Sam's exercise+freestyle on hammer

[Paulie]

Hi all, here's my (VERY) late attempt at Sam's exercise. At the time, when Sam started this thread, my engraving set up was not ready yet. Now that I have organised a basic (very basic) engraving corner (with GraverMax G8 & foot control) since some time, I could finally finish it. For small work & tiny corners I'm beginning to miss a microscope. Greetings, Paulie

 

[bram ramon]

Really Cool!! Freestyle, Thats what it is! Im sure even the most advantaged engravers can learn some of this piece! Cool job!! I'm thinking i really should make a visit now!

 

[Paulie]

Really Cool!! Freestyle, Thats what it is! Im sure even the most advantaged engravers can learn some of this piece! Cool job!! I'm thinking i really should make a visit now!

Hey Bram, thank you! I know I've got a lot to learn (surely when it comes to traditional scroll drawing). And...you're welcome for a visit. P.S.: Uw vriendschapsverzoek heb ik hier al 5x geaccepteerd. Groeten, Paulie

 

[bram ramon]

Hey Bram, thank you! I know I've got a lot to learn (surely when it comes to traditional scroll drawing). And...you're welcome for a visit. P.S.: Uw vriendschapsverzoek heb ik hier al 5x geaccepteerd. Groeten, Paulie

No no, I really like your style! So i can learn from you to. Cool! Anyway about the friendship request, strange, but my profile was blocked by an administrator for some moths.. Even more strange is when i look at my friends list now you are not on it.. So maybe making friends is still blocked for me..

 

[Frank P]

nice job Paulie, and if I was you, I would not bother too much about traditional scroll drawing, we re already by thousands doing it like that, there s no law saying you have to engrave those omnipresent acanthus...... create your own Traditional Paulie style, most customers don nt have the slightest idea what traditional scroll drawing is... and if they like your unique style.. you ask your price..
Frank

 

[Paulie]

...create your own Traditional Paulie style, most customers don nt have the slightest idea what traditional scroll drawing is... and if they like your unique style.. you ask your price..

Thank you for the compliment & encouragement, Frank! I hope you're right on this one, because that whould be 'a dream that's coming true'! Groeten, Paulie

 

[Paulie]

Anyway about the friendship request, strange, but my profile was blocked by an administrator for some moths.. Even more strange is when i look at my friends list now you are not on it.. So maybe making friends is still blocked for me..

Bram, this seems to be OK now, you're on my friend's list. Check out yours Paulie

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

Paulie,

Franks correct and it's good advice. When i look at this piece there is something happening that hold ones attention. It has balance and it has movement . Movement is something that a lot of designs are lacking. It's obviously based on traditional ornamental design. Keep going for it. Innovating is what it's all about.

Chris

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Paulie

I will go the other way from what the above members have said.

There is an advantage to drawing/cutting traditional scroll patterns and that is you learn a few things about good design and start developing an eye for what works and what doesn't. Scroll and acanthus leaf have stood the test of time and that is saying something. That is why it is still popular today.

Things like flow and how the scrolls interact with one another are all valuable lessons that can be translated into other styles. Developing the "eye" for good design is the most important part of all this.

Once you have learnt these lessons then you can start changing a few things about the scroll. It doesn't take much for a scroll head to become a birds head or creature of some sort. Leaves can become flames…………..but they still follow the tried and true formula of scroll design.

My best advise is to learn some of the basics….and then branch out and do your own thing.

As to the actual cutting. When you do something with engraving…………then really do it. If it is single point engraving then shade the leaves up to really give drama, light and shadow. If you are chasing or carving something then you have to really go for it and make the whole thing rounded with steep sides so that it creates its own light and shadows. Sometimes the steepness of the walls and depth will be what creates the lighting effect needed.

If you try to do something that is neither one thing or the other ………..then you end up with nothing.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Frank P]

Mr Biggs, i never said that it was bad to learn traditional scrollwork, and it sure stood the test of time ...

but when I think about the tons of other graphic style artists ,like painters, sign writers ;-) grafitti aces, tattoo artists, CGG specialists, comic or other style draftsmen etc etc..... I really don t think they got their eye for design, flow and balance just by learning traditional scroll drawing, there s much more around..

once I had a customer, he wanted his gun engraved.. anything would do, no matter what decoration he said .." "but not with that church-stuff" he pointed to acanthus drawings ...

hope that explains it better...

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Frank

No need to explain. I know what you meant and were trying to say.

I agree with you about so many areas of design. And they all have their own idiosyncrasies.

"but not with that church-stuff"..........that's good, I like that

Cheers
Andrew

 

[SamW]

Interesting design...like scroll coming up out of the fires of the forge. I like it.

 

[Paulie]

Andrew, thank you for the explanation, I understand what you mean. Drawing (& cutting) traditional scrolls is difficult to me and something I have to practice more. I always draw them scrolls too tiny and busy when doing freehand space filling. When I don't have enough space in the leafs & stems for shading lines, I try to remove more background & sculpt & texture the foreground. I admit that I don't get the result that I wanted very often
Greetings, Paulie