Critique Request A little design help please

speeedy6

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This is a buttplate for my little .22 rifle. I reshaped the stock and thought I might like an engraved buttplate, gripcap and receiver just to personalize it a bit. I'm pretty happy with the design but found myself staring at the two blank spaces at the top of the plate. I don't know what to do with them. 20180313_072705.jpg I like the progressively smaller scrolls and having them centered . but now I have the blank spaces bugging me. Are my scrolls too small ? Should I have made them so big as to touch the sides of the plate? Any help will be appreciated.
By the way, I see I didn't continue my spine through the 2nd scroll and will take care of that and the huge scratch across the second scroll . This is a piece of scrap out of my pile of too good to throw away metal and I think the small pitting won't be noticed when done.
 

pilkguns

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If it were me at this point, I would cut away the leaves flowing off the origination scroll in the lower right hand corner, and leave the area stippled, just as you are going to do immediately above there, and then the two areas you mention are perfectly in balance with all corners.

you have some very thin, or in some cases, non existent backbones that you should correct at this point as well
 

Eric Olson

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If something is bothering you about your design, that feeling is correct. Fix the design in pencil before you start engraving!
If you have to draw it 10 times it will be less time consuming and less frustrating than if you try to engrave a poorly thought out design.
Unfortunately, I think most here would say that there is only one big correction that needs to be made here - start over.
Also draw, draw and draw some more - start with making good "backbones" that touch the edges of the space you are trying to fill.
 

Andrew Biggs

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Finish it and learn from it. Once finished you will see everything that you have done wrong and what you have done right. It's all part of the learning curve. :)

Yes, you will notice the pit marks when it's finished............prep work is part of our job. Treat all projects seriously from start to finish because that way you learn each aspect of the engravers work. There are no shortcuts or skipping parts so you can do the fun stuff. Five to fifteen minutes of standing/stoning would have got rid of the pit marks.

The top area you are concerned about.........don't worry about it and leave it as it is and carry on. Or if you really want to do something, then bang a couple of scrolls in there.

What you learn from this project you will carry over to the next, and the next, etc etc etc :)

Cheers
Andrew
 

monk

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large scroll are notorius for creating "bad spots" far better to plan for a few smaller ones. the details are then easier to effectively use. as noted, better to trash 10 or 12 sheets of paper than a real project. smaller scroll just beg to fill unusually shaped areas.
 

speeedy6

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" I would cut away the leaves flowing off the origination scroll in the lower right hand corner" .Scott, that's a great suggestion I never considered. I'll complete the rest before I cut away the stray leaves at the origination scroll just to be sure but I think that's what I'll do.

"Yes, you will notice the pit marks when it's finished............prep work is part of our job" Andrew, I'm afraid one of my shortcomings is I'm in a hurry to finish most everything I do. As I looked again at the plate the pits were like little eyeballs staring at me. I stopped and stoned till my fingers were sore and I feel better about the finish.
Thanks for the help, Mark
 

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