Diary of a Novice

Julia, I don't think I've heard of the shadow method before but I like the idea. I have been wanting a light box for some time. I have been doing something similar as you but in CS5 for practicing scrolls. When I draw something I scan the image in PS, then use the magic wand on the image and copy new layer. I duplicate as many copies of the image as small or big that I want on one canvas then paint over it in white with opacity at 30% and flow at 60% then print. It's like using the light box because the printed image and or images are faint and I can practice shading or make changes that I want..... would still like to have a light box though.

â€...then she received the sharpening template and was never seen again.†True story! Well, almost- I’m still very much alive and doing great I ordered one of Lindsay’s templates and it’s simply an amazing tool. At first I had a flying idea of buying the dual angle fixture, but to a beginner like myself, it would have added too much too soon, so decided to get to know the whole basics of a graver shape before getting overwhelmed by possibilities…and it was a good call.

I had never seen a graver up close other than from photos or videos found online so even when I had an idea of how it’s shaped, never fully understood the whole picture until I made one out of a blank and tested how it cuts. It cuts. It cuts so amazingly well. The difference between trying to practice with pre-shaped gravers and now with the new geometry is like first trying to jog in knee deep water and now able to run on dry land. I no longer make the shockingly sharp-edged practice plates that could be used to scrape the skin out of an orange, but a mixture of smooth lines and curves (which are still appearing in unwanted lengths and so, but that’s because of the user.)

My head has now turned to the working space. It’s bad. I’m used of sitting still for long times while drawing, but there’s problem with the height of the table, with the chair I’m using and lights. Somehow I still hunch over the vise when engraving to try to see better, resulting in tension in my arm, neck and back. After half an hour my whole body is close of being a celtic knot, which is no good. The biggest problem is definitely the light- I work in the basement and when I started to set the place I were pretty happy with having just a simple, old booklight to keep me company. It’s placed to the wall on right. Have learned that having just one light source is terrible, it bounces off the plate in a way it’s hard to see where the graver is cutting. Have to fix it and soon. The table is going to stay where it is, but I’ll keep my eyes open for a new chair when visiting the recycling center.

I've been cutting for about three weeks since I got the sharpening tools. Done mostly lines, keeping it simple. I'm making it slightly challenging to myself and have started to stamp a fingerprint to a test plate and then cut the lines that are visible. It has proved to be a good way to try to follow a design that has even, thin lines :biggrin:

Beside the lines, did my first try on a scrollwork yesterday, posting a photo of it, plus a drawing practice WIP of a raven/crow done to a scratchboard (trying to get familiar with new textures, this month theme is feathers and bird anatomy.)

~Julia

More cutting!

Hey,

Terrezar: I'm using air assist. It's such a nice tool, but I've found it really difficult for me to learn..can't even imagine how much skill it requires to learn from zero the old fashioned way. I'm pushing forward to be able to add decorations for jewelry, this speeds things up, but when I have more time I'll definitely try palm-push engraving and some hammering too.

JMiller: it's good to have options and a light box can be a lifesaver when unexpected things happen- and things usually do happen when there's no time to fix computers! The technique I'm using most likely has a proper name in the art world, but since I've not been able to find a name, I made my own

and thank you Carlos for the link!
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Here's a copper practice plate from today. Starting to get a teeny tiny bit more of control, less slipping and semiroundish curves. I feel like my abilities have grown from 0 to 0.5

Julia can I make a suggestion stay away from the soft metals mild steel is a much better to learn on it's easier to control depth and as most but not all work is done on steel.
Ray

Julia, take a walk to the nearest welding/metal construction firm, bring homemade fika and ask them if you can have some cutoffs from regular blacksteel (svartstål) to have for engraving.

Oh so right about the steel versus copper. The easiest way to explain it is that in copper or silver, the graver wants to run and it's easy to cut too deeply. In steel, there is some resistance from the metal and therefore it's easier to control the graver and make nice crisp cuts.
Home Depot sells flat stock mild steel which is suitable for practice. Just sand it down to a clean finish. 600 grit or so and you are good to go. The practice plates from GRS are also excellent and the by far the nicest to work with.
You have have the battle down. You can draw!
Layne

Oh, that makes sense! Have thought it would be easier for a beginner to start of engraving soft materials so had gathered copper/brass plates for the task, since I'm aiming to cut silver (which I'd most likely cut in half for it being super soft). It didn't cross my mind that it could be just too soft. Good thing is that the mild steel is easier to come by, so I'll add some to the growing scrap metal pile

Thank you!

:caution: C&c is most welcome, feel free to tear everything apart that you see here.
Cheers,
Julia

If you are planning to cut silver then copper is good for practise, the two metals feels almost identcal when cutting them. I rarely cut steel, but I use palm-push, and for that purpose nothing is better than copper and silver.

Welcome to the Cafe, Julia
I like your drawing, thnks

Hey,

It's been a while since I posted. Hope everyone is doing ok. Life has been good on this end; I moved into a new apartment and been building a cozy corner for the crafts Unfortunately, my engraving studies have been neglected for a while- I've been reading the forums, drawing daily and trying to figure scrollwork, but the actual engraving had to be set aside, until now!

I were a little scared to start again, as I thought the little experience that I had collected would have vanished into thin air. To my surprise it's not completely gone. Yes, the work looks rough, but there's still hope...I guess. I attached a study that I did yesterday. I don't have anything to transfer the pictures yet, so I've been drawing directly to the plate and trying to cut the lines as carefully as I can. Shading is tough and it shows :biggrin:

Back to work,
cya soon!

like fred's says cut a inch every day and it will come , Your shading looks like mine maybe we could find a package deal to help the both of us. you drawings are great the rest will come. good luck

love it, well worth looking at ! you must be a fast learner !

hey, the octoguy needs eyebrows and a nose !

Thank you for the likes and taking the time to reply, much appreciated!

Eugene; what Fred says sums up the whole learning process. Just have to remember to practice even a little each day, without excuses About the shading: what do you have in mind? I think I'll have to go back a bit, focus more to the main line and control before trying again- the lines what I've seen made by others are so light, that the problem could be the graver design, a dull tool, wrong pressure setting...combined with the unexperienced user :biggrin:

Hey, thanks Monk! Learning would be a lot easier and faster with some guidance, but so glad I've found this site, it's a real gem! Oh, I thought of adding a little hat for the octoguy, more facial addons sounds great.

I've been painting today. Here's a progress shot of a watercolor pug...it's such a slow work, but not going to hurry with this one.

I would like to clear something up right away. I called Jim Small to ask about how he shaded a particular area on a grip end cap. He graciously blow that portion up and provided me with some important advice. I was real broke at the time having just survived bone marrow transplant and money was very tight. No private lesson possible at the time. He gave me advice on over shading things that would be subject to wear. He told me about putting effort into skills that would be hard to sell for and up and coming engraver (bulino). He offered the words of wisdom in my footer "if you want to learn to engrave cut one square in a day, everyday" that includes designing layout transferring from paper to metal then cutting outlines, removing background, stippling and finally figuring the best shading layout I could. Tomorrow be critical of my own work and do another square inch minimum. He further said used deferent shaped one square in of metal. I have cut hundreds of inches of these. Some were transferred to real projects like knife bolsters and gun parts. Other square inches transfered to inexpensive and knifes in the 200 dollars range.

I have seen Jim at the Blade show and at the Engrave-In at Scot's- I think his student advise of the art is the best I know, know matter what level you are at and trying to learn a new skill like lettering, bulino or whatever-"Cut an in a day every day" start to finish. Must give credit where credit is due. By Jim Small. Thank You Jim and those who gave credit to me it's Jim's-Fred

I am just learning to shade myself, one of the disadvantages I have is I'm 73 and beginning to shake. I am also changing to a 90° tool with almost no heel getting my finger off the top of the tool and my thumb to the side for more control. I went to a class given by Ray Cover and sat 2 feet away from him and watched him do shading he didn't seem to do anything that I wasn't doing but the results are sure different. I found also with the Palm control I have to turn the air down and the stroke down.
Your watercolors are just wonderful I cannot hold a candle to you there.

Julia,

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the Cafe Julia. Good to have you aboard.

Learning how to cast

Hello!

Long time no see :biggrin: Where does all the time go?! Mine has been slipping into learning new things, which is not a bad thing: I needed and still need to find a way to be able to pay the bills with the craft, so for the past year or so, I've been teaching myself how to cast both bronze and silver jewerly. It's been a messy journey. I started with a real heavy pendants, that would only work really well for extra weight while jogging...Things are starting to look much better and I'm able to make more precise detail with every try. Now I'm finally getting to a point where I can start combining casting and engraving still trying to keep the designs quite simple and slowly making them more complex.


~Julia

welcome back, Julia! how did the pug painting turn out? the progress shot was lovely.