critique request 1873 Winchester

Leland Davis

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Finished this one today owner asked me to come up with my own design but make it look like it could have been a factory pattern. The deer is Ulrich everything else I must take the blame for.
I think I done ok with the balance until I got in the odd space behind the game scene the the wheels come off. The scroll on the lower right is to big.
Let me know what else is wrong.
Thanks, Leland
 

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Mark Knapp

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I can't offer you a critique because it's much nicer than I can do at this time. I can tell you that I think it looks very nice. It reminds me of some of the Nimschke work we've been looking at
 

Leland Davis

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Thanks, Mark and Dave, I have to admit I don't know how to cut a cloud tried a few this afternoon terrible.
 

mtgraver

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Hi Leland, the lower scrolls to the right of the deer scene seem to flow he wrong way. I agree with Jerry, the negative spaces could be better balanced. Nice job, good luck on the clouds, lol, funny how things that appear so simple can be so perplexing.
Mark
 

Leland Davis

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Jerry, Mark do you mean to much space in the scrolls or unengraved space outside the scrolls? In my drawing I had leaves coming off the border to fill part of that space but scrapped it after drawing it on. Mark, yep that's where the wheels came off.
Thanks all for the time and comments, Leland
 

SamW

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If you extended the upper and lower borders in the front section Jerry and Mark talk of it might cover some of the "extra" blank space. You need to work on making your scroll backbones more rounded with no elbows. It is a bit better than my first try.

Here is a design I did for a customer who wanted that "factory" look to the design. It might show what I mean by rounder scroll.
 

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Leland Davis

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SamW, are you talking about the start of the main scrolls are not round enough? The only really bad elbow in the front right panel was an Ab failure, I didn't suck my gut in enough and the tang hit it.
Thanks,you have given me an idea i'm going to try drawing my scrolls in a circle drawn on the paper.
Thanks again,Leland
 

Leland Davis

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Omar, Thanks for the comments, your right he was very happy. Engraving was easier for me when I just had the customer to please but to keep improving we need to try and please people that really know the small nuances that only other engravers can see. I believe all artistic endeavors progress like that.
Thanks,Leland
 

SamW

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You might search this site for clouds or bulino clouds...this subject has been discussed before. I have found less is better when doing clouds as it is so easy to overdo the effect.
 

SamW

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Yes sir. Except for one little bobble at the bottom there is a noticeable lack of elbows and attendant flats. Draw it and cut it like that on the metal and it will be a major step forward. It took me years to get to that realization.

I used to study Kornbrath's work in Prudhomme's Gun Engraving Review hour upon hour. Then late one night while studying them for the umpteenth time I all of a sudden started seeing little elbows in his scroll I had never noticed before. This was mid to late '70s. I said to myself...'ah ha Kornbrath, I got you now'...and I have ever since been striving to eliminate elbows and flats from my own scroll. It does take an effort, at least for me, though some engravers seem to come by it naturally.
 

Leland Davis

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Thanks Sam, what you said before kind of turned a light on in my skull hopefully I can retain it. I study the Wilson book on Winchester engraving that way. Compared to what is done now the work is not that great but it worked for the time period. The mistakes I have found are kind of funny, scroll patterns inverted from one side of gun to the other almost like they did not have mirror image so inverted it for the other side. I hope to do other things someday but there are 7 1873's in the shop right now. My hope is what I learn doing these will help when the time comes to do other things. This forum is the best resource I have found because of people willing to help us amateurs.
Thanks again for your time and advice,Leland
 

Leland Davis

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Dave I contacted Ray Cover he is out of the castings you referred to, when I did a site search for clouds on here it came up with this thread.
Thanks, Leland
 

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