bearandtheraven

That looks like really good work, especially if you're just getting back into things after a few decades away. Impressive and attractive!

Hi there!

Hello, hale and well-met, my crafty new friends! I'm Bear from Bear and the Raven Antiques and Collectibles. We're currently firmly ensconced in the wet part of Oregon (known to some as the proto-state of Cascadia) I'm getting back into leatherworking after a longish hiatus - about four and a half years. My focus back then was mainly masquerade-style masks, though I made a number of other things including gaiters and bracers, books, part of a hat and satchels. Nothing terribly exciting, but I loved it. Life crashed and burned, my leatherworking tools all moved out and now I'm rediscovering why I loved making this stuff in the first place. I picked up my first-ever pack of stamping/tooling tools a few weeks ago and have been trying to get a feel for making them work. It's... well, I'm not very good right now and though I'm a wee bit embarassed to share, I'd love some feedback. First off, this is the stuff I used to do: The Witch King Goblinus Felis This little gem has no name yet, but is the first mask I've started since October 2009 (work in progress, this is just after shaping): I decided for tooling purposes, I was going to so something fun and cheeky. So, I scraped the Internet for a bunch of vintage pinup tattoo flash and went for it. The face of the girl on the left is rather horrid, but seriously, this is like the third thing I've tooled, ever. I'm not an artist of any stripe so the fact that it came out even this well is cause for celebration This would be the second thing I've ever tooled... it needs work, my lines are very hesitant and not very smooth. Anyone got recommendations on how to get a smoother, better flow?