reading more than once here that when You realize You can use the tools , that’s when the fun starts, because now you can start getting creative.

Get Sam's DVDs, Lee Griffiths book/DVD combo, and Ron Smith's book. Have fun.

Best regards to everyone!

S.

 

[gcleaker]

I am just like you I can’t even draw a bent line let alone a strait one but draw, draw, draw you must. I went to a business supply store and bought a drawing templet that had different sized rectangles. And drew the rectangle and then the backbone inside the rectangles, this helped me to keep my proportion correct when you get this part down then begin on the inside elements. find what works for you and stick with it.

 

[Eric Olson]

Divide a sheet of sketch pad paper into 10-20 random shapes by drawing random straight lines or crease the paper with random folds. Most of the shapes will have 3,4 or 5 sides. Practice filling the odd-shaped "cells" with scrolls that touch as many sides as possible.
You'll be surprised at your improvement after only 1 or 2 sheets. Your mind's eye begins to see what will fit.

 

[mitch]

What Eric said, plus use a circle or ellipse template for some curved sides, too.