Floral Carving "howto" Books

[AEBL]

I was getting a little frustrated looking for copies of out-of-print floral/Sheridan books and I ran across an e-Book (PDF) on the topic by Don Gonzalez. I'm about halfway through it now, and will probably read it about eighteen more times in my excitement to learn how to do this carving stuff.

The book is more in the vein of "how you can *also* become a designer of floral patterns" rather than "copy my diagram" - and I love it. He helps me understand why I would use a particular design element in a place, and explains some of his design habits (keeping a sketchbook of potential new flowers, leaves, for instance). He explains "flow" and "balance" in a way that doesn't sound abstract.

So, if you're like me, and are looking around for books you can't find - try a book you *can* find:
https://shop.dgsaddlery.com/products/introduction-leather-floral-design
(not sure if I can link it here, but if it isn't cool to do that, moderators feel free to remove)

Oh, Chan Greer's book is also available, I just haven't got it in the mail yet. I bet it is also good.

Edited April 2 by AEBL

[chuck123wapati]

oh heck yeah anything you find download and save, I got over 50 e books one time free from Tandy when they were changing bosses. Now I think they charge for them again. Plus the tons of other free ebooks you can find through random searches. It's all about finding your style not copying someone else's they should be for finding a starting point, and learning theory like DG is doing.

[FrankHester]

This website might have something you might be interested in.

www.gaborfineart.com  He teaches how to draw and has a column in every month Leathercrafter and Saddlers Journal.

     This class is under the tab "video classes".

Joe Meling has some different drawing class opportunitys also. 

 

Edited April 2 by FrankHester

[AEBL]

I saw a couple of videos from Joe Meling ... he does good videos. I'll check out the other websites.
I'm all about downloading what I can get, pattern wise and instruction wise - but like most everyone here, I don't want someone else's style, I want to develop my own.

[FrankHester]

I want my own style too, but I am starting from zero--maybe less than zero, LOL.

[AEBL]

@FrankHester, I'm really not a carver, but I want to be. I'm a scribbler, and I own a swivel knife ... I'd say that if you have a desire to do it, the mechanics of it can be taught. You'll probably be like the rest of us, sketching other people's work and learning bit by bit, but you absolutely can do it. Plus, this site is amazing. Plenty of people to offer advice and encouragement.

[chuck123wapati]

i'm planning two fly rod cases for this summer. I'm not one for a lot of carving on a project but just a bit in the right places. My carving is so so I've read far more than I know on the subject lol.

[FrankHester]

9 hours ago, AEBL said:

@FrankHester, I'm really not a carver, but I want to be. I'm a scribbler, and I own a swivel knife ... I'd say that if you have a desire to do it, the mechanics of it can be taught. You'll probably be like the rest of us, sketching other people's work and learning bit by bit, but you absolutely can do it. Plus, this site is amazing. Plenty of people to offer advice and encouragement.

I agree.  Desire, practice and patience.  I enjoy carving and tooling, but I need a pattern for the time being.

@chuck123wapatiWill these cases be based on a Stohlman pattern?

[chuck123wapati]

16 minutes ago, FrankHester said:

I agree.  Desire, practice and patience.  I enjoy carving and tooling, but I need a pattern for the time being.

@chuck123wapatiWill these cases be based on a Stohlman pattern?

I'm not that far yet but I do have a Sheridan carving book coming so who knows. I use the books more for the study of the designs and how they flow, and especially how negative areas affect the overall design. I've always drawn, painted, wood carved and other artsy fartsy stuff so most of the design will be mine to a certain degree but yes maybe not Stohlman or Sheridan but somewhere in between lol. I'm having a problem finding cheap 1 1/2" Ridgid tubing lol. I'm thinking of a reel on case so there is some carving room. 

[FrankHester]

@chuck123wapatiBe sure to post some pics!