Gold Inlay with drop shadow by Mitch

[mitch]

to continue the recent discussion about gold inlays ("Gold Overkill"), here are a few shots of a simple cattle brand I just did on a very nice Rick Genovese folder. in the other thread i was trying to explain how one should make an effort to artistically elevate the use of gold above simply the crass addition of precious metal. the following shots help illustrate the basic concept of what i was saying.

the 1st shot is the basic cattle brand- a "Rocking K", flush inlaid in gold. yeah, it's fancier than just engraving it in the steel by virtue of the gold, but artistically it's really no better.

the 2nd pic shows the addition of a fine outline- this at least sets off the gold, which can pretty much disappear in a polished surface (sometimes gold inlays are virtually 'invisible' in B&W photos, their tone matches the surrounding steel so closely). as long as the client is paying for the inlay, one might as well do what one can to make it stand out.

the 3rd shot shows the final product with a dramatic shadow. in this particular case, it not only creates the illusion of raising the inlay up off the surface, but also adds movement to the 'Rocking K'.

the 4th is my suggested update of the old-fashioned cattle brand, but Rick didn't figure the client would go for it...

 

[edgrabow15]

to continue the recent discussion about gold inlays ("Gold Overkill"), here are a few shots of a simple cattle brand I just did on a very nice Rick Genovese folder. in the other thread i was trying to explain how one should make an effort to artistically elevate the use of gold above simply the crass addition of precious metal. the following shots help illustrate the basic concept of what i was saying.

the 1st shot is the basic cattle brand- a "Rocking K", flush inlaid in gold. yeah, it's fancier than just engraving it in the steel by virtue of the gold, but artistically it's really no better.

the 2nd pic shows the addition of a fine outline- this at least sets off the gold, which can pretty much disappear in a polished surface (sometimes gold inlays are virtually 'invisible' in B&W photos, their tone matches the surrounding steel so closely). as long as the client is paying for the inlay, one might as well do what one can to make it stand out.

the 3rd shot shows the final product with a dramatic shadow. in this particular case, it not only creates the illusion of raising the inlay up off the surface, but also adds movement to the 'Rocking K'.

the 4th is my suggested update of the old-fashioned cattle brand, but Rick didn't figure the client would go for it...

Mitch, I like that a lot, Obviously it's something that I would show to a customer 1st in some pictures of the differant finished products like you say and let them decide. Some like it simple , I think most would like the overshadow effect if its suitable for the piece thats being inlaid, a lot of people who have straight inlays who see this for the 1st time probably wished they had the option when they had their work being done. good thing is that in a lot of cases you can probably do the shadowing even years later . Not all pieces but a lot. Great point Mitch, Thanks.