floral fender

[Alan Bell]

Here's my first attempt at a fully tooled saddle. This is just the first fender. I've also already done underneath the gullet and the rig plates.

Let me know what you think. I already am critiquing myself and my use of positive and negative space and background. I did manage to get the flow going up and the flowers growing out of the vine. It is all my own design and flowers and I stole some of the leaves from my favorite Thai restaurant in Orlando FL! They have a lot exquisite wood carving and it is very inspiring besides the food is great! Anyway back to the fender. I am really trying hard to get this down and am appreciative of anything anyone has to offer!!

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

[rickybobby]

Here's my first attempt at a fully tooled saddle. This is just the first fender. I've also already done underneath the gullet and the rig plates.

Let me know what you think. I already am critiquing myself and my use of positive and negative space and background. I did manage to get the flow going up and the flowers growing out of the vine. It is all my own design and flowers and I stole some of the leaves from my favorite Thai restaurant in Orlando FL! They have a lot exquisite wood carving and it is very inspiring besides the food is great! Anyway back to the fender. I am really trying hard to get this down and am appreciative of anything anyone has to offer!!

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Alan,

nice job! very nice pattern! I can hardly wait to see the whole saddle!

Rick J.

[hidepounder]

Here's my first attempt at a fully tooled saddle. This is just the first fender. I've also already done underneath the gullet and the rig plates.

Let me know what you think. I already am critiquing myself and my use of positive and negative space and background. I did manage to get the flow going up and the flowers growing out of the vine. It is all my own design and flowers and I stole some of the leaves from my favorite Thai restaurant in Orlando FL! They have a lot exquisite wood carving and it is very inspiring besides the food is great! Anyway back to the fender. I am really trying hard to get this down and am appreciative of anything anyone has to offer!!

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell

Alan,

That's a big tooling project to jump into! I hope this will help! I would like to see more petals coming off your vines and I would like them to extend farther into the pattern. You created a border and I think the petals and the other elements need to extend to it. Increasing the number of petals will help to fill in the background area and make the design more balanced. I would also like to see the cuts more elongated and tapered. There is nothing wrong with having several petals and stem elements lapping each other...they need to gradually taper into the main vine. There is enough room to add a flower at the top of the fender and another element could be added at the bottom at the stirrup leather. Feel pretty bruised!!! Please don't, it's a great first run at full tooliing. You were successfull in laying the pattern out and creating a flow from one flower to the other! In addition you incorporated other elements such as leaves and successfully branched them out of the main vine. The size of your flower is good and you maintained the circle which surrounds the flower! Good job!

I'm going to go check out my local Thai restaurant...what could be be better than eating good food while developing tooling patterns!

Bob

Edited February 18, 2009 by hidepounder

[Alan Bell]

Bob, Thanks for the input!! I guess you are seeing what I am seeing too. My problem is I only seem to see it AFTER I've put the design to leather. i draw them out on paper and they seem to look OK then I put then the pattern to leather and once I've completed the tooling is when it starts to look uneven or un balanced or what ever. Since I've only done the stirrup fender maybe I'll chalk this one up as practice, go back to the original drawing and add in the elements you mention. Then I'll post the drawing BEFORE I put it to leather for critique!

Vaya con Dios, Alan Bell

[greg gomersall]

Alan once you have your drawing done if you are curious as to how it will look try using a pencil to shade all your background areas in on the drawing. This will allow you to better see what you have drawn and how much background you have etc. Greg

[gtwister09]

Alan,

Not sure how you lay out your pattern but maybe you might try lightly shading the background areas to show you the positive/negative spaces. That was something that was shown to me many years ago to help with initial designs on paper. I was and I am still amazed that someone can use only tap-offs and then create a pattern with all the connections, fills and cross-overs from scratch.

Keep up the work, study other peoples work and it will get easier.

Regards,

Ben

[Alan Bell]

Thanks Gregg and Ben I guess genius minds think a like and somehow I never thought of that! (What does that tell you?) I had Jay Gore try and help me a little and he was telling me that "You'll find it MUCH easier to just do the tap offs and fill in the blank" and he does it with his swivel knife!! I watched him work and sat on my hands for a week, I was afraid to touch a piece of leather! I will still continue to practice doing it that way on some scrap leather but I find it pretty hard with a drawing on paper as you can tell. I know it will get easier and that is why I figured I might as well go ahead and try it. I can say I've seen far worse than mine being sold in saddle shops by folks that seem to not mine fleecing the public! (Maybe they don't know any better). I figured that with all the folks on this board to help me I might actually turn out a half way decent tooled saddle IF I don't run out of hides!!!! Thanks and remember...........We're building this saddle TOGETHER. Ain't it a BEAUTIFUL word. Say it again with me.....TOGETHER!!!

VAYA CON DIOS MI AMIGOS, ALAN BELL

[greg gomersall]

Alan you can also take the pattern after you have drawn it and hold it up to a mirror. Looking at a reverse image of a pattern in the mirror can help the eye pick up details you missed looking at it from the first side. Greg

[Cowboy Crafts Online]

Alan,

Do you get leather crafters, if so go back 2 months and look at the article by Don Butler. I found it a really good article. Can not wait till he does a follow up.

Ash

[Alan Bell]

I don't get Leather Crafters right now. But I'll try and find someone who does and see if I can get a copy of the article.

Thanks!

Vaya Con Dios, Alan Bell