Small practice plate(after watching Sam's dvd)

[oniemarc]

So...instead of just trying to keep trying, I ordered the beginners dvd from Sam. I have to say...if one is new to engraving, order it!! Just finished watching it last night and started this plate this morning. About 4 hours or so later, I can clearly see a huge difference in my cutting and how I look at my approach at cutting it.
At first I wanted to give the practice designs from the dvd a shot, but chose this design I drew, because of all the straight lines and the little circle(screw). Drew it as a design for a knife, but came in quite handy.

Will be starting the shading tomorrow, after I resharpen my graver, hahahah.

Any tips or suggestions are more than welcome..

Btw, nevermind the plate itself, it was a piece of leftover steel I had in the shed.

 

[Matthew Evans]

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[oniemarc]

It looks better than when I started that’s for sure. The more you practice perfect the better the results. I would say practice Sam’s designs and focus on letting the vise do the turning rather than the graver doing the push work. Two things that helped me make sense of scrolls were his scroll drawing dvd and Ron Smith’s advanced scrolls book which I still reference. Best of luck and take your time.
-Matthew Evans

After seeing the video, I am watching myself closely to not push etc. Also ordered some parts to make my vice-stand able to turn, so I can keep everything a bit more centered under the scope.

I will be ordering some books as soon as I have some money to spend. So I will be looking for Ron Smith's book and add it to my wishlist...

 

[monk]

nice work. money well spent on the video.

 

[oniemarc]

Thanks @monk ...and yes it was, hahaha.

 

[DAS]

I looked at some of Sam’s trailers for his videos and they seemed very GRS centric. Is that true? Or in the actual video does he cover alternatives as well? I ask as I can’t pick up a DVD or book and flick through to see before buying and I think the all look really good from the website but i’m Probably not going with GRS equipment.

 

[oniemarc]

I looked at some of Sam’s trailers for his videos and they seemed very GRS centric. Is that true? Or in the actual video does he cover alternatives as well? I ask as I can’t pick up a DVD or book and flick through to see before buying and I think the all look really good from the website but i’m Probably not going with GRS equipment.

They are indeed very GRS centric. In this case that is only one chapter and I feel not the most important one. And even if all the equipment being GRS, you can still get something out of it. Alternatives are not covered, but some of what is covered goes for pretty much all systems.
I don't use GRS either and do everything on a budget. The satelite system for instance. Looks great and I am sure it works absolutely awesome, but...it is...simply put, nothing but a rotating disc to put your ballvice onto. This can easily be made yourself at home with close to no tools.
The rest of the video covers engraving. Where to start, what to cut first, angles, rolling the graver and shading. And those techniques are applicable to any system.

Hope it helps

 

[oniemarc]

Ok...shading "done". Which could be a whole lot better, but that's going to take a while. Will be practicing tapered lines and such for a couple of days. Hairline start-ups....one day....one day...hahaha

 

[Brant]

It is very clear that you have good graver control.

Shadeing is always difficult for beginners (and experienced engravers also). The best advice that I can give is to study your engraved plate and try to see where you would do things differently when you consider light source.

Do not get discouraged, you are doing very well.

Brant

 

[oniemarc]

It is very clear that you have good graver control.

Shadeing is always difficult for beginners (and experienced engravers also). The best advice that I can give is to study your engraved plate and try to see where you would do things differently when you consider light source.

Do not get discouraged, you are doing very well.

Brant

Thank you for the kind words.

You are absolutely right...I managed to squeeze 3 lightbulbs around the scroll, hahaha. My bad...I should know better.

No worries...no discouragement here. I know where I am at at this point in time and do not expect perfection. I do strive for it though...but don't expect anything at this point. I feel proud when I finish a plate...as I can see improvement. And I learn as much as I can by making my mistakes and listening to you guys here on the forum. So far y'all been a great help...which is much appreciated.