Stetson912

It is a very detailed book for sure. I used modeling tools and he demonstrates stamps. I have the stamps I just found the spoon easier. I am going to try more his method on some others in the future to see which method I prefer. Thanks for the kind words

This is a leather rendition of the only portrait of my grandparents that I have. I hope I've done them justice with my first leather portrait. I used a swivel knife and some modeling spoons for this and some bevelers and things for the background.once it dries ill try some color, maybe a sepia type look. Still unsure about color. Always open to critique. Thanks

Nice. It looks good. Given its construction a removable liner may not be practical or really possible. When I've made them i just glued in an old bandana. I imagine you could do the same with a thin plastic or waterproof type fabric?

Thanks, good to hear from ya again as usual. I dont spend enough time here anymore hahaha

Tandy has ecoflo waterstain and dyes that are all water based. Ive seen mixed reviews. Some swear by them others hate them. But if you don't want to use voc products ita the way to go. I believe makers leather supply has indelible finishes that are water-based as well.

Very slightly. If you think about the eye, its a round ball. It sits in the socket and the lids rest on top of it. The curvature we see is more apparent in the horizontal direction rather than the vertical. Using a modeling spoon you can get under the eyelid very slightly to get the desired effect. A lifter would add too much depth making the eyelid look like its floating above the eye. However, where the ears meet the head just above the eyes, a lifter or scalpel would add more depth that would be better suited there lifting the ear out away from the head a bit.

I used a modeling spoon tip for this. I think I got the direction wrong which is why it looks a little off. I also messed up the nose a bit haha

I just posted one of my sisters dog if you want to see what I meant. I wasn't meaning your attempt was bad. Its important to start somewhere. There are a few resources that are excellent. Video instruction id recommend jim linnels elktrack studio. He has many videos and shows good instruction on figure carving. Books, tandy has al stohlmand figure carving and figure carving finesse books. The finesse book is full of information. Everyrhing from textures and eyes to portraits and different animals. I also think your first attempt is a good step in the right direction. The hair texture and musculature and antlers are well defined

I've been trying more figure carving lately. This was my sister's dog. I had a cute photo of her and thought I would try it out. I need to work on the hair texture and some other shaping but not bad.

The nose except for nostrils, top of head and bottom of ear i dont think should be cut. The eye isn't quite right either. Eyes can be tough. You want to start deeper in the corners and fade your cut to nothing in the middle of each eye lid. Start in the corner and do half the top fading to nothing then do the other side. Repeat for the bottom. You should have 4 cuts total for the eye. Bevel the eye the same way, deep in the corners fade to light in center top and bottom. A modeling spoon can help smooth out beveling as well

Well, you kn ok w how to cover your adze... hehehehe Looks great in all seriousness

I'm sure there could be, it would be nice to have a section dedicated to it where people could go to trade

Definitely find me on there. I'm always down to trade. Ill be making some more sometime haha It really is. "Leather artists trading cards"on Facebook if you are interested

Thanks

He is indeed. Apparently it isn't a new thing, but the group really brought it to life. Personally I haven't heard of it before. He is on there, rex goblet, I've seen Peter main, and a lot of other great artists. Definitely get in that group. And look me up 912 leathercraft

Jim linnell has a group on Facebook called leather artists trading cards. The way it works is you make up a card with tooling or stamping or whatever you want. Recommended size is 2.5 x 3.5 inches from 4/5oz (but this isn't a required dimension or size). The idea is to keep them relatively small. Once you have one for trade, you can post it saying it's up for grabs or you can ask a specific artist to trade. Final communication is done through pm on Facebook usually then you just send your card to the other person and they send you one of theirs. There are a lot of great people there already and some incredible work being traded. People even have their kids making and trading them which I think is awesome. And, beginners and experts are encouraged to trade with each other. Skill doesn't really matter, its about the community and keeping the craft alive and exciting. The cards make it real easy to collect other artists work too.

Thanks again haha I traded frankenstein and the horse with people in France and UK. I colored them (albeit not very well) but they came out ok

@RockyAussie thanks for that addition. I responded quickly because I was at work and thought about the thickness of what the binding was covering after the fact, but it is an important aspect to making it come out right

Do you mean stitching the corners or making the turned edge meet nicely when you turn it? For the first, a small round hole instead of angled hole will help stitches lie better. And i like to start in the corners and pick towards the middle. So my stitching lies perfect in the corner. Unless I round my corners, then it doesn't much matter. For the turning, you simply clip the corner off. Then when you turn the edge they line up nicely . Hope my silly drawing makes sense.

Nice design

Thanks. All are on 'cards' 2.5 x 3.5 inches i colored some of them. Traded most of them haha

I did. They are real cheap acrylics though. I do want to unvest in good paints like angelus now. I only jad a few basic colors to use too, black white red yellow green and a blue so, getting a good orange was a bit tough for me hahaha

Thanks. But the design is borrowed haha one i found a while back and rediscovered the other day

I tried painting again. It came out alright I think. I need better paint haha... oh, and a clue as to what I'm doing would help too.

These are some small cards I tooled up recently. Just thought I'd share them here along with my other outlets.