New Drawing

[tldcowboygear]

Howdy Folks,

This is my first attempt at this style of drawing. I have been trying to draw bright cut style of engraving. I thought that I would give this a whirl. I get to go home next weekend so I will get to try to cut some of the things that I have drawn.

I think that this looks really rough, but you should have seen the crumpled stack in the corner of the ones that I threw away. It is getting a little easier and I think I am improving a very little. The one thing you folks never promised was that it would be easy.

Let me know what you think of this please. I value each one of your critiques.

Thanks,

D.C.

 

[Tim Wells]

I like your quote!

When I win the lottery I'm quittin' my day job and I ain't goin' anywhere unless it's by flying a tail dragger or lookin' through a pair of horses ears. You can quote me on that.

As for the drawing: "The devil's in the details" as they say. Pay close attention to negative space/positive space proportions; they should be in balance. Also leaf and tendril size compared to overall scroll size, the backbone size and the space you have to work in. I assume you know but if not; what I mean by negative space is that area where there is nothing, like background. Positive space is that area that the scroll makes.

I know this was a quick sketch so you already know about keeping the border running perfectly parallel with the outline of the knife. You already addressed the scroll roundness. Now go back and fix that area you pointed out yourself and keep tweaking it till you have it laid out like you want it.

Turn the drawing around, the whole paper I mean and view it from all 4 sides and that will make it easier to determine elbows, proportions and the like. Your mind gets used to looking at it only from the vantage point in which it was drawn. Out of round scrolls stick out like a sore thumb more readily from a different direction. You pick up symmetry easier that way. If it looks good from all angles then it most likely IS good. Transfer it and cut it faithfully.

 

[finn]

when i start a drawing.
#1 start with the out line of the object
#2 put in the border so its all the same.
#3 if there is any holes or strange objects on the item think how to tie these into the scroll work.

hope this helps

i think what you have is a good start keep up the good work.
its easyer to change a drawing than it is to change a engraving in the metal.

 

[pilkguns]

I would'nt say that this pattern lends itself well to bright cut style. This pattern is more for using a single point graver with.

Also the leaf in the lower left hand corner, close to the origination ball, is flowing backwards to the rest of the scroll.

 

[carl bleile]

good start, i think less background, tighten up your scroll with more flowing detail inside.
I agree with Scott it would look better as single point.
A trick i learned was to hold the drawing up to a mirror and look, it's almost like looking at it for the first time and any mistakes will stand out.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi DC

When you were drawing this..............how big is the drawing?
The reason I ask is that it looks to be small.........is it?

Cheers
Andrew

 

[TallGary]

DC,

I think you have a good beginning. Something to consider:

When I look at the drawing I see 3 separate engravings, two very similar, divided by an abruptly different style that draws the eye leaving the other two in the background. Was that your intent?

Keep on going!

Gary

 

[JJ Roberts]

DC...I like your ambitious approach..I have one suggestion..get a copy of Ron Smith's book "Advanced Drawing of Scrolls"..I think this would be a big help to you. Keep drawing and keep practising..it will all fall together for you evetually.

 

[tldcowboygear]

Howdy Folks,

I really appreciate all the time that you spend looking at my feeble attempts. I would not be as far as I am without your input.

Tim - Thanks, I can't lay claim to the saying but it sure fits. Never flown in a tail dragger, lots of light planes, helicopters etc but no tail dragger. I did the outline of the knife and then hand drew in the borders. I don't have a compass or calipers here with me so I just hand drew it. I would use calipers and scribe to do it on the actual piece. Negative space - I understand the concept but sure have problems putting it into use. I thought that I had it pretty well spaced out. That is until I turn it around as per your tip.

Pilk - This is actually drawn for single point engraving. I see the leaf that you are talking about. It should flow around the scroll rather than away?

Carl - Thanks for the tip about the mirror. I seem to be able to pick out the mistakes better by looking at a photo. In a drawing, this is not a problem but after it is engraved......... The mirror trick will certainly help with that.

Andrew - I am at work right now so I can't give true dimensions but it is about 1"H X 2.5" W. It is pretty small.

Tall Gary - It was intentional, I like the ribbon banner look and wanted it to be the focal point with the scrolls being secondary. Maybe not the correct way.......

JJ - I have both of Ron's books. Try as I might I can't make them look the same. I have tried to break them down to the individual lines in the leaf and everything else. The leaves never look the same. Having said that, I am keeping a "diary" of my practice and can see some progress be it ever so slight.

Thanks,

D.C.

 

[pilkguns]

D.C., sorry, i went back and reread what you wrote, I can see that you said it was something different, but at first glance it reads like it was drawn for brightcut.


As to the leaf, the orgination point is the ball just below it. Since that is where the scroll starts, everything must grow that direction as well. All your internal scrolls grow the right way. But this leaf is starting up on the spine(which is OK) and running back towards the origination point.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi D.C.

I thought so.

I would highly recommend that you draw your designs bigger. It's incredibly hard to draw a design that small and get any detail into it.

Maybe as you progress then you can start going smaller but I would suggest you start out with your drawings as big as you can on a peice of photocopy/printer paper. You may as well give yourself the best chance at it.

Another thing that will help a lot is the scroll templates that GRS/NGraver sell. They are cheap and worth their weight in gold. The scroll backbones on the templates are ideal for what you are trying to acheive. The more you use them the less reliant you will become on them later. Over a period of time you will get the shape of the scroll fused into your memory.

The basis of the design is the scroll backbone and it's shape..............if that's wrong, or not working, then everything else will also be out of kilter.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[carl bleile]

did a quick sketch of your knife, roughed in a scroll, at this point i would put a piece of tracing paper over the drawing and refine my design or change some of the layout till things flowed and were in ballance. I think the other engravers will agree we rarely get it right the first time.

 

[Roger Bleile]

I think the other engravers will agree we rarely get it right the first time.

Right on to that bro'!!! I've come to the conclusion that even if I think my first design is perfect I'd better let it sit and look at it again later.

Roger

 

[jbmartin]

Just my opinion, but from a flow aspect....
Having never done anything more than just a little single point engraving....
If I wanted the ribbon crossed in the center, I would make the ribbon the entire border with the cross right where it is, and pull or start the scrolls from the center towards each end. If I get some time, I will try to draw that out, just in case my explanation is vague.

Had some time and added my drawing.
Let me know what you think, keeping in mind, it is all freehand an would be considered a "rough draft" only more for the concept, rather than "final copy". The scrolls are just there, not even filled in.

JB