Just A Little Help

[Justin Ferguson]

I was asked to make a clutch for a woman and she wanted the wolves off this glass deal she had which i will attach a pic of and I have never Stamped animals before so of coarse I stamped a practice piece and would like some advice all is appreciated.

[Sylvia]

I was asked to make a clutch for a woman and she wanted the wolves off this glass deal she had which i will attach a pic of and I have never Stamped animals before so of coarse I stamped a practice piece and would like some advice all is appreciated.

Hi Justin:

Wow she picked a hard one huh? Good for you for giving "figure carving" a shot.

Here's what I see that you can improve:

The ears are a bit too pointy. Next time try rounding them a little

The mouth of the howling wolf on the glass is angled slightly toward the viewer and on the leather you have made it a side view. The lower jaw needs work too.

the front wolf's head is wider between the ears on the glass and the inside edges of the ears come down farther on the head.

The eyes are not that angled on the glass and the muzzle on the front wolf is wider and more subtly indicated.

I don't want overwhelm you with suggestions.

Just curious, how did you go about tracing this?

[Justin Ferguson]

I just sketched it on a piece of printer paper then transferred it to the leather.

[Sylvia]

I just sketched it on a piece of printer paper then transferred it to the leather.

I see. May I suggest that you figure out a way to put the glass piece over a light box type thing and trace it? Or perhaps try to scan it using a colored backing paper to enhance the laser etching? I think what is happening is you are loosing some of the finer points in the glass when you freehand sketch.

If you don't have a light box, you can use a window or even your monitor if you can figure out a way to get it to stay in place while you trace. Even a clear casserole dish turned upside down with a bunch of clear Christmas/fairy lights stuck under it would work in a pinch... and might be easier to work with. Use one of those clear sheet protectors to trace on with a sharpie. The clear won't hide any of the features of the subject while you are tracing and it aids in placing the image when you go to transfer it to the leather.

As for the moon you can always use a coin, or bottle cap or something similar to make sure you get that nicely rounded shape. I think I would be more likely to leave the moon smooth rather than trying to indicate craters with a stamp.

Are you planning to paint this with color?

[Justin Ferguson]

I tried to use a light box and and the image was very distorted but i didn't try the colored paper. I actuly stamped another one and don't know where I set it but i agree kind of with the moon, the second one I used a marbling stamp looked a lot better, gave a realistic look. As for color i dont know I think she was looking for just brown but I think some hints of color might be neat give some nice effect.