Marcus Hunt
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
So as not to highjack another thread I though I'd better start another one. Please forgive me in advance if anything I say might sound abrupt or won't massage any egos but sometimes I see work which could be so much better if the engraver had a little more understanding of the fundamentals of scrollwork.
Sometimes someone will put up a picture of something they've done and ask for a critique and before you know it there are more than a dozen replies saying thing like "Looks great," or "Fabulous work," or "You're doing real good there!" But I'm sorry to say that some of these people who offer such 'critique' are often not much more than novices themselves and this sort of thing isn't of help to the person who published his/her work. Please don't get me wrong, praise where praise is due is a wonderful bonus to the person who has bothered to publish their work but please have the decency to acknowledge your own shortcomings or lack of experience before offering criticism. It often leaves the experienced engraver who would like to offer 'constructive criticism' out in the cold because they don't want to be seen as going against the majority. This does a disservice to the person who's published their work for critique as fawning behaviour helps nobody. This is the reason I rarely comment on western bright cut (unless I really like something) as I don't feel I have enough expertise in that particular area; the same applies to jewellery (unless it's engraved).
If you like something by all means say so but explain why, or give your experience level somehow. Just because you've been on the forum a couple of months does not make you an expert to someone who may have only just joined. Likewise, if you don't like something about a piece also say why, but try and do it in a constructive way. As I've said before, even those without actual knowledge of engraving often have an instinctive feeling as to why something doesn't look right.
Rant over. Now for some of the fundamental rules or pointers to constructing scrollwork.....
For those new to scrollwork or intermediates who might need a refresher, try to think of scrolls as stylized foliage. Plants grow in a certain manner e.g. if it's a tree it will grow trunk, branch, twig, leaf. It will never grow branch, leaf, trunk, twig. The tree has its foundation at it's roots and everything that grows from the trunk grows progressively smaller..
A scroll, therefore, has to come from somewhere and this 'foundation' or 'point of origin' will normally either be a 'closed end' starter scroll or an edge. Engraving should never begin with an open ended scroll in space. It just looks plain wrong.
Each subsequent scroll should then grow from it's source (i.e. the previous scroll) in the opposite direction and any further scrolls will grow accordingly in alternating directions. Generally, any scroll that grows from another should (if possible) be smaller.
Scrolls should also grow away from the point of origin. Often I've seen examples where a smaller scroll grows, and fills a space, back towards the point where the larger scroll it grows from begins. Again, this is wrong. Remember our tree and imagine what it would look like if branches or twigs hooked back and grew towards the trunk. You'd think there was something wrong with the tree wouldn't you?
These pointers or 'rules' apply to all styles of scrollwork. Once you know and understand them fully, then they can be bent within certain bounds e.g. there is a way of flinging a larger scroll from a smaller one and have it growing in the same direction and still have the design look right. This is because if the design was unwound and laid flat, the smaller scroll would naturally sit within the larger one as part of it.
If you don't understand the basics though, you'll never stand a chance when it comes to more complicated designs. Things will get lost or you'll have scrolls which should look like they're growing from somewhere underneath another starting in what looks like space.
I appreciate fully those of you who haven't served an apprenticeship, or been given guidance from a 'master', are at a distinct disadvantage and that is why so many of us more advanced engravers recommend Ron Smith's book on advanced drawing of scrolls. You may agree or disagree with Ron's philosophy within the book, but underlying it is a great wealth of knowledge and a sincere wish to pass it on. Ron has done what many of us experience engravers would have liked to have done but haven't had the time or skill to put down in ink. As has been said before, this book is gold to any engraver particularly beginners and novices. It will teach you the construction of scrollwork and development of design so you can tell a good design from a poor one.
Also, within my class at GRS I try to get my students to understand how to design a piece of work. I can't speak for other instructors but I'm sure they do too. It's important for novices to know why we try to get you to do something in a particular way and why we offer advice on the forum. It's up to you whether or not you work with said advice but when you do, and when you are fully acquainted with the fundamental rules, in no time you'll be designing your own stuff in your own style and will have the confidence to know it look right even if it breaks or bends the 'rules'.
Sometimes someone will put up a picture of something they've done and ask for a critique and before you know it there are more than a dozen replies saying thing like "Looks great," or "Fabulous work," or "You're doing real good there!" But I'm sorry to say that some of these people who offer such 'critique' are often not much more than novices themselves and this sort of thing isn't of help to the person who published his/her work. Please don't get me wrong, praise where praise is due is a wonderful bonus to the person who has bothered to publish their work but please have the decency to acknowledge your own shortcomings or lack of experience before offering criticism. It often leaves the experienced engraver who would like to offer 'constructive criticism' out in the cold because they don't want to be seen as going against the majority. This does a disservice to the person who's published their work for critique as fawning behaviour helps nobody. This is the reason I rarely comment on western bright cut (unless I really like something) as I don't feel I have enough expertise in that particular area; the same applies to jewellery (unless it's engraved).
If you like something by all means say so but explain why, or give your experience level somehow. Just because you've been on the forum a couple of months does not make you an expert to someone who may have only just joined. Likewise, if you don't like something about a piece also say why, but try and do it in a constructive way. As I've said before, even those without actual knowledge of engraving often have an instinctive feeling as to why something doesn't look right.
Rant over. Now for some of the fundamental rules or pointers to constructing scrollwork.....
For those new to scrollwork or intermediates who might need a refresher, try to think of scrolls as stylized foliage. Plants grow in a certain manner e.g. if it's a tree it will grow trunk, branch, twig, leaf. It will never grow branch, leaf, trunk, twig. The tree has its foundation at it's roots and everything that grows from the trunk grows progressively smaller..
A scroll, therefore, has to come from somewhere and this 'foundation' or 'point of origin' will normally either be a 'closed end' starter scroll or an edge. Engraving should never begin with an open ended scroll in space. It just looks plain wrong.
Each subsequent scroll should then grow from it's source (i.e. the previous scroll) in the opposite direction and any further scrolls will grow accordingly in alternating directions. Generally, any scroll that grows from another should (if possible) be smaller.
Scrolls should also grow away from the point of origin. Often I've seen examples where a smaller scroll grows, and fills a space, back towards the point where the larger scroll it grows from begins. Again, this is wrong. Remember our tree and imagine what it would look like if branches or twigs hooked back and grew towards the trunk. You'd think there was something wrong with the tree wouldn't you?
These pointers or 'rules' apply to all styles of scrollwork. Once you know and understand them fully, then they can be bent within certain bounds e.g. there is a way of flinging a larger scroll from a smaller one and have it growing in the same direction and still have the design look right. This is because if the design was unwound and laid flat, the smaller scroll would naturally sit within the larger one as part of it.
If you don't understand the basics though, you'll never stand a chance when it comes to more complicated designs. Things will get lost or you'll have scrolls which should look like they're growing from somewhere underneath another starting in what looks like space.
I appreciate fully those of you who haven't served an apprenticeship, or been given guidance from a 'master', are at a distinct disadvantage and that is why so many of us more advanced engravers recommend Ron Smith's book on advanced drawing of scrolls. You may agree or disagree with Ron's philosophy within the book, but underlying it is a great wealth of knowledge and a sincere wish to pass it on. Ron has done what many of us experience engravers would have liked to have done but haven't had the time or skill to put down in ink. As has been said before, this book is gold to any engraver particularly beginners and novices. It will teach you the construction of scrollwork and development of design so you can tell a good design from a poor one.
Also, within my class at GRS I try to get my students to understand how to design a piece of work. I can't speak for other instructors but I'm sure they do too. It's important for novices to know why we try to get you to do something in a particular way and why we offer advice on the forum. It's up to you whether or not you work with said advice but when you do, and when you are fully acquainted with the fundamental rules, in no time you'll be designing your own stuff in your own style and will have the confidence to know it look right even if it breaks or bends the 'rules'.
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