Cafe Interview with Andrew Biggs

[Jon C. Dake]

Andrew is just one of the nicest people that I have met on any of the forums. He has voiced support for my meger efforts at learning this art form and has taken his valuable time to provide me with some really great ideas and tips, including some great advice on shading, which was always somewhat of a mystery to me until Andrew turned on the light bulb. I know that I probably speak for most of us beginners when I say that we only dream of having the talent and skill that Andrew already displays. I just wish Andrew lived here in Phoenix so I could hang out with him and learn even more. See you in Reno Andrew.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Thanks William & Harold. Jon, it was my pleasure to be able to help out. You hang in there mate and your dream will be realised one day.

Yves...........My seminar will be about computer generated graphics using Corel Draw & Corel Photo paint. However the same principles will be able to be used in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Basically the same thing with a different terminology. It will mainly be an expansion of the FEGA article I wrote, but more of a "how to"

Subjects covered will be....

1. Basics on the tool bars and menu (in other words what some of the tools are and what they do)

2. Getting a smoke/ink pull of the part to be engraved into the computer and outlining it so it can be enlarged for drawings.

3. Basic shapes and their manipulation. Welding, contouring, outline/inline, borders, duplicating, etc.

4. Drawing lines and curves and node editing (that's the guts of vector art)

5.Terminology such as group, ungroup, combineing, paths, open/closed shapes.

6. Basic colour

7. Scroll development and manipulation, Lengthening the spine and more on node editing.

8. Running borders, repedative designs, spacing, symetrical designs, mirroring, etc.

9. Rosettes and how to make them from scratch

10. Text to path and how to manipulate text (eg text in a flowing ribbon)

11. Pictures from photographs (lions, birds, people etc) and how to get outlines of the cuts into the computer. A bit about resolution (dpi)

12. Getting your pencil drawings into the computer so they can be transferred to the metal, scanning dpi etc.

13. Finishing touches. Reducing your drawing and printing ready for transfer (or whatever method you prefer)

14. Anything else I can think of!!!

It will all be done on a screen directley off the computer so you can see what I'm actually doing. I'll also have as many finished examples on screen so you can see what can be done.

Rex Pederson has given me fair warning that there will be plenty of guns at Reno. So if people start falling asleep he'll fire a couple of warning shots above my head to let me know it's time to wrap it up....

The seminar I'm most looking forward to is Sam Welch's one about Photographing your work. His engravings are stunning and so's his photography. Joe Rundell is also giving a seminar about gunstock carving so that should be really interesting as well.

Cheers
Andrew

Below is a good idea of some of what will be covered. All drawn in Corel Draw. It looks hard but in reality is fairly straight forward with a bit of practice. It's just a process. I have to stress that it dosn't replace pencil and paper under any circumstances. It's just a means to an end.

 

[Yves Halliburton]

Andrew, do you think there is much difference between coral draw and adobe illustrator.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Yves.

Not sure as I've only used Adobe Illustrator a tiny bit. They are both recognised in the graphics art industry as being at the top. My guess is that what you can do with one, you can do with the other. The terminology is probabley a bit different but I suspect that they both reach the same outcomes.

cheers
Andrew

 

[JJ Roberts]

Andrew...Wish I could get to Reno to meet you, but I don't think that is going to happen this show. I have been showing your casting of the side plate to people who come to my table at the gun & knife shows. Folks have been getting a big kick out of seeing it with your letter. I bring a 3 ring binder with me to put on the table...it is filled with photographs of my work, my drawings, complimentry letters from my customers, and correspondence from other engravers throught the country and the world. Doing shows here whether it be gun or knife shows I get to talk and meet a lot of interesting people. Your trip to the US is going to be very exciting I am sure. In Reno you are going to meet a lot of talented and generous folks. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
School of Artistic Engraving
Manassas, VA