Practice Plates For Beginners

drawing ones own is not that hard to do and not to diferent from cutting.if you can see it is not right you are half way there.most people have more talent than they allow them selfs.just start simple(simple lines,circles and so on) and work your way up.it realy is more fun cutting your own drawings.why wast pressios time copying,you want to learn engraving and design is the most importent thing you have to learn.i am a biginner and also just want to cut and did copy others work for practice but realised that there is no real point in it,it still is not your own.it does not have to be perfect as long as it is your own.

I've been teaching 5-string banjo for 34 years, and I tell my engraving students that an engraving class is like a music lesson. I don't expect my banjo students to leave the lesson being able to play the song like I do, or even play as well when they return the following week. I give them the recipe and show them what to do and what not to do. The rest is up to them. With the help of a good instructor, engraving students can produce absolutely excellent results in a short 5 day course. And like music, they must practice when they get home. If a music or engraving student perceives practice as drudgery, then they are not enjoying the journey.

Well said Sam. I think when one understands that the key to perfection is the competing with oneself after the recipe has been given then his or her work will become professional. I'm glad my high school teachers are'nt reading this.

I think a good practice plate is a cooper penny; file down image and make flat,
I used double sided tape on my finger to hold the penny on a sanding disk working down to a fine sand paper. What is nice about the penny is it’s die struck it cuts much like sterling silver, it’s also a good medium for anyone trying to practice doing a coat of arms there's no air pockets and thick enough to cut deep.

God Bless
Ron Proulx

hi Brian ! It can happened to get sick with any silliness, from any country only bacause people allow to be so. In my country there is no special courses of engraving. People who are interested in this type of art are searching for old masters and asking them to teach them. Some times master gives a time for student to see what he can do and is it worth to teach him. You understand that not anyone will be able to work as engraver because of many reasons. If master see the potential he will be focusing the student at the field of engraving in which he is better. I mean for stamp making, guns or jewellery engraving. The student choose what he likes more and other he learning as the training at free time. Usually masters take from 500 till 1200 dollars per month. And this money goes for the Main business accounting. To get some new instruments. to pay some bills, some materials and after approximately 2-3 month master just offer the job for student or stop the learning when he will be sure that the student get enough to keep doing by himself. That all. We have not so much very qualified people comparing with USA.

Hi Everyone,
This has been an interesting thread, for training in drawing for engravers or Jewellery. I went to school for Jewellery in the USA. After about 5 years after graduation
I started thinking how bad a job of training student the college actually did. I don’t think any thought was given to what the student going to use it for. When I enter school, I knew I liked to work in metal. I was clueless about drawing. So giving a student electives in drawing classes was absurd. I took life drawing when I should have taken a industrial arts drawing class in drawing perspective of small object. I sure all you engraver are thinking life drawing is an excellent class for an engraver. Ya, but I was a jewelery student. We should have been required to do a lot of jewellery designing on paper the first year, and got used to working out ideas to see if they were practical. This never happened.

If I was to design a curriculum for today's engraving student, there would be a life drawing class but in the second year. First year would have a still life class with a heavy emphasis on small objects and standard principals. There would also be a class in advertising layouts. The second year would have computer graphic principals and life drawing. Third year would have a class in print making and print engraving,
also an advanced class in advertising principals of shading. In other words extreme life
drawing. Fourth year is always taken up with final projects and if you don’t know how to
draw, then you’ve been skipping class. Each engraving student would be require to bring
at least 12 fully rendered engraving drawing in, one per week. For all four years, and last year only would be the student choice of subjects.

Unless you’re going to a school that specializes in engraving where it’s taught by engravers. It seems no one really know how to make an effective program.
The colleges are hopelessly lost in there own power struggle for funding.
They would wind up the third year saying study what you find interesting.
This begs the question “what am I paying you for”?
You might ask the question, “Are you still angry”. “Yes”, it’s been 35 years since I graduated and nothing has changed, except the class sizes and there a lot smaller due to lack of interest. Jewellers simple don’t take then seriously. If you want to learn jewellery, you go to GIA, Revere Academy, or Blain Lewis.

At least engravers have good schools to attend. GRS, School of Fine Engraving, etc.
Lord, save us from the college system for they surely are clueless, generally speaking.

So if you want to go to college to learn how to draw, try to draw up your own curriculum.
Leave the engraving classes up to the engraving teachers that know what they're doing.

AMEN! Mr Zimmerman

S~