Just Thought I Would Share My First Floral Piece. Let Me Know What You Think!

[The Grizzly]

Hi folks...ok, first thing. Is this piece called a carving? Or...?

This started as just a practice piece. I don't have near the variety of tools on hand to do the piece properly, but I made do with what I have. I picked up the leather from Hobby Lobby and found a design I liked. I laid out the design then traced over it with a red pen...which I won't do again because it still shows up. Using a picture of the finished piece, I selected the the tools I knew I had and started.

But where to begin??!!

With no idea where to start the piece, after cutting the piece with my swivel knife, I just picked an area that I thought would be first.

1. I backgrounded the area between the stems first.

2. Next, I used my beveler to go around the entire piece, petal overlaps, leaf overlaps and scroll.

3. Once done with that, I used my seeder to fill the centers.

4. Next, I used my textured pear shader to do the petals and leaf areas.

5. After that, I used the veiner and camo tools to accent the stems, leaves and flower.

6. Finally, I used my swivel knife to add what decorative cuts I could to go with the design I was following.

7. I tooled the letters as an afterthought when a good friend said she wanted this piece. I wish I had just painted them on as I did a TERRIBLE job free handing them.

8. A little bit of clean up with the modeling tool and a very light backgrounding of the outside edges and it was ready for dye, antique and finish.

A few things I learned on my own:

-I need a wider variety of tools, more sizes of the current tools I have would be great.

-Don't lay out the design heavily with a red pen if you are going to leave undyed sections.

-I need more practice with thinning my colors and putting them on lighter so they don't finish so dark with the antique. These colors were Fiebing's Red and Green thinned 2 parts alcohol to 1 part dye. The brown is Fiebing's Saddle Tan thinned 50/50.

-I need TONS more practice with my decorative knife cuts.

Any and all critique accepted! Thanks for looking!

[Chief31794]

Grizz,

Yes it is a carving, I define a carving as something cut with a swivel knife and then tooled, If it is just stamped (like a basketweave) I call it hand tooling.

Looks pretty good for a first attempt, they'll get better, but I think your self analysis is spot on. People do it different ways, weren't many places to learn when I started and not nearly a much info to research. Lots of people do things in different order. For example, there's nothing wrong with your sequence, but I've always used the sequence below.

1. Transfer the design to the leather with a stylus (I use tracing film and then use a stylus to transfer the design to the leather after it's cased)

2. Cut all the design lines with a swivel knife.

3. I start with a camo tool, I put a camo impression at the curl of each scroll.

4. I then use a seeder to put the seeds in the flower and at the center of each scroll end (Yours were blank, you might try it and see how it looks).

5. I then use the camo again to "outline" the seed pods in the flowers, and then blend them with a center shader.

6. I then use the pear shaders on the scrolls and either a thumbprint or a pear shader on the leaves and flowers, depending on what I think works best)

7. I then use various stops to accent lines that I think look better with a stop.

8. I put a v type stop at the base of any flowers with the bottoms showing for accent.

9. I use a set of leaf liners on the center of leaves as needed

10. Next I use the veiner on the edges of the scrolls and one side of the ascanthus (sp.?) leaves

11. Then I use the a narrower camo tool to match the veiner impressions on one side of the ascanthus leaves on the other side.

12. I use a camo tool to accent any stems that I think need it.

13. I use a mules foot to accent any of the stops I used on the ends of lines on stems, and under the base of flowers.

14. I use petal lifters to accent any petals or leaves and give them depth

15. Then I bevel everything (some people bevel first, I like to do it now because it cleans up any minor overstrikes along the edges of things where I used a veiner or camo tool and the areas where I used the petal lifters.

16. Then I do the backgrounding.

17. I then use the modeling tool to clean up and oversights (i use it all through the process to help shape lines, stems, edges, etc.)

18. I then use the swivel knife to add decorative lines to leaves, petals, thorns on rose stems, cut the edges of rose leaves if they were used, etc.

19. Take a break.

That's just my way, I'm sure there are many others, just as good and many better. This works for me.

Chief

[mrdabeetle]

I'm still new to carving, but I like to bevel at the end as well. Perhaps I will change as my ability improves, but if I make an impression too close to the edge, the beveler will make it go away or at least hide it well enough. I don't know what I would do without a modeling spoon. It has so many uses.

[The Grizzly]

Chief, thank you for your detailed reply. I want to go over some stuff you mentioned, but I'm too tired to do so tonight. I will post back again tomorrow with questions about what you posted.

beetle- I love my spoon/stylus. I recently picked up a flat spoon tool as well, should work better in my thread channels and what not.

[The Grizzly]

Grizz,

Yes it is a carving, I define a carving as something cut with a swivel knife and then tooled, If it is just stamped (like a basketweave) I call it hand tooling.

Looks pretty good for a first attempt, they'll get better, but I think your self analysis is spot on. People do it different ways, weren't many places to learn when I started and not nearly a much info to research. Lots of people do things in different order. For example, there's nothing wrong with your sequence, but I've always used the sequence below.

3. I start with a camo tool, I put a camo impression at the curl of each scroll.

Can you show a picture of this?

4. I then use a seeder to put the seeds in the flower and at the center of each scroll end (Yours were blank, you might try it and see how it looks).

Ah, to give the appearance of the "handles" of the scroll?

6. I then use the pear shaders on the scrolls and either a thumbprint or a pear shader on the leaves and flowers, depending on what I think works best)

My pear shader is textured, is it preferable to use a textured shader or a smooth one?

7. I then use various stops to accent lines that I think look better with a stop.

What is a stop? Is it the >>> shaped marks at the ends of some lines?

9. I use a set of leaf liners on the center of leaves as needed

10. Next I use the veiner on the edges of the scrolls and one side of the ascanthus (sp.?) leaves.

Is the leaf liner used in place of the veiner on the leaves?

Are there any online tutorials for this type of carving, videos or pictorials either one? Or good books I can pick up? I seem to do better reading and learning from pictures.

Thanks!