Help, please: Fish Scales

[MichaelBaer]

Hello all,I am engraving an Auto-Ordnace pistol.My design idea is to engrave some manner or type of fish scales on the rounded underside of the dust cover so as to make them look like they are growing there and on into infinity as they disappear into the frame.So far my drawings are fairly lifeless.I ask that someone direct me to a tutorial on the subject.
Thank you in advance, MichaelBaer

 

[FANCYGUN]

Ok maybe i have inhaled too much forest fire smoke here in my part of the mountains Mike...but what the heck is the underside of a dust cover?

 

[maplesm]

look here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx51VJ2eT68&app=desktop

 

[dlilazteca]

Ok maybe i have inhaled too much forest fire smoke here in my part of the mountains Mike...but what the heck is the underside of a dust cover?

I thought the same thing! A picture here is really worth a 1000 words

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[monk]

Hello all,I am engraving an Auto-Ordnace pistol.My design idea is to engrave some manner or type of fish scales on the rounded underside of the dust cover so as to make them look like they are growing there and on into infinity as they disappear into the frame.So far my drawings are fairly lifeless.I ask that someone direct me to a tutorial on the subject.
Thank you in advance, MichaelBaer

a book by bill janney or go to google images. i created my own, scalable pattern in corel draw. doing the scales to appear to go to infinity will( imho) create more problems than i'd want to deal with. good luck

 

[MichaelBaer]

Ok maybe i have inhaled too much forest fire smoke here in my part of the mountains Mike...but what the heck is the underside of a dust cover?

 

[MichaelBaer]

My Dear wife reminds me that I have a bad habit of speaking in Rhymes and Riddles.All clear to me!I`m talking about the bottom portion of the slide at the forward end.The rounded section that magically disappears into the frame as the firearm is discharged.Disappears into infinity if there is a pattern there.The `infinity` is an idea from Asian Dragon art that says the body of the creature goes to the end of infinity and back when the body passes out of sight behind a cloud.I want to engrave a fish scale pattern there and when the firearm is assembled the pattern will seemingly go out of sight.The `slide` amongst other duties is a dust cover.My drawings are coming out flat and I think that if I could look at some lively shading like our own Mr.Alfano is so famous for,I could perk up my drawing a bit and get back to cutting.
The eye that had retina failure is healing and one day maybe but,for now I am working with one eye.I`m actually getting used to it.The winter long open wound from the Agent Orange related excision surgery last November that infected had me down Nov,Dec,Jan and most of Feb has healed and I can think again without the painkiller fog.
Asking for help up in here and having some of my extended family respond is cheering more than I can say.Have I made any sense this time?

 

[FANCYGUN]

Ok Mike now you are making sense..since you mentioned a dragon, why not do dragon scales instead of fish actually you can even get a good photo online of some different snake skins and go to town with those

 

[gcleaker]

Maybe a head and neck ie as if it were striking as the slide closed?
skill comes dilligence

 

[Jonathan.Silas]

look here

The very one I was going to link!

 

[Chujybear]

The very one I was going to link!

looks pretty good in the end..
i'm a little bit frustrated with the video because i don't understand why he is using an S shape rather than complete curves for his scaffolding.... it's not as tho the scales will reverse their direction as the round the last little bit of curve.. tho, the result is fine.. so maybe my logic in this is faulty?

 

[Jonathan.Silas]

looks pretty good in the end..
i'm a little bit frustrated with the video because i don't understand why he is using an S shape rather than complete curves for his scaffolding.... it's not as tho the scales will reverse their direction as the round the last little bit of curve.. tho, the result is fine.. so maybe my logic in this is faulty?

I think the s curve is easier to visualize on a more complicated shape, passing over, under and looping around vs just the short length we see here... but that's just me. Many ways to skin a cat so long as the hat turns out nice.

 

[Otto Carter]

Here's some dragon scale examples.