Good question
I'm not sure I would on that particular design..matter of preference & wether you could figure a good way to go about it if you did ( which is probably why I'd leave it as is)
To me the questions is how to shade it. That's not the normal leafy shape encountered in ornamental engraving so you'd have to experiment to see how it would look with different treatments.
Do I think it needs it? Not necessarily.
In my opinion or maybe more of a question: the unshaded design (I will call it focal point design) hits me first.
The shaded scroll work around it "frames?" it.
If you shade the "focal point design" it may "melt" into the shaded scrolls thus loosing the "focal point".:thinking:
Shading is supposed to enhance the contoured look and 3 dimensional look of an engraving,(foldovers and overlays). Without it, the center part looks flat and is flat, which looks great to me. Like Sam said , you would have to do some soul searching to figure out how to shade that design. Just my 2 cents. Nice job by the way.
Cheers
Don
I try to think of the audience which when viewing jewelry is usually several feet away or across the table. They're not zoomed in with a magnifier. I find that super fine detail can muddle the composition. That may not always apply but it's something I think about when coming up with a design.
I want the piece to intrigue them from a distance and also fascinate them when close up. It's hard to do both but I try.
I probably shouldn't be giving you advice as that's nicer than my stuff.
Is that a gold background? or is the watch brass?? Either way it's a nice effect.
Shading the pattern is a difficult one because in reality it is a lot smaller than the photo............Personally, I would put a very fine outline inside the geometric shapes so it gives them a small border. This would help define them a bit better It would be a subtle look but effective. If you are thinking that it needs something, then it does. If you are happy with the way it looks, then leave it. Either way it looks very nice indeed.
My opinion isn't worth much but I like it the way it is but being an engraver it just feels unfinished. To a civilian it would look awesome I reckon. If I were to shade it at all it would be very lightly so it still very much stands out.
Thank you very much for your participation. Each opinion is very important for me, as this forum for me school of engraving. I'll be experimenting. And at the end of post pictures.
I think it is nice the way it is. If you tried to shade say where the ribbon crosses the spear or vise versa it would look to busy. same is true with the knob element. I quit like it the way it is. Fred