D.DOUGLAS
Elite Cafe Member
some work im honing my background removal and shading skills on.
Attachments
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new 039.jpg
Practice piece
- Thread starter D.DOUGLAS
- Start date
Daniel Houwer
Elite Cafe Member
Wauw,
Are you sure you need honing?
In my eyes this is perfection.
Good job,
Daniel
Are you sure you need honing?
In my eyes this is perfection.
Good job,
Daniel
JBrandvik
Elite Cafe Member
I have to agree with Daniel on that one. I'd say you're all "honed in". VERY nice!
KCSteve
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Looks good to me!
dclevinger
Elite Cafe Member
Great job Doug!! I can't wait to see what Ron has to say. Keep up the great work.
David
David
D.DOUGLAS
Elite Cafe Member
David ,How are you? I see one area that bothers me! Ill let him point it out. hope everything is well!
Weldon47
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
D. Douglas,
Very nice indeed! The engraving is well executed and has a quality look about it.
The following is but a suggestion, not a criticism! To improve the overall balance of the pattern you might make a few (small but important) changes. For example, there is a small scroll that is situated behind the larger or "main" scroll. It will help the balance of the overall design if you will intertwine the scrolls or avoid hiding a significant part of a scroll behind or underneath other elements of your design. What you're after is a harmony or a working together of all the elements of your layout. You are on the right track with the design & if you will bring the smaller scroll up and over, through the larger one I believe you will end up with a more balanced and therefore harmonious layout. This "overlapping" or intertwining doesn't have to be limited to just one scroll. You can use it throughout your design. Doing that will allow you to use larger scrolls in the layout rather than trying to fit larger scrolls into a smaller area and ending up with an area you can't fill. This is one of the toughest and most challenging parts of engraving - doing the layout!
I like your work, keep chipping,
Weldon
Very nice indeed! The engraving is well executed and has a quality look about it.
The following is but a suggestion, not a criticism! To improve the overall balance of the pattern you might make a few (small but important) changes. For example, there is a small scroll that is situated behind the larger or "main" scroll. It will help the balance of the overall design if you will intertwine the scrolls or avoid hiding a significant part of a scroll behind or underneath other elements of your design. What you're after is a harmony or a working together of all the elements of your layout. You are on the right track with the design & if you will bring the smaller scroll up and over, through the larger one I believe you will end up with a more balanced and therefore harmonious layout. This "overlapping" or intertwining doesn't have to be limited to just one scroll. You can use it throughout your design. Doing that will allow you to use larger scrolls in the layout rather than trying to fit larger scrolls into a smaller area and ending up with an area you can't fill. This is one of the toughest and most challenging parts of engraving - doing the layout!
I like your work, keep chipping,
Weldon
This is a nit picky thing, but for improvement's sake, my eye goes right to that little scroll in the center. It looks a little alone and insignificant amongst the others. Otherwise your balance,rythum, and shading are excellent and it is a very nice job.........Don't you just hate having nit pickers around?..........Ron S
D.DOUGLAS
Elite Cafe Member
Weldon thank you for the advice.I will slow down and analize my drawings a little longer. I often get in a hurry to cut.Having guys like you around is a blessing for us engravers still learning the ins and outs of layout. Ron your the scroll king! Anything you got to say and im listening. Im with you on the small one in the center.I thought you might say something about that stem next to it with the small leaves. They ceartinly stick out to me being a different mass size.Should have removed it completly.Back to the drawing board. I have to get drawing for that big gold braclet i was talking to you about. I Just got the stock in yesterday.
Never the less a very nice job! Yes, about the stem and small leaves, but over all your spacing is well balanced and that is not as bothersome as the spiral. Weldon was right about the overlap too, but even that is less noticable. If you had repeated the ovrlaps a couple more times, it would have balanced out the design and given you more space for and equal spiral rather than the one you have in that small space. Don't worry with it however, the next one will be better. Focal points are something that experience teaches you. I didn't really understand about them until long into my carreer. That is good work, and don't let any one tell you different. As I said, I am a nit picker............but that is what makes us all better,........... never satisfied, right??? ...........Long periods of drawing and designing allow you to lose your perspective sometimes. You are too close to it, if you know what I mean. Fresh eyes from another source helps sometimes, which is what you have done. Something that might help you see these too, is look at it in the mirror after you have your final ideas down. It will probably jump right out at you................Ron S
KCSteve
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Ron,
Does the 'rule of thirds' apply to engraving like it does to photography?
In photography the "rule of thirds" states that you divide your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically and the intersections are the 'power points' of the image. You need to put focal items on those points for a well balanced and impactful picture. Like most rules it can be violated with great results but also as with most rules knowing it helps you know when you should and shouldn't violate it.
Looking at Doug's design the outer scrolls hit right on the power points and that center one is floating in between the top two. I think that's what makes it stand out - it's a 'blip' where you don't expect it. That can be good or bad but in this case it's just a tiny bit out of synch with the others and the highlighting makes that stand out more.
I know lots of image 'design' rules from photography and I'm thinking that a lot of them will apply to engravign designs as well (like the one about avoiding lines that 'point' to the corners / edges because they draw the viewer out of the image).
Does the 'rule of thirds' apply to engraving like it does to photography?
In photography the "rule of thirds" states that you divide your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically and the intersections are the 'power points' of the image. You need to put focal items on those points for a well balanced and impactful picture. Like most rules it can be violated with great results but also as with most rules knowing it helps you know when you should and shouldn't violate it.
Looking at Doug's design the outer scrolls hit right on the power points and that center one is floating in between the top two. I think that's what makes it stand out - it's a 'blip' where you don't expect it. That can be good or bad but in this case it's just a tiny bit out of synch with the others and the highlighting makes that stand out more.
I know lots of image 'design' rules from photography and I'm thinking that a lot of them will apply to engravign designs as well (like the one about avoiding lines that 'point' to the corners / edges because they draw the viewer out of the image).
ddushane
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Nice job Doug, I'm studying everones work to learn about layout, sometimes I don't see something until someone points it out to me. You are doing some nice work, hang in there. All this forum will do with its wealth of knowledge and experience is help us grow in this craft. Dwayne
You got it Steve, that is a universal law that reveals itself by the balancing effect of the three elements. It works on the principal of trianglation, a very strong principal. You see it everywhere strength and balance is requiered. The archetects use it, artists use it, the Atom uses it and is stable because of it. I am no scientist, but I do understand the importance of it. I teach it in my drawing classes, and it does the same thing there in design........it adds balance,strength, and stabilization (peace).....actually this is one of the big creative principals of the universe that has to do with two oposing forces and a "referee".....it is even in our political system....That is why bi-partizanship doesn't work too well....It is gridlock.......You need a referee to move power from one element to another for movement or motion, and we the people are supposed to be that element of the triangle.......or a majority power.......Keeps the politicians in check......that is one reason we aren't going anywhere in the political arena..........we have been duped..........Ron S
Andrew Biggs
Moderator
Steve and Ron
Interesting topic for sure about the rule of thirds and trangulation.
There is a really interesting book titled "Alphonse Mucha Lectures on Art" published in 1975. SBN # 85670 296 X publishers are Academey Editions. I was 17 years old when I brought it.
Mucha goes in great depth on this whole theory and provides a mathematical solution to his wonderful portraits of women and flowers. He was an absolute master of art nouveau.
The book is a pretty dry read and written in the language of the time............but...........is well worth having.
I think Ron that you would enjoy it very much.
Cheers
Andrew
Interesting topic for sure about the rule of thirds and trangulation.
There is a really interesting book titled "Alphonse Mucha Lectures on Art" published in 1975. SBN # 85670 296 X publishers are Academey Editions. I was 17 years old when I brought it.
Mucha goes in great depth on this whole theory and provides a mathematical solution to his wonderful portraits of women and flowers. He was an absolute master of art nouveau.
The book is a pretty dry read and written in the language of the time............but...........is well worth having.
I think Ron that you would enjoy it very much.
Cheers
Andrew
CUTTING METAL
Member
Doug,
Very, very nice work - a pleasure to the eye, but also excellent advice from the other engravers. Keep up the great work.
Regards, Dick
Very, very nice work - a pleasure to the eye, but also excellent advice from the other engravers. Keep up the great work.
Regards, Dick
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