Ladyluck

Thanks Ambassador and Dirtclod! After cruising the internet for awhile, I ended up trying two things, both of which worked, and did not pull up the paint: First, I tried what you suggested, with water on the backs, and drying between granite slabs. Definitely flat afterwards, but they also took a miserably long time to dry (overnight). So I also tried warming the leather from the back with a heat gun (found this suggestion on a couple of leather-garment sites). Those sites suggested an iron, I wasn't sure that wouldn't leave a mark, and had a heat gun handy...so...heat gun. Anyhow, once the heat gun had warmed them all over to about 80 degrees F, same thing, stuck them under the granite slab. Both methods ended up working great, and neither harmed the paint. Gotta say though, those garment guys are on to something, the heated pieces were flat in an hour!! Thanks again!

Mmmm...a very artistic question. And as it is an artistic question, the answer depends on what image you want to bring forth. That said, here's what I would do: Looking at your image, I noticed many of the lines are outlined in black. (Basic outline of the squirrel, teeth, claws, bag, etc). If you want to keep the "cartoony" image, I would definitely cut all of those lines. I would bevel based on which side of the line is highlighted. In other words, if one side of the line is light, I would bevel the other side. This will maintain the perspective of the lines near claws, etc. Be careful! Consider twice, bevel once. For all of the lighter, non-black lines, I would model, or use light artistic cuts in the leather, depending on the look you want, and your confidence in each skill. Personally, I would make an exception for the flames, which I would cut. Because I like the look of cool cut flames. Heh. But that's me. They could also be modeled. But feel free to throw out my advice if you want a non-cartoony version of your cool squirrel. Good luck!

Hello, I'm new to these leatherworking forums, but not to leatherworking itself. I have enjoyed reading them from time to time, and I was hoping for some good ideas on a snag I've hit in a custom project. I'm making some large, 12-sided, leather dice for a friend. Since she wanted it to be light blue in color, I have painted the sides with Cova colors (sold by Tandy leather). During the painting, the small leather pieces distorted more than I expected (I had flattened them before painting). Now, if I want the dice to look regular, I'll need to flatten them again, but I have never flattened after painting. (Thanks in advance to all those who might mention that I should have stuck the pieces to something flat before painting. Nice advice, but unfortunately too late.) So, does anyone have experience flattening already painted (acrylic) leather pieces? Thanks so much!