First attempt at Bulino

[John B.]

Ken,
Given that I'm no expert on Bulino I still have a little tip that works for me.
And you might like to try it in a small practice area first.
Instead of sanding back areas that are too dark as you mentioned you might try selective burnishing with a minute burnisher.
Works for me to create light reflections from clouds, water or glass.
Can also help to create a transition in over darkened areas.
It's probably cheating and not the best method......but so is having an eraser on your pencil
And Ken, as a fellow book freak you might look into some of the books on pen and ink drawing.
They have many of the same problems that we face in creating a bulino.
Two really good ones are Rendering in Pen and Ink by Arthur L. Guptill, ISBN0-8230-4529-3 and
Sketching your Favorite Subjects in Pen and Ink by Claudia Nice, ISBN 0-89134-472-1.
Neither are too expensive.



Tira, Thanks for including Prairie Wings in your book list, it might be a help to some.

Best regards.

 

[Tira]

Thank you, John B. I just added the other two books as well.

 

[John B.]

Thank you, John B. I just added the other two books as well.

Thank you, Tira.

 

[dbrodhagen]

Ken, which graver did you use, the standard 80? I just went through the DVD with Christian DeCamillis and he seems to like using the 105. Just curious as I am starting to play around with Bulino.
Thanks, Dave

 

[kcrutche]

Bulino

Dave

I used a 70 degree Bulino Lindsay Template for the outlines and Phil Coggan's for the shading.

I tried other Graver but liked the 90 degree's angles best for shading.

And this might seem strange, but I turn the standard Phil Coggan Graver over, give it a standard 45 degree face and then the smallest Heel you can image (it has to be tiny use a marking pen on the tip so you will be able to see it).

If you make the heel to large it will drag in the tight places.

Sometimes you have to do unorthodox thing to get done what you want.

If My Bulino turns out I probably will write a Tutorial on exactly how I did It.

Not to say it is the proper way but it the way I have to do it.

Ken

 

[monk]

i'd have to guess ( i don't know ) that bulino is probably the most difficult form to master. i think you should get 3 or 4 hundred trillion dots under your "belt" before you become too critical of what you are doing. it sure looks like you're on the right track ! i'd guess skipping the coffee would help. the mere fact that you are trying this, is a plus in my book.

 

[kcrutche]

Bulino

Monk

Sorry for the long wait to get back to you.

I have my practice Bulino Pintail Duck finished now and trying to get a decent picture to post.

I haven't got that mastered yet.

I have been having a little fun with our disagreement as to who is the worst Photographer, I still think I have you beat.

If I can get things together I might do a step by step how I do it (Bulino not Photography).

What I do is not as hard as you might think.

BTW Thank You for the complement.

Ken

 

[kcrutche]

Bulino

John B.

I just noticed I did not reply to your post.

I don't believe you must be an expert to have knowledge about a subject that might be of help to another.

I like your burnishing Idea however I do not have a burnisher that would fit the bill (I will make one) but I had a small piece of 600 grit paper handy.

I also do not think anything is cheating that works, and gets the job done.

I have the book Sketching your Favorite Subjects in Pen and Ink and another, Drawing In Pen And Ink by Claudia Nice ISBN 0-89134-717-8.

If you are going to play around with Bulino I highly recommend them both.

Tira

another book for your list.

I will have more for you when they arrive.

Ken

 

[Marrinan]

Just An Aside:
I make burnishers out of watch/eyeglass screwdrivers-good steel, convent handle and cheap-Fred

 

[kcrutche]

Bulino

Thanks for the tip Fred.

I would not have thought of that.

I will try it out.

Ken

 

[kcrutche]

Bulino

Finished

I have included a transfer drawing if anybody would like to try there hand at Bulino.

I purposely Photographed it large enough to be able to see the cuts/lines.

To be able to see it a close to real life back away from your monitor (at least 6 Feet) until you cannot see the lines just color.

The actual size of the duck is just a little over than 1 and ¼ inches.

Remember you are trying to produce colors (different shades of gray) with your cuts/lines.

This is a practice plate, a lot of the cuts were trial and error, I will make the cuts a little differently when I do Sarah's gun.

Thanks to all who replied to my thread.

Ken