old looking horse buckle i just finished

[Jared Eason]

Thanks . Its nice to now be able to have others to consult with. Where I'm from we did not have art class in school. So everything I know is my interpretation of things I have seen or read. Its nice to have friends to steer me in the right direction, scold me when needed.

The closes person to me that I can find that engraves is Joe mason. I'm hoping when he gets caught up he will allow me to come and observe him.

 

[bigransom]

... makes me not want to use my rotary tool on metal, and leave it for wood...

A good set of Pfeil wood chisels and Lie Nielsen bevel chisels and you'll cure that rotary on wood thinking. The more you progress on clean cut engraving in any substraight, the less you'll appreciate relief work with the rotary - in my experience.
br.

 

[Jared Eason]

That seems to be the case with metal. The rotary defiantly has a place on the workbench . But its not clean enough.

 

[Red Green]

Stealing art has always been done, it is expected, as an artist you should not copy beyond learning, as an artisan (craftsman) copying or reproducing is deliberate and the quality is easy to determine. To steal it you must make it yours, you cannot do that if you copy, you must take what you feel from it and give it form. The art you steal should inspire your work not dictate its outcome. Without a balance of expression and craftsmanship your work will suffer, stay alive with time and effort, dedication and sacrifice you will wake up one day and ask yourself, 'why wasn't I a plumber?'.

Bob

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Jared

I like the non rotary tools buckles the best. The guitar one is pretty cool.

I'll try to be as diplomatic as possible..........The best advise I can give you is put the rotary away in a drawer and leave it there. You are not doing yourself any favours by using it. Pick up your new purchase and start getting used to it as quick as you can.

The artwork you have used is very good........the trouble is with a rotary you haven't a chance in hell of doing anything decent with the artwork because of the nature of the tool you are using. Rotaries are great for digging holes in metal or teeth and polishing but not much else.

Something to keep in mind for the future.......when you use artwork either drawn yourself or clip art. When you stick a banner in front of it (or any other object like a tree etc) you run the risk of losing certain elements that make the animal make sense. In this case you have lost the front hoof that gives it the correct pose. So when you cover certain things like the hooves it means you have to compensate in other areas by redrawing them. They may be minor adjustments like making something slightly thicker or thinner or angling the hoof slightly differently but these changes can make big differences to the final product.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Jared Eason]

Thanks bob and Andrew. I must agree. I was planning on weaning myself off the rotary. But think I should go cold turkey . I have invested too much . I do not have a microscope , and am going to buy a ball vise in next couple days.

 

[Big-Un]

May I suggest you study more anatomy, as the horse is awkward and the bull seems to have broken his leg! No matter where you get the pictures for use, a little knowledge of proper muscle structure, as well as the skeletal structure, which is the very foundation of the animal, will help render it more realistically. Also, as with the other suggestions, put the rotary tool away if you want to elevate your work beyond the amateur level. Rotary tools have their place, just not in high-end engraving, which is where I assume you wish to go. Good luck and keep plugging...things will come together sooner than you think.

Bill

 

[Jared Eason]

Thanks bill. I actually bought some new books on drawing animals the other day.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Jared

You will find engraving a lot harder than you think. Being able to watch Joe Mason would be educational...........but at the end of the day it is your own work bench where you will learn the most. Graver control takes time and effort like anything. Remember learning to drive a car??? It looked so easy when others did it but it was totally different when we got behind the wheel for the first time

Your transition is going to take a lot of time and effort as it's not easy. There are only 3 words you need to remember..........practice, practice and practice and when you are sick of that.......practice some more. The rewards are in direct proportion to the time you invest in it. You have spent a lot of money and that was the cheap part of the deal. Time is the most expensive.

When you enter an artistic field such as engraving, everything changes. Learn how to really see something and not just look at it. Observation is an important attribute in the art when it comes to animal or scene work. Gut instinct also works. If something looks wrong then it probably is.

I would suggest that you start at the beginning and that is by drawing scrolls with a pencil and paper weather you like them or not. This will give you the discipline to carry on with other more complex projects and it'll start training your eye for detail. The book you have purchased start cutting some of the drawing in the pages. This will mean you are getting a good mix of cutting and drawing as the two disciplines are connected.

At first it will be a daunting task but if you go about it the right way you can/will succeed........ Just remember we all started at the same point


Cheers
Andrew

 

[monk]

i find your work to have a rather unique look to it. i like your buckles very much. i esp like the way you handle the backgrounds. i shouldn't say this, so i will anyway-- forget the gravers. just keep on doing what you do. having said that, i know i'll suffer slings & arrows for saying that.

 

[Jared Eason]

Thanks Andrew. I will do just that ..

 

[Jared Eason]

Andrew. Just wanted to note something that I don't think I was real clear on. Its not that I don't like scroll. I love fancy scroll. Big whimsical scroll. But Small simple scrolls all jumbled together is what I don't personally like. Like in English scroll, its just to jumbled up for me. I'm no trying yo rude . I just think their was a misunderstanding of me not liking scroll. Thanks all of you for the support.

 

[Big-Un]

When in college, my art professor required a certain text book, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand why. The book was "Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain." It taught us to become analytical artists, looking at objects from a different perspective. Instead of seeing an object, we started looking at negative spaces, all the space AROUND it. We spent a lot of time sketching spaces, not objects. Kinda hard to get into at first, but it opens up a whole new world. I think great, natural artists have that ability built in. Try it and I believe your work will improve tremendously.

As far as small scrolls go, such as English scroll, they look jumbled, or more precisely "busy" it is most likely you are looking at the overall engraving, not seeing the intricacies of the work. It will come to you as you get more experience.

Keep plugging, you're doing well.

Bill

 

[Jared Eason]

Thanks bill. I see a lot of things ( backwards) than other people all the time. It gets frustrating sometimes. It probably don't help that I'm dyslexic. I do see the individual scrolls in the English scroll. I guess I just like big flowing objects scrolls. Like western scroll but less bright.

 

[Red Green]

I too am dyslexic, don't worry about it, it's only backwards to the symbol thinkers. Think of English scrolls as the engraving equivalent to the droning of monks, makes a nice background to a lovely setting but you wouldn't want to live there.

Bob

 

[Jared Eason]

Nicely put Bob