Diary of a Novice

[Julia.J]

Thank you Omar, I'm glad that you like it. The main reason why I made that model (plus that I really wanted to model a dragon...) was to find a less expensive mold material, than the ones available for casters. The material that I now use is common among miniature artists: silicone. They use it to replicate plastic components, but it works just as well with hot wax. It holds detail very well, so might test it later on engraved plates.

Hey Jim, thank you for the compliment. Being a top engraver in no time sure sounds great, but in my opinion it's an illusion and a really dangerous one. People tend to stop learning when they think that they've learned everything. Learning never truly end, unless you stop it. The reality with "in no time" is somewhere around 10-15+ years but true, time goes by in a heartbeat.

~Julia

 

[Julia.J]

Drawing exercise

Hey!

I have a little drawing exercise for you, it's called "the growth". Simply, start with a plant seed and try to imagine what it looks like in different phases as it grows. I chose a tomato (minus the over-sized tomato seed ). If you want some challenge, draw an area first and then imagine the plant growing inside of that area.

~Julia

 

[Julia.J]

Round 2, drawing practise

This is the next phase of the growth exercise: plant grows inside of a given shape

~Julia

 

[Julia.J]

Practice plate

Hello!

Squeezing in a bit more practise. I tried something new today, that I really enjoyed: I inked the copper plate with a black marker and then scraped the drawing with an exacto blade. Worked better for me than a white primer and a pencil; no matter how light I tried to sketch, some parts just kept flaking off due to uneven amount of white paint.

And, oh the joy! I have a grs's mini vice, that I now realize is too flimsy for engraving even small parts...but "fixed" the problem by mounting the vice to a roll of silver duct tape can control the line depth a little more, without having to fiddle with a possessed vice.

I'm in the middle of making this plate, the center is now engraved and will continue with the sides next (pfffft, it's quite painful to see it zoomed in so close...so much to learn.)

~Julia

 

[Southern Custom]

Julia,
Those are both fun little exercises. Engravers, particularly new engravers get hung on acanthus and scrollwork that develops from it. British long guns are the canvas for a variety of plant life. A lot of us use Roger's books on American engravers as reference material for study but one of my favorite books is British Gun Engraving by Douglas Tate. In it you'll find a whole other world of engraving than we are used to seeing in the states with a whole variety of plant life used as source material for the work shown. It's worth the price of admission!

 

[Julia.J]

Hi, Layne. I find that the little mind games are a great way to improve both drawing and designing skills, keeps things interesting. I'll keep my eyes open for the Tate's book, would love to read it!

Here's a link to the book archives, a huge database of 1800-1900 published books. Found this one yesterday, ornamental decoration:

https://archive.org/details/AFewSuggestionsForOrnamentalDecorationACollectionOfDesignsColour

~Julia