background

[papart1]

O.K.........lets see, I can remove background to the side cut correction getting rid of the inside cut to foster flow on the outside.............................but then, you gotta remove background to achieve this magnificent result man..............work,work work................

 

[Leland Davis]

The more you work at it the more you have to know but it does get better if ya keep at it.

 

[Goldjockey]

I absolutely hate the time consuming process of background removal. Feels like grunt-work and there's just no way around it.

Have tried just about everything from texturing the negative space without removing background, to creating diagonal lines for background, but one just cant fool the human eye. To create a true sense of depth and contrast on the raised surfaces, actual depth is absolutely necessary on the recessed surfaces.

Like you Paps, I'm still fairly new at this, and still getting my ass kicked from time to time when I sit down to work. More often than I care to admit, really.

This is an unaccustomed, and unwelcome feeling. There are times I feel I've got an absolute handle on it, and just as often there are times I find myself wondering why I'm spending time hand engraving when I could be turning out ten times the volume of work with things I already know how to do.

Just plain stubbornness, I suppose.

To get through the process of removing background , I find I have to think of the work as true 2.5 D sculpture, rather than a detailed 2 Drawing in metal. The raised and shaded foreground doesn't work at all well without a good recessed background, and vice versa.