first try

speeedy6

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I just got a couple books, Drawing Wildlife by J.C. Amberlyn and, The artists guide to drawing realistic animals by Doug Lindstrand. I think I saw someone on this forum recommend them. Both books are very good and also sort of similar . In one, it talks about the direction of the fur for best detail.
When I last cut a deer, I had a hard time trying to keep it from looking like a cow with antlers. Yours seems a little wild eyed but looks a little more recognizable as a deer than mine.
 

papart1

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Thanks gents....I find myself really overcutting, I think my mind wonders. I got mixed up in the antlers and the overshoot on the body, I am really working on it. The comments are more than welcomed as it lets me know people with way more experience are looking and interested. my kindest regards, much thanks. pap
 

allan621

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I would highly recommend Chris DeCamillis video on bulino cutting. Its very good and will give you more of an idea of how to proceed with preparing tools and the cutting. I've learned a tremendous amount from this video. Available at https://www.engraver.com for about 40.00

And Fred Bowen is right. Don't get rid of that plate. Sometimes its not enough to see the image on a computer but to go back and look at the cuts.

Allan
 

troutbox

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no reason to get rid of it. when i was learning, i would do something i didn't particularly like(still happens) and put it aside. then later, i would go back and clean it up a bit. then put it away again.

personally i would add an outline if i were you. then a background.
 

papart1

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well troutbox thee is an outline, I tried to cut it out so as to not look like a cartoon. I have Chris DeCamillis online cutting exercise, and follow it.............but not lately. I get in a big hurry, its my nature. For 50 years its go,go go, hard to throttle now. paps
 

monk

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allan is right. esp early on, things usually are different than ones' original expectations. little mistakes here & there, when combined with correctional cutting can still turn out well. never fear to going back over to make improvements.
 

John B.

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Can you improve over cutting?

Not entirely, but you can help somewhat by very careful burnishing and scraping.
But maybe best to practice these techniques on a different plate first.
And I think you can improve the eye with some further study and gentle shading.
You have made a start, now more study and slow down on your next effort.
 

edgrabow15

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Keep every plate, when your Famous later on they will be collectors items, LOL, Really though, Keep them and date them , You'll be glad you did, I've only been at it since Dec,2018 and the improvement already is un-believable,
 

Big-Un

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Keep the plate. I "cleaned" some of my early plates (really ugly!) and wished I had them today to show some potential students that you don't get proficient overnight. A suggestion; get a book on pen and ink drawing and practice that for a while. If you want as big a challenge as actually cutting a plate, try drawing on scratchboard.
 

papart1

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the scratchboard is the same as chalk board I'm thinking?
 

John B.

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the scratchboard is the same as chalk board I'm thinking?
No, a chalk board can be erased and re-drawn. A scratch board is like engraving, permanent.
So you have to think and plan the line before making it because you can't change it.
Another good practice, for the same reason, is pen and ink drawing.
Pen and ink is cheap and always available.
Two great books are "Sketching Your Favorite Subject in Pen & Ink"
by Claudia Nice, ISBN 0-89134-472-1
"Rendering in Pen and Ink" by Arthur L. Guptill. ISBN 0-8230-4529-3.
 
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Leland Davis

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paps,keep it I have my first try around somewhere I'll post if I find it you could tell it was a dog but. The 2nd try I filed off should have kept it. Make your plates large enough to put 2 tries on each plate a side by side comparison can't hurt.
 
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