trout flask

[troutbox]

i have been meaning to write an introduction and a bit of a history of how i came into engraving but have been putting it off because it is more work than just posting a pic of my latest work. which i was also putting off........

 

[mdengraver]

I will praise your wonderful work in case your fishing/engraving for compliments!

 

[monk]

rather nice looking job imho. welcome. we all enjoy seeing work by other folks.

 

[troutbox]

thanks monk and mdengraver........anybody wants to critique,.....have at it(that's what i'm ANGLING for) . some of us could use it.

 

[allan621]

I like it a lot. Its a really vivid engraving of a trout. I wouldn't mind owning that flask. Now for a bit of criticism. In the Meek engraving book he had a section where he pointed out that fine engraving is less fine if the anatomy of the animal is not well done. I think he had a drawing of an antelope running but the position of the stomach was out of place in relation to the rear legs.

Like I said, I like the engraving alot. But to my eyes the pelvic fins look pushed to one side of the body in relation to the center bottom of the fish. Plus the dorsal fin should have more detail than the plain row of lines.

Some trout have dots on the fins. And adding a few more short lines to the top edge of the dorsal fin to darken it would give it more life, plus giving the straight edge of the top a bit more contour would make the whole fish more interesting. Right now the dorsal fin looks like something just added on at the end. It takes away from the dynamic engraving of the rest of the piece.

But overall a pretty fine piece of work on the flask. Hopefully if we ever meet, it'll be full.

Allan

 

[mdengraver]

Like a good fisherman you really caught it!

 

[Grayson]

This view of a trout is very popular in many different art forms, and I have looked critically at many and tried to draw my own multiple times. It ain't easy! There are even some published drawings by fabulous talents and books by authoritative trout fishermen (it won't do to name no names) that clearly show trout with three sets of paired fins! I wish some one could point me a rendering that had the pelvic and anal fins ideally placed. I would redraw it 50X and cut plenty of them. Maybe I need to make a trout-shaped pillow and twist it . The one you have shown one is good, but the pelvic and anal fins do seem off-axis. Those body contour lines are not often done, and I really like yours.

 

[troutbox]

thank you allan and grayson. i agree with your assesments on trout anatomy. i have a mounted trout as a reference but when i go to draw them in "action" it all gets a bit mushy. i was just thinking while engraving that flask that it would be really great to have a posable trout "model" (along the lines of those wooden human figures) to draw from. i might have to make it.....
i appreciate the feedback. it all helps.

(i also have done versions with many dots and even wormy looking markings on to the dorsal fin and tail. but i needed to switch it up a bit for the store it's going to.....)

i get the kudos from the trout fisherman easy enough. but not much in the form of constructive criticism.

 

[papart1]

nice work mister!!