More practice

KCSteve · Jul 21, 2007

I almost hesitate to post my stuff when I see what some folks are posting as 'practice'

But I figure I'm not the only newbie around and seeing this should encourage others.

The square plate is where I was (attempting) to learn to control my 120 graver. Darn thing likes to dive right in. Also my first rosette which I just drew on the plate. Came out a bit small so I filled the corners (once again, just sketched on the plate).

Since I'm getting a bit better I decided that it was time the ever-indulgent wife got something out of this (I have had my engraver for a month after all

).

The back of the GRS keyfob is that geometric I like to do, with my 120 behaving a bit better.
On the front I did a couple of flowers ala BrianPowley (see here where I drew them, stippled them, then cut them to see how they looked and a 'hummingbird' from the GRS pattern set #3. Ok, it may have the wings, body, and legs of a Sand Piper but the ever-indulgent says it's a hummingbird so hummingbird it is. She liked it enough that it's also not a keyfob - it's a pendant.

Brian - do you mind if I do more flowers in your style? I used it here to see how it looked but while I'm willing to learn what you're willing to teach I'm not willing to take what you're not willing to give.

D.DOUGLAS · Jul 21, 2007

cant expect to learn this stuff overnight. I have been practiceing for years. I rather like your bird it reminds me of a meadowlark!

Daniel Houwer · Jul 21, 2007

Hello KCSteve,

Thank you for posting this!
I feel so much better for not being a pro like most of our posting forum members but just an interested sidewalker.

My engraving looks a lot like yours and will probalbly stay that way if I dont pick it up to the next level called "practice"! I intend to do so thanks to you! (and ofcourse a number of other members that are just starting)

Greetings.

Daniel

ihsfab · Jul 21, 2007

Steve it looks good keep going.

Bill Tokyo · Jul 21, 2007

Thanks for posting

Your work is a real encouragement . I particularly like the geometric patterns you're working with. they seem to me like a good extension of the vocabulary of scroll, and a fine counterbalance.

I think scroll is very organic, and geometric engraving or paterns really help to set it off and underline it.

McAhron · Jul 21, 2007

From one newby to another,looking good!

JBrandvik · Jul 22, 2007

Steve,
Your geometric designs remind me of stained glass windows. It is very unique and shows you have an eye for effectively filling the space. As others have said, everybody begins at the beginning. Design skills are as important as engraving skills (perhaps more so). You obviously have the eye for design so in that sense your learning curve will be shorter from the 'get-go'.

It take guts to do put your first efforts up for review here where so many talented people display their accomplishments. I keep my first plates tucked away in a drawer and when I feel like I'm not getting any better, I will pull them out for a little reality check.

I'm looking forward to seeing where your "stained glass" engraving theme goes. Thanks for being brave enough to post your first efforts. Good luck and keep cutting.

KCSteve · Jul 22, 2007

Thanks guys!

As I've mentioned before, the geometric is something a buddy and I came up with back in the late 1970's - yes, that's the sort of thing math geeks did before we had computers to play with. I'm sure we were neither the first or last to come up with it, but there don't appear to be many of us. This is the simplest version and is based on triangles. I need to spend some drawing time going back through other regular polygons to remind me which other ones look good - some of them don't 'integrate' well the way the triangles do.

I've got a book on Celtic Knots that looks really good so I'll be adding some of them to my work as well. Also just got Mr. Meek's "The Art of Engraving" so I'll be able to teach myself script and some of the other 'normal' bits.

As to sharing such early work - well hey, if I were an engraver it might be embarassing but at this point I'm just a guy whose wife bought him a setup so anything I produce is a bonus

Interestingly, looking both at my starting attempts and pictures of old engravings you can see that engraving can look pretty darn good even when it's not terribly well done. Of course something like Jacque's "practice plates"

shows how much better it looks when you do have skills but basically it's just inherently neat.

Here's an idea: start up a 'newbies' thread and post your work there. That way it'll be being compared to others at a similar skill level.

BrianPowley · Jul 22, 2007

Steve, I apologize for not not replying sooner, but I took a vacation.
But by all means, you can use my flower pattern/technique.
Keep scratchin'........
Brian

D.DOUGLAS · Jul 22, 2007

Steve, here are some flowers i base some drawings on. You can draw and cut these some different ways.

KCSteve · Jul 23, 2007

BrianPowley - Thanks!

And thanks to you too Doug! It's not that I don't have lots of flower pictures to work from, it's just a matter of practice / skill - some of which is learning to get the line width & shape I want which will obviously come with time.

Weldon47 · Jul 23, 2007

KCSteve,

I believe you hit upon a very profound point in your earlier post. Please allow me to paraphrase what I believe you meant regarding old engraving compared with your efforts (not bad, by the way!): A good pattern (design) though poorly cut can still look good (a general rule, there are exceptions) while a poorly designed layout, no matter how well it's cut, will always be a bad-looking design! You are at the very crux of the issue! In carpentry we are taught: measure twice, cut once! This wisdom also applies to engraving: "Design carefully, cut once"!

Weldon

KCSteve · Jul 23, 2007

Weldon,

Yes!

When you look closely at some very good engravings you can often see some imperfections. Some of them have probably been added by age, others probably nagged at the engraver from the moment they happened. But you see them only if you go looking for them and most people don't go looking because the piece overally looks so good.

In some ways those little knurls and mars make the piece look better - they show it was done by human hands. Some of the work I've seen pictures of here is so extremely well done it's almost inhuman in its smooth perfection.

But no matter how technically well done something is, if it lacks soul it lacks the ability to engage the viewer.

Design flaws are much more likely to be noticed then execution flaws - if the line is in the right place a little wiggle or width variation gets smoothed out by the mind's eye while a technically perfect element that's in the wrong place will nag like a loose tooth.

Of course, when you combine incredible technical skill with elegant (and often intricate) design you get some of the stunning examples we see posted around here.

I have a pile of books to start working through tonight - the ever-indulgent wife grabbed me a book titled "How To Draw Anything" that should help with that area, I've got that great book on Celtic Knots, and I finished the latest Harry Potter so tonight I believe I'll start on The Art of Engraving - need to learn script for her next present.

Weldon47 · Jul 23, 2007

Steve,

I agree with you in that I like to see something in it that says it was done by hand! Good designs will always stand the test of time!!

Weldon

CUTTING METAL · Jul 25, 2007

Steve,
Looks better than my first engraving attempts. Taking a beginner course at GRS taught by Sam Alfano really moved me forward in my engraving skills. I have since taken more courses at Glendo and still look forward to more in the future.
Save all of your practice plates and you will be amazed at the progress that you have made when you look back at them a year or so down the road. I look at my very earliest ones and get a good laugh, but also get to see how much I have improved. The mistakes we make seem to be our best teachers and we don't forget them either. The most wonderful part of this engraving world is that we will never run out of things to learn and if it were easy - everyone would be doing it.

Good luck and keep cutting, Dick

More practice

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