It all started 6months ago...

[tim wolf]

My very first, not knowing what i did...
After taking a basic course in antwerp...
After seeing one of Sam's video's...
Searching for my own style...
6months later i just finished this one after everyday practice and a lot of help from all you guys. Thank you Engraverscafé!
TimWolf

 

[Willem Parel]

You are a natural talent Tim or do you have any other artistic background.
You are developing very quick and your drawing skills are beyond average.
very nice pendant this latest piece.

 

[Gemsetterchris]

What a brilliant 6 months!
Love your latest pendant(s), seems you found your style

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Dit getuigt dat je een prima autodidact bent, love it.

arnaud

 

[tim wolf]

I don't have an artistic background willem, i did a little bit of drawing but i was not realy intersted in it before.
In all my hobby's i was always searching for the adrenalin boost, but after the body had several damages i needed to find a more quiet hobby
so now i'm discovering that artistic side inside...
Now i have some regrets i didn't started sooner with it because there is so much i want to learn...

 

[monk]

very nice work you have there. i esp like the unusual scroll you invented. what do you call this style ?

 

[rod]

I love the way Tweetie Pie can lay all those graded eggs in her spiral nest, and those 'rolls and folds of angel hair' clouds.

Would like to buy a one-day admission ticket to the inside of your brain, Tim!

Great inspiration in there, and with cutting skills to match.

Rod

 

[celticjohn]

Now, that's what I call progress...well done Tim, top class work

 

[tim wolf]

Thanks!
No name yet Monk
maybe just "no-leaves..."

 

[Peter_M]

What Rod said..... I am next in line for ticket. It seams to just flow for you something you meant to do

Peter

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Wow, you've come on leaps and bounds in the time you've been engraving, well done. One tip, be careful about searching for your "own style" too early. It will naturally develop like handwriting does. It's a mistake a lot of self taught beginners make and the often end up trying to reinvent the wheel. I like the stylised, cartoon/tattoo style of the pendant a lot and you can be proud of it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tim wolf]

Marcus,
I don't wanna try to reinvent the wheel
Everything i'm doing is already don before, but i just don't like to engrave leaves so i'm searching other ways to fill in an area.
You think it would be better to walk the traditional path for awhile and then start searching for my style?
I'm just affread if i did i'l get stuck in it...

 

[highveldt]

Wow!!!

Woof, Woof. Spectacular 6-months.

Steve

 

[Southern Custom]

My wife flipped when she saw this last night. I've been very impressed with your progression and even more that you have found a singular style. Well done!
Layne

 

[bram ramon]

Very good!!!! I teached you one day some basics and Wow! You don't need much more teaching at all!!! On the comment of classic style engraving...; The scroll you inlayed is PERFECT!!!!! I see so much "engravers" engraving "classical" engraving style and they will make a leaf with all twits and turns you will get a headache of it, but the base: a Scroll they can't engrave!! No you are very good continue like this!! I have seen you asked somewhere ho to get a more dark shading. Here there are a lot engravers who use ink etc thats not good it shocks and won't stay. Change your graver geometry go for a simple 90° and you will get a lot more contrast and don't polish your graver for doing shading! Good luck!!

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Some good comments by Bram. What I meant Tim is that often newbie engravers miss out on building a firm and solid foundation by thinking that what they produce must be unique too early on in their engraving career. The very act of hand engraving produces something unique as no two engravers work in exactly the same way so learning traditional scroll, etc, shouldn't be thought of as producing the "same old same old" but as building fundamentals.

When you've got the fundamentals under your belt the world is your oyster. But it really all depends on what you want to do. If you want to engrave guns, the gun world is very conservative and designs like your pendant won't do. Being able to produce good quality scroll is important if you want to make it to the upper echelons of engraving guns but it also stands you in good stead for engraving other things too.

If you skip learning scrollwork in favour of something like your quirky designs that's absolutely fine but you start to limit yourself. With what you are producing on this pendant for example, it is fine for jewellery and maybe some collectors knives like William Henry but being able to cut other styles too really opens your repertoire. If you are just engraving as a hobby that's fine but if you one day hope to make some money from your engraving you really need to learn it all and that includes the boring old scrolls that everyone else does too. You might never use them in your engravings but one day someone might just ask if you'd like to engrave something that might require scrollwork because they've seen something they like. Would you like to turn them away because you're not capable or you're limited by the style you specialise in? I think not. You have great graver control, and a natural eye for some good designs. I just don't want to see you limiting yourself, that's all.

Good luck and keep cutting, I love the stuff you're doing now by the way so the above comments shouldn't be thought of as a criticism but rather as opening a debate.

 

[tim wolf]

Thank you Marcus an Bram!
I don't take your words for criticim Marcus.
You all now better then me, so all advise from all you guys i'll grab with both hands because all i want to do is learn!
Thanks, you gave me something to think about

Tim.

 

[Jesse Kaufman]

Wonderful work Tim. Let's see more s time goes by. Jesse