ABHandmade

It seems to me that a smooth pear shader P233/P972 (or, alternatively, a figure beveler F895) will not interfere in the starting set.

Wonderful work, Jeff. It looks very cool!

Very nice carving and tooling!!!

Thank you for compliment! Thank you so much, Bob!

Thank you so much, Jeff!

Looks great! Very even and clear marks. I liked your use of the guide pattern. All work looks very professional and solid.

Brian, thank you so much! I, unfortunately, do not always have the patience to work out some details of the carving in a quality manner. And I notice it already when coloring. Something can be corrected by locally moistening the leather with a brush and applying a modeling spoon. And some embossing defects become visible after coloring. Unfortunately, my eyes is not what it used to be Thank you, Tom! I agree. I sometimes use a lifter to raise a local area of a petal. But I, like I did not try, cannot lift the long area evenly. A slanting trimming with a swivel knife, followed by a beveling of what is under the clipped leather flap, turned out to give an acceptable result. Thank you, Mike! I also thought about leaving my work uncolored. But still decided to color, because when tooling I did not use shaders to form a darker areas. Perhaps, somehow I will try to repeat this work, initially focusing on the fact that it will not be colored.

I have not carving the birds yet. This is the first attempt. At the same time I decided to check whether the expression “Rules exist in order to violate them” is true. The rule is that the swivel knife should move perpendicular to the leather. It turned out that a conscious tilt in the necessary places can help to get an interesting volumetric effect (some petals and lily leaves, hummingbird feathers).

Great work, YinTx! GOOD LUCK!!!

The question is - does the paint fall unevenly and you get streaking, or do you manage to achieve a smooth color, but is it not white, but baby blue / pink? Could you attach a photo? Based on my little experience, 5-7 layers of quality artists acrylic paint are enough to get pure white on area that was previously dyed with any color. To get a uniform color, I use a special acrylic diluent and a very small amount of water.

Considering the fact that acrylic paint has a good hiding power, I would recommend to paint the whole area with white color first. And after that, paint the individual squares with the necessary colors. This will help you get rid of the unpainted areas on the borders of the squares.

@RockyAussie Sir, while I study, you teach and help others, with the full moral right to do so, taking into account your highest skill (and no less magnificent ability to show the process in detail and in very accessible form). Thank you!

Great work and very detailed, useful and informative tutorial. Many thanks for shared!

Nice! Hand-drawn ornament is very impressive!

Thank you! I really like what I do, I like to learn, to get some new skills. But to be a judge of own work is very difficult. The only way to get an objective assessment is to show the work to others and hear their opinion. Moreover, this opinion does not necessarily have to be positive. Criticism is no less important than praise. Worst of all, when the work does not cause at all any reaction from others This suggests that the chosen direction is wrong. Therefore, I am very grateful for the feedback on my work! Thank you, Stewart! @hwinbermuda Thank you, Harry! I used PVA in my previous work — to imitate water droplets falling from a tiger's whisker. The effect is not bad, but the surface tension force was insufficient to form a drop-shaped form. Now I have found acryl gel gloss, which has a much thicker consistency and is even more transparent on drying than PVA. Perhaps I will try to use it in some work to simulate splashes. @JLSleather Jeff, I really appreciate your opinion and are incredibly grateful for your support! @Rockoboy Brian, thank you!

@JLSleather Thanks, Jeff, but as far as airbrush skills are concerned, I remain unconvinced. Thank you, Tom! But it seems that I am moving in the wrong direction. The more I try to achieve realism, the less people love my work The problem is that I am more attracted to realism than ornament. The more valuable for me are those who support me

No witchcraft (slowly grinding a dry frog in a mortar and adding cockroach paws there)

Thank you for compliment! Thank you, Sir! I would like to express my gratitude to you and Mike ( @mikesc ) for the fact that you contributed to the fact that I began to master the work with the airbrush. Water and leaves in this work are my first experience of using this wonderful tool. I hope that in time I will be able to use it at least part as well as you.

Completed coloring. This is my second attempt to portray water. I do not know how good or bad I managed it ... Carving, modeling, embossing. Spirit dyes, acrylic paints. Size 11 x 8 inches. View before coloring

Same problem . Now I significantly reduce the rate of adhesive drying in the can by simply placing the closed tin in a plastic bag with a clasp from which the air was removed as much as possible. And I use a small container, pouring into it from a large tin the amount that is needed for current work.

@mikesc Mike, thank you so much for the wisdom, kind words and support!