Andrew Biggs
Moderator
Hi John
No……..don’t butt out. You have a far more discerning eye than I do and you always have something valuable to say and you know a lot more than I ever will…..besides, you still have to keep me on the straight and narrow
Arnaud…………the cutting!!!
When you started this I was insistent that you get scroll and leaves etc touching the borders…………not close………but actually touching. And here is the reason why.
What you do at the beginning starts having an effect on everything else. If you scribe or transfer your design with certain faults then they can get carried through to the very finished product. As you gain more experience you can start rectifying these faults as you go………but as a beginner it’s very difficult to do that. So you must be exact with some of your work and understand what the fault is so that you also know how to rectify it and what to look for. It is part of the finesse of engraving.
When you engrave you have to develop an understanding about line thickness
Photo 1: Scribed lines/Transfers. You’ll notice that the lines at A does not touch the border. B does not touch the other scroll……………..C touches the line. Now watch what happens further down the engraving process.
Photo 2: Main Cuts. When you cut something and are going to remove the background you cut on the outside of the scribed line/transfer because essentially that line becomes part of the background. If you don’t do that your design will be “thinner†than you originally intended it to be.
Figure A & B shows the lines now touch…………but it is only the outside of the lines………..so it’s not to bad after all………but keep watching that area as you move through the photos.
Figure C & D the lines merge into one another so there is only one line thickness where they join. The arrows indicate that from the yellow mark I cut in both directions where the lines converge.
Photo 3: Background removal: Now you can start seeing the differences more clearly. Figures A & B a gap now starts appearing and the border line (A) and joining scrolls (B) are now separated from each other. Figures C & D are still touching one another.
Photo 4: Background texture/stipple. Everything is now enhanced as the background is darkened and that gap between A and B is more noticeable.
Photo 5: Finished: Has been blackened and now you can see that areas A & B no longer look connected to the border or the other scroll. However areas C & D are still connected and there is no gap, only the thickness of the line.
So as you can see from the photos one thing affects the next. That is why you must be careful about getting your lines to touch borders and each other. I was using a 90 degree graver for this exercise……..if you were using a 120 degree graver the results would be even more noticeable.
I hope this helps with your cutting and understanding of the process.
I’ll add the usual disclaimer that this is my way of thinking and others may, and will, think differently. It’s just something else to throw in the mix
Cheers
Andrew
No……..don’t butt out. You have a far more discerning eye than I do and you always have something valuable to say and you know a lot more than I ever will…..besides, you still have to keep me on the straight and narrow
Arnaud…………the cutting!!!
When you started this I was insistent that you get scroll and leaves etc touching the borders…………not close………but actually touching. And here is the reason why.
What you do at the beginning starts having an effect on everything else. If you scribe or transfer your design with certain faults then they can get carried through to the very finished product. As you gain more experience you can start rectifying these faults as you go………but as a beginner it’s very difficult to do that. So you must be exact with some of your work and understand what the fault is so that you also know how to rectify it and what to look for. It is part of the finesse of engraving.
When you engrave you have to develop an understanding about line thickness
Photo 1: Scribed lines/Transfers. You’ll notice that the lines at A does not touch the border. B does not touch the other scroll……………..C touches the line. Now watch what happens further down the engraving process.
Photo 2: Main Cuts. When you cut something and are going to remove the background you cut on the outside of the scribed line/transfer because essentially that line becomes part of the background. If you don’t do that your design will be “thinner†than you originally intended it to be.
Figure A & B shows the lines now touch…………but it is only the outside of the lines………..so it’s not to bad after all………but keep watching that area as you move through the photos.
Figure C & D the lines merge into one another so there is only one line thickness where they join. The arrows indicate that from the yellow mark I cut in both directions where the lines converge.
Photo 3: Background removal: Now you can start seeing the differences more clearly. Figures A & B a gap now starts appearing and the border line (A) and joining scrolls (B) are now separated from each other. Figures C & D are still touching one another.
Photo 4: Background texture/stipple. Everything is now enhanced as the background is darkened and that gap between A and B is more noticeable.
Photo 5: Finished: Has been blackened and now you can see that areas A & B no longer look connected to the border or the other scroll. However areas C & D are still connected and there is no gap, only the thickness of the line.
So as you can see from the photos one thing affects the next. That is why you must be careful about getting your lines to touch borders and each other. I was using a 90 degree graver for this exercise……..if you were using a 120 degree graver the results would be even more noticeable.
I hope this helps with your cutting and understanding of the process.
I’ll add the usual disclaimer that this is my way of thinking and others may, and will, think differently. It’s just something else to throw in the mix
Cheers
Andrew
Attachments
-
Scribe.jpg -
Main-Cuts.jpg -
Background.jpg -
Stipple.jpg -
Finished.jpg
