Oak Leaves

[ClayB]

There are probably 100 different ways to carve an oak leaf. George Hurst has a book called The Mighty Oak with a bunch of different styles in it. The one I will show here is based on a pattern in that book. I used different tools on each side of the leaf to show different effects you can get.

Here the leaf is traced and cut. I try not to join the cuts at the tips. If you do, the tips can start to peel up, which now that I think about it, might look neat in certain carvings.

Here I started to bevel the leaf. On this side I used a smooth beveler. I usually start on the inside curves with a smalll beveler. Tandy used to make round bevelers that should be good for that, but I found them hard to use. For really tight curves, the small figure bevelers work pretty good.

This side was beveled with a checkered beveler. I usually use checkered bevelers because they leave less "tracks".

Next I beveled the center vein. The top side was done with a Craftool 202 (left or right) angled beveler. I always have to hit it on scrap first to know which one to use on which side of the vein. On the bottom I used Hidecrafter Pro Crafter PB016. It allows you to do both sides with the same tool. You can see that the craftool makes finer lines.

Here I am starting to pear shade. I use a long, narrow pear shader like a P368 and start in the points of the leaves. Once the leaves are shaded at the tips, I fill in most of the rest of the center of the leaf with the pear shader, but leave a ridge along the outside.

Continuing to fill in. While looking at the pictures really large like this, I am thinking it might look better to leave ridges that aren't shaded from the tips to the center vein to get more contrast. I might have to try that on the next one.

The pear shading is done on one side.

Small viens are cut in with the swivel knife.

On this side, decorative cuts where put in instead of the small viens for a different look. Decorative cuts have never been my strong suit so you'll have to just pretend they look good.

This side was backgrounded with a pebble backgrounder from Hidecrafter. It's one of my favorite backgrounders.

This side is backgrounded with a regular checkered backgrounder just to show the difference in looks.

Here I used a coarse textured backgrounder. Just another different look.

If I dont have a border on my carving, I like to switch from the pebble background to an E294 matting tool when I get a little ways away from the figure.

I like to use a pro petal tool to lift the inside curves of the leaves. I think it gives added depth to the carving. The tool slides into the leather, but not through the back. It creates a small cavity in the leather and if you lift on the tool, it raises the top side of the leather, giving your leaf a 3-D effect.

So there's an oak leaf the way I carve them.

[yaklady]

Those leaves look so good, I bet my yaks would try to eat them!

Kathy

[Bobby]

Exceptional Clay.........

Thanks for the tips.......starting to understand lifting a little.......

Bobby

[Regis]

Clay,

What a great training tool you put together. The idea of teaching 2 techniques on one leaf is just wonderful. I like all of it.

Thank you,

Regis

[Don]

Clay,

Your leaves look great! I have never been really good with oak leaves...I think its because I never really know how to pear shade the leaf, but now I think I have an idea...Thanks. Is your petal lifter a tool that you tap with a mallett or just push with your hand?

Great job.

Don

[freak]

WOW, and I mean WOW !!!!!

LEAVE ,,,,,it to ClayB (rimshot please) to write up a over the top How-To. I loved it Clay. The pictures and the way you wrote it, WOW. Dude your awsome . I've got a guy at work that wants me to try to make him a gun belt and holster and all he wants on it is a few oak leafs. Now i feel like i do oak leafs with my eyes closed, well i feel like i done one without sweeting it now.

Thanks again Clay for taking the time to do that . You ROCK !!

[pete]

Thanks for the gret tutorial!! Any reason that you use the pro=petal AFTER the backgrounding? I have always done it after cutting. Then the backgrounder/matters cover any marks. I LOVE the results that you get though.

Was this how you leaned or do the pockets show up cleaner?

pete

[ClayB]

Don,

The tool I used there is a tool you push with your hand. You can get somewhat similar results with an undercut beveler or one of the petal lifter tools made for Sheridan style carving, just not as deep.

Pete,

I don't think it would matter if you used the pro petal before or after the backgrounding. Not sure why I use it afterwords except that maybe I dont think of it until I am done. A lot of times I go back and put the background tool into the depression left by the pro petal to clean it up a bit. I do think that after the background is done, it might be easier to slide the tool into the leather in the position that it will slide in without going to shallow or too deep.

Clay

[Johanna]

Why don't you announce a time you can be available to talk about this with anyone who wants to on "Live Chat"? Maybe you could put together an oak-leaf contest? I can try to hustle up a few prizes.

Another outstanding tutorial Clay, great pics to illustrate, too. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us all.

Johanna

[Beaverslayer]

Clay,

That is about the nicest oakleaf I've every seen. You'r ework amazes me every time I look at it. Thanks for the look see and the tutorial.

Ken

[ClayB]

Why don't you announce a time you can be available to talk about this with anyone who wants to on "Live Chat"? Maybe you could put together an oak-leaf contest? I can try to hustle up a few prizes.

Another outstanding tutorial Clay, great pics to illustrate, too. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us all.

Johanna

If the tutorials help anyone out, I will try and keep doing them when I have time. I have heard that a couple other people might be thinking of doing some tutorials too. I think that would be great. There are so many different styles of carving and ways to do things and it would be neat to see differents ideas.

A contest is in the works right now and I hope that we can work out the details and make it happen this time. As for the "live chat" idea, I am open to that too. Not sure how to go about scheduling something like that. Can we find out if there is any interest in the idea? Anyone interested? If there is, I'll try and schedule it.

Clay

[Patrice]

Wow!

Very neat carving! Now that i have a little more time on my hands, i bet ill give it a try carving.

I have see that Hide crafter selling small and large petal lifters. Are they worthy of buying? Or should i bought those from grey ghost?

:scratchhead:

Anyway, for now, many thanks ClayB

[ClayB]

Patrice,

The pro petal from Hidecrafter is probably a good one to start with. They are a lot less money than the ones Jeff sells at Grey Ghost Graphics. There are a couple differences. The ones Jeff sells come in more sizes, especially smaller sizes and they are very sharp when you get them. My suggestion would be to get one from Hidecrafter, see if it's something you will use much and if it is, then consider getting a set of them from Jeff.

Thanks for the comments on the oak leaf. I will be looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Clay

[Pip]

If the tutorials help anyone out, I will try and keep doing them when I have time. I have heard that a couple other people might be thinking of doing some tutorials too. I think that would be great. There are so many different styles of carving and ways to do things and it would be neat to see differents ideas.

A contest is in the works right now and I hope that we can work out the details and make it happen this time. As for the "live chat" idea, I am open to that too. Not sure how to go about scheduling something like that. Can we find out if there is any interest in the idea? Anyone interested? If there is, I'll try and schedule it.

Clay

IF the tutorials will help anyone!!!! ha ha that is the understatement of the centuary, Rest assured they already have!! Your tutorials have/and will be an inspiration for as long as we all can see them . The work is exquisite, I can almost classify to species the leaf you have chosen (Quercus coccinea - Scarlet Oak). Congratulations on a fantastic tutorial! I am off to try my hand......

What shape is the end of that petal tool ?please I need to get me one of them.

[ClayB]

Thank you Pip,

If you go to this topic, there are several pictures of a pro petal tool.

http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.p...entry7225

I hope you will share pictures of your leaf when you get it done.

[Pip]

I have been given one of them, but is it meant to be sharp at the tip cause i Just seem to make a mess with it !? I can't get no lift!

[skipj]

Thanks for the tutorial; it's great. What camera do you use for the photos? You get fantastic depth of field showing detail close up.

SkipJ

[Michael Sheldon]

I have been given one of them, but is it meant to be sharp at the tip cause i Just seem to make a mess with it !? I can't get no lift!

Yes, it should be sharp at the tip, and polished smooth.

[ClayB]

Thank you Skip,

I am using a Konica Minolta Dimage Z6. I got it for the 12X zoom for taking pictures of wildlife, but it also has 2 really good macro settings for taking close ups of my leather stuff.

Clay

[freak]

OK it's nowhere near as nice as Clay 's but,,,

it would of been nowhere near as good as is it is without this great step by step how to tutorial.

Thanks ClayB !! As soon as i can i'm doing this one again. After doing something you get a better understanding of it. I'm sure i can do better next time. Now that i have a little bit of a feel for it. I want be second guessing myself, like i did with this one.

I didn't want to start a new thread just for my leaf either, so i hope no one minds that i just post it here. If so no prob i'll move it.

freak

[Mike Craw]

Hey Freak,

You don't need to appologize. I think that's an outstanding first effort.

Mike

[Romey]

Clay, excellent tutorial I for one apprecaite it as im sure all do. Freak thats great my friend. I wish i had time to learn to carve and such but hot steel and horses call to me far more

[Guest]

Wonderful tutorial Clay, I don't know how I missed it until now.....great stuff....that's two carvers in one day who said how much they love the HideCrafter Pebblers..... I think I feel a tool purchase coming on!

Dave Theobald

Edited September 29, 2007 by David

[ClayB]

Hey Freak,

You did a great job on your oak leaf!! If you really want to get a lot of practice on them, try a couple of fully carved oak leaf saddles. After that, you wont want to do them again for a LONG time.

I get a little more agressive with the pro petal than you did, but that's personal thing. I did a bunch more leaves last week and realized there were a couple things I could add to the tutorial that I tried on the center vein.

I used the angle lined beveler around the vein, then I tried to matt away from the vein with the same beveler. I think it made it look less like it was standing out on it's own so much.

Then I took a modeler and rounded of the edges of the vein.

Then for the final touch, I drag a lined tool down the center of the vein to give it some texture. You can use a lined beveler, pear shader or anything to do this.

Here is a picture of something I started on last weekend. This started out to be something fairly simple, but I keep having ideas that I want to try on it. Maybe I can finish it this weekend. I am thinking of coloring the leaves with fall colors, and will add a few more leaves that will be completly cut out and attached to another branch. The branches are made with leather putty. This will give the picture a 3-D look.

[Johanna]

Freak, that is a pretty snazzy oak leaf! :beer:

Clay is a good teacher, huh? Wouldn't it be fun to get him and a few other naturals in front of a video camera, You-Tube style? Anyone want to be an Internet star?

Johanna