Kaivertaja
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2017
- Messages
- 3
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Actually it is my solid plan to come to visit the Fega show. The year just has not been decided yet Maybe I'll reward my self and my wife (she is really supportive and understanding, Luckily!) as soon as I complete my residency...
Please be sure to post it on the forum when you can visit the FEGA show so that you get a warm welcome.
And best of luck on your dental residency There are several fine dentists and MD's that belong to the Guild.
Hi and welcome to the forum. My advice is to get hold of Ron Smith’s book “The Advanced Drawing of Scrolls” and study it. Self teaching of engraving is fine but you are disadvantaged in several ways, the main one being how do you know what you are producing is any good? Whilst it internet is great, there are so many people out there who’ll tell you everything you do is fantastic it can be like wading through treacle as it slows progress and gives little real feedback. It can be a minefield and you have to learn to sift the good from the bad information.
On this route you have to learn to be absolutely honest with yourself and compare what you produce with known, good quality engraving. If you see your scrolls have doglegs or grow in the wrong direction admit it and do something about it next time. Likewise, learn to look and see and then try to replicate what you actually see and not what you think you see.
Don’t get ahead of yourself and concentrate on getting the basics under your belt first. Too many times I see beginners trying to create their own style of scrollwork or rushing into complicated foliate work when they have no idea of basic growth or shading. As an apprentice you learn by baby steps and it takes months and years to thoroughly learn the craft, but a lot of people seem to think they can just buy some tools and watch a couple of videos and become an instant engraver. It doesn’t work like that, and going the self-taught route is even tougher if you want to be even a half decent engraver.
Good luck on your journey. It’s a lot of fun, blood, sweat and tears but that’s what makes engravers a pretty special bunch.