Design execution - really screwed this one

[vilts]

Well, like title says... What is the first thing you see watching this engraving?

A little hint - it's off center... and not a little, but quite a lot.

So here comes my logical question. Is there some way I could remedy this awful mistake? The fact that I already stippled the background makes fixing way harder, I guess. How could I make it look decent and later say that it was supposed to be that way, actually?

Oh man, is this a learning experience or what?

Viljo

 

[mdengraver]

Looks good to me.

Maybe I'll need to get my eyes checked.

 

[KCSteve]

Ha! I may actually know this one!

Looks to me like you've still got that banner going so I'd say inlay a staff to the left.

Sure, the banner continues on past where the staff would go but I think you're good enough to make it work.

 

[jacques herbst]

if it is possible you could sand it all back refinish and re cut.

 

[jimzim75]

Hi Vilts.
Your banner is centered to the side border edge. The leaves are not balanced.
You need more negative space on the left side.

The space between the banner and top edge are not even, but I would think
you could say it was artistic license. I would not try fixing it.You stuck with
curve that the letters are making, unless you start over.

Unless the knife is sold and customer isn't happy, I would just thin out the
leaves on the left.

Jim

 

[Weldon47]

Vilts,

The balance issue sticks out somewhat but remember that we (engravers/artists) are usually the most critical of our efforts. The majority of our clients aren't as sophisticated when it comes to the intricacies of a design. That is however, never an excuse or license for poorly designed or exicuted art.
In this instance, I would leave it alone and chalk it up to experience; one of the best (if not the most painful) teachers!

Next time!!

Weldon
I don't mean that you did a real bad job here, just that we notice it more than most folks do. You can learn a good lesson from this. Your work is great and continues to show improvement, keep at it!

 

[pilkguns]

Overall I think it looks pretty good and I am sure the customer would be more than happy with it. However making you the artist happy and making the customer happy are often divergent roads.

On the making yourself happy, never be afraid to go back and clean up your work, one, two or even three or more times if necessary. Winston Churchill says Our art is infinately perfectable, but sometimes we have to know when to quit. I think you can still perfect this piece a bit more before you quit and say to yourself, "Now its all expereince".

What I would do with this right now to make it better is balance out the background to leaf ratio. All the green areas I would remove and this will make the overall appearance more even. Next I would shade around the banner to make it stand out from the scroll background, give it some "pop" as it were. I have indicated with Red lines the approximate location and direction I would go with the lines.

Last I would do some clean up in the corners at 1, and 3 and actually all of your lines around the perimeter need cleaned up/straightened to make them truly run parallel with the exterior border of the metal.

The length of line 2 needs recut. I put crossing lines at two points where this line has a crossover jag or the curve is not right, but you could easily cut this again a little deeper or just flare it wider and make the whole line have a smooth even curve with the correct scroll feel.

 

[KCSteve]

Wow Scott - that's great feedback!

With your illustration I can see how it would add a substantial layering effect. Those small green deletions bring the leaves into two layers over the background and the shading for the banner makes it stand right up off of the leaf mass.

Yet another post to study and hope the lessons sink in.

 

[vilts]

First off, let me start with saying just A HUGE THANK YOU. The feedback and learning experience all you guys offer here is just unbelievably good. Using just bits and bytes, mere electrical signals, to tap into years of work, experience and pure genius is a blessing of this digital age!

Unfortunately I didn't have time to go with more radical suggestion to sand it all down or even inlay some stuff, but I used suggestions from Scott and Jim. The result, again, is attached. I think it looks a lot better, less messy after I removed the stuff Scott pointed out.

I just wish I could meet some of you guys in person and buy a beer or something for all the help you offer in this forum

<rant> When I chose a job at the end of last year one of my requirements was that people there must be a lot smarter than me (one can dream, right). And I got lucky. Just one company in Estonia that has, I think, some of the brightest minds in the world at work hired me. The company is Skype, I bet you know the name. Reason is of course, so that I could learn a lot.

Same is in this forum. Just so talented and great guys here, that I'm just happy to be in near virtual vicinity of you! </rant>

P.S. The knife isn't completed yet, it's just to put the engraving in context.

 

[KCSteve]

Boy, those small deletions really made a difference in the apparent centering of the banner, didn't they?

Scott was also right about a bit of shading popping the banner up off of the background (not that I doubted him, it's just that it's pretty neat comparing the two versions and seeing the differences).

 

[Idaho Flint]

Very nice job Vilts. Like what you did.

It is great to have good advise...

 

[monk]

weldon is right. i've actually given a job away a long time ago; a job that i was ashamed to charge for. the client loved the work anyway, and refused to leave until i agreed to accept payment ! go figger. i'd say nobody but a veteran collector would find fault with your job. jm2cw

 

[sdcoxx]

Viljo,
Congratulations, You pulled it off. I have learned not to judge a man by his mistakes, but how he fixes them... Thanks for sharing your experience....

Scott, Another, Nice Save....

There is NO place like The Engraver's Cafe!

Take Care,
Stephen

 

[Thierry Duguet]

Well, like title says... What is the first thing you see watching this engraving?

A little hint - it's off center... and not a little, but quite a lot.

So here comes my logical question. Is there some way I could remedy this awful mistake? The fact that I already stippled the background makes fixing way harder, I guess. How could I make it look decent and later say that it was supposed to be that way, actually?

Oh man, is this a learning experience or what?

Viljo

Who say that it had to be center? Since you cannot fix it make it look like you did it on purpose, accentuate the off center so it will stop to look like it is deliberate.