Design, cutting, and shading exercise #2 by Mitch Moschetti

Sam

Chief Administrator & Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
10,489
Location
Covington, Louisiana
mitch_scroll_practice.jpg

mitch_suggestion_2.jpg mitch_suggestion_1.jpg mitch_suggestion_4.jpg mitch_suggestion_3.jpg

Our first cutting and shading exercise was a big hit and we all learned a lot as we watched each other's approach to the same pattern. Mitch Moschetti accepted my invitation to create this month's exercise, and it's going to be a good one! One of my favorite styles of all time is arabesque, and this beautiful set of leaves is often seen in that style. Thanks again, Mitch! I'm anxious to see the results of this one :thumbsup:

Download the .EPS file here.

=====================

So many enjoyed tweaking Sam's design in the first of this series, I decided to incorporate that into the second. This round will be an intentional Design, Cutting, & Shading Exercise. You'll not only be allowed to play with the structure of the basic design, it's a core part of the drill. I've provided a silhouette of what some call an "Angel Wing*" leaf form that is typically used as the main element in "Arabesque" or "Running Leaf & Vine" type scroll. In one permutation or another, recognizable versions of it have been used by engravers for at least the last couple centuries. While it's likely a scion of the ancient acanthus leaf (and perhaps a bit of oak leaf & others) and can occasionally be found in other media, it has evolved into a form engravers can almost uniquely call our own. It is an inarguable fact that metal engravers, especially those who practice our art & craft on weaponry, have elevated this relatively simple figure into a complex, richly detailed ornamental motif, lush with depth and movement (yeah, I'm a fan...). If you aspire to master Arabesque/Running Leaf & Vine scroll, this humble organic form is where it all begins.

To give you a solid foundation, the main components, curves & proportions have been worked out so you can focus on the details. It's drawn as a fairly generic outline that can be adjusted to suit your vision of what the finished piece should be. The main 'spine' is included to show the central line of balance. This is pretty close to a 'universal' pattern, with the exception that the main body narrows & extends down to form an integral stem. This is my personal preference, while most engravers bring the 'wings' closer together and attach a separate stem or vine. By all means, please feel free to modify ANY & ALL of the elements, or any minor or major part thereof, to suit your own taste & skills. Color outside the lines. A big objective of this exercise is to encourage everyone to develop their own unique style. Just a few basic suggestions are included to give an idea of how to use this, while trying not to unduly influence anyone in any particular direction.

Please note there is no specific size or scale. It could be pretty tiny (<0.5"/12mm), such as might be used as just one of many relatively simple leaves in an elaborate vine pattern, or could be as big as 1.25"-1.5"(30-40mm) and featured as the main element in its own right. My personal preference is for simpler layouts featuring intricately detailed, opulently shaded leaves, as opposed to complexly intertwined designs with simpler individual leaves, but each has its charms. I strongly encourage you to experiment with multiple approaches and post all the results.

As a final suggestion, there is no rule regarding how to execute these in metal. This style of ornament is well-suited to traditional line shading from ultra-fine to quite bold, dots/bulino, as well as virtually any level of relief sculpting. Some engravers simply inlay the basic blank silhouette, then employ a very simple concave bright-cutting technique for a nice decorative look. There are literally an infinite variety of ways to complete this design, so we expect to see some very creative contributions- let your imagination run wild! I recommend printing a pile of copies and keeping some wherever you might have time to doodle- while you're on the phone, watching TV, etc.

I'm honored to be included in this worthwhile project and hope all of you enjoy working with it as much as I enjoyed setting it up. Thanks for playing our game!

*If you don't get the 'Angel Wing' reference, look at the figure upside down.
 

rod

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
1,609
Location
Mendocino. ca., and Scotland
Mitch and Sam,

This is a most valuable post, and stage 2 is beautifully set up by Mitch, giving us a well written background, and some suggestions that certainly will not dampen individual ideas, thank you Mitch. I have to try and reserve some time for this, such an opportunity to learn!

Rod
 

Sam

Chief Administrator & Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
10,489
Location
Covington, Louisiana
I forgot to add a few suggestion drawings by Mitch. I've updated my original post. I believe you'll find these to be a great value when drawing this leaf cluster.
 

Andrew Biggs

Moderator
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
5,034
Location
Christchurch, New Zealand
Thanks for that Mitch/Sam

Arabesque is probably the hardest of all the leaves to shade. Most others are reasonably intuitive but with the arabesque you have to really think about it.

I'll give it a go next week when there's a break in the traffic.

Cheers
Andrew
 

g.rohrbaugh

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
286
Location
Elkton, Maryland
Thanks Mitch/Sam! I missed doing exercise #1. As a new to engraving I'll give this one a try. Started trying my hand at engraving since Janurary. Took some lessons from J.J.Roberts who is a fine man and great instructor. I did buy Sam's Dvd for drawing scrolls and also with J.J's advice bought Ron's book on advanced drawing of scrolls. I would like to thank everyone here who posts there work. There is so much to learn from this forum and after reading the posts everyone seems so helpful in guiding new engravers like myself. Again Thanks!
Gary
 

Andrew Biggs

Moderator
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
5,034
Location
Christchurch, New Zealand
Hi Gary and welcome to the forum.

There's no time limit on any of these exercises. It's just one of those ongoing deals that keep truckin' on...............so you can still do exercise #1 and post the results.

Cheers
Andrew
 

mitch

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
2,635
I missed doing exercise #1.
Gary

You haven't missed anything, Gary! that's going to remain an open thread- feel free to jump in whenever you feel like it. in fact, i'm thinking of doing that one again because my first effort was almost strictly according to Sam's basic drawing, but a lot of people played with the design and that gave me some ideas on what i'd like to do. plus it was so much fun i just want to play with it some more!
 

grumpyphil

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2011
Messages
106
Andrew-
As a total novice, I have to ask- why do you say it's more difficult to shade?
Thanks,
Phil
 

Andrew Biggs

Moderator
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
5,034
Location
Christchurch, New Zealand
Hi Phil

Maybe it's just me............with normal acanthus type leaf there is a flow/direction to it that you simply follow. With arabesque there are generally 3 different prongs with two of them almost at right angles that converge and shading becomes harder to get it to look natural in a stylistic way. Basically it requires a bit more thought.

However I'm sure that others will find it a lot easier. :)

Cheers
Andrew
 

Sam

Chief Administrator & Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
10,489
Location
Covington, Louisiana
It's not just you, Andrew. It's definitely harder for me as well, and all the more reason this will be a valuable thread. :)
 

g.rohrbaugh

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
286
Location
Elkton, Maryland
Thanks guys for you comments and welcoming me! I will do the 1st exercise and post it in the thread for it. Looking forward to post what I have learned since January and getting your comments! Oh and Sam that is a great DVD on learning to draw scrolls.
 

mitch

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
2,635
Andrew-
As a total novice, I have to ask- why do you say it's more difficult to shade?
Thanks,
Phil

I'm going to let y'all in a little secret: One of the things I prefer about shading with bulino dots (as in my 3D 'Flying Leaf & Vine') or actual relief sculpting, is that it frees me from having to make shade lines flow with the contours, converge at leaf origins, etc. In this narrow sense, bulino and relief are actually easier than line shading. Otherwise those techniques are much more difficult* and infinitely more time-consuming to execute, but I can make the contours flow wherever they need to without worrying about how the shade lines will run.

*The single most difficult part of rendering leaves in relief- real sculpting or faux trompe l'oeil- is that the structure and contours can't be faked or fudged with a few extra lines here & there. Everything MUST be designed as if it actually exists out here in the real world.
 

Marrinan

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 11, 2006
Messages
2,917
Location
outside Albany in SW GA
Mitch, I would like to thank you for this great tutorial exercise. I have not put graver to metal yet but what I have done is use the exercise drawing under tracing paper and they are great. don't like it start again. I often use this method to develop designs but these shading exercises are a real help-Fred
 

ivar

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
36
Location
Iceland
 

ivar

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
36
Location
Iceland
I drew this by memory because I don´t have a printer. But know I see that my drawing is not the same. I did the shading as I thought would look nice.
 

Jörmungandr

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
100
Location
Västernorrland, Sweden
Heya!

Did a quick piece of jewelry as a gift. Had no idea what I was going to engrave on it.. And then I saw Mitchs design. Hope he doesn't mind me using it as a base for the engraving :).

DSC05625 - Kopia.jpg

PS: Will do the exercise again on a piece of metal. This was just a quick diversion :chip::tiphat:
 

mitch

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
2,635
That's the spirit, Ivar & Jormungandr! Come on in, everybody, the water's fine!
 

yakob

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
56
why there is no interest in this topic.

As I can see the first exercise has a great interest
 

thughes

:::Pledge Member:::
::::Pledge Member::::
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
836
Location
Nashville TN
Jakob, for my part I just don't quite know what to do with this little bugger. I made a few weak changes and then cut the outline days ago, but I just keep drawing different versions of shading that all end up in the trash. This is certainly harder than I thought.
 

Sponsors

Top