The importance of drawing..

[rrupp]

cutting without drawing

last quarter my Watercolor instructor was always prodding me to be more free don't spend so much in thinking but start painting. she challenge me to do an engraving without first drawing. I found that I could do most of it but I still had to scribe in some basic flow lines. this is the third plate, my crossovers and unders were scribe in after I saw what I wanted and I did hang up drawings to look at, but the majority is just cut. I am still very bad at watercolor.

 

[sam]

last quarter my Watercolor instructor was always prodding me to be more free don't spend so much in thinking but start painting. she challenge me to do an engraving without first drawing. I found that I could do most of it but I still had to scribe in some basic flow lines. this is the third plate, my crossovers and unders were scribe in after I saw what I wanted and I did hang up drawings to look at, but the majority is just cut. I am still very bad at watercolor.

I've done a bit of that myself, but not on the scale you've done here. I think it's pretty darned good for not having a layout. I'm not convinced there's a benefit to cutting a design totally on-the-fly without following a drawing, other than it's a fun exercise. I see no reason not to do it, and your plate makes me want to give it a go.

 

[SamW]

Ditto Sam's remarks...but I don't like surprises, especially unwanted ones that cannot be corrected. So on a customer piece I never go it freehand!!

Drawings on paper are how I show customers what I plan for their project and we agree on the design and cost prior to starting so that there are no surprises at the end.

Here is an example...

 

[sam]

Yes Sam, the only thing I cut without a layout is shading. And I've used the same term that I don't like surprises, so I make detailed layouts and follow them closely except for a few adjusts on the fly.

Not everyone does this as explained in a previous thread awhile back. Churchill makes very coarse layouts for his ornamental work and Martin Strolz doesn't rely on fine line layouts either. And they both do the best work ever.

 

[rrupp]

thanks Sam I see no reason either to try and cut without a layout. in the context of this string I find when I draw on the object my mind and hand have already cut it once. Transfers and I have never got along. I do lay every thing out on tracing paper cut to the shape of the object but then I hang it on the microscope and redraw it on to the piece. As you can see from the plate my starter elements were big then I would lose where I was and then run out of room and end up with little elements. One reason I went back to school so I could learn proportions and perspective.

 

[lylekelley3]

Drawing

I draw a little almost everyday. Not always traditional scrolls. I believe it is critical to developing, honing and perfecting all of the skills needed for quality work.