Basic Tooling Question

[Cyberthrasher]

I think so too, that's why I am making sure I get the tools that will give me the best definition for the effect. I think the matted bevelers in combination with the smooth will give me that. How are you applying the latex?

With a brush - good and heavy.

[coop]

Got the designs cut in yesterday, I have some scrap designs that I am testing different tooling on to see which work best. This is only the second design that I have used a swivel knife on and really need to upgrade the blade when I get more funds

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[Cyberthrasher]

This is only the second design that I have used a swivel knife on and really need to upgrade the blade when I get more funds

Got a closeup of the design?

For your blade, save some money up now and get a good one ASAP. Go without soda for a couple days, make coffee at home, something. Barry King blades for "Tandy and Other" barrels are only about $15 and it will make you a lot happier. You can get a different barrel later that will be a lot smoother, but for now focus on the business end.

But, I really want to take a closer look at your cuts there. There's some very important stuff we may want to address.

[coop]

[Cyberthrasher]

So, what I'm most concerned about is your primary strap design with the flames. Everytime something gets thin and tapers to a point like that, the cut depth needs to gradually get shallower towards the tip and fall short of actually connecting. What you have here is the possibility of an overdramatic "disaster". basically, there's not material there to hole the tip of your flames onto the leather, so it's going to splinter up on you. By leaving them disjointed, you connect the line with your beveling alone. Also, you never cut deeper than the piece is wide. So, just feather those flames out and leave the tips disconnected and finish it off with your beveler.

The other thing, which is a hard one to grasp, is the concept of depth when overlapping items. ALL of your cuts are at the exact same depth right now, which means that no matter how it's tooled, it's not better than a 2D drawing. We're working with a 3D medium here, so our work needs to reflect that.

Look at your flames the way you have them cut. With this perspective, the flame on top (closest) is the EXACT same distance from the "background" (infinite space), as the flame that's sitting directly underneath it (furthest), as well as having that same amount of space between them. How is this possible? The same thing goes for your T overlapping the D. They're both physically the same distance away, but we know by the design that the D is further away than the T. So, to make it easy I'll focus on that one when describing the technique and you just apply it to everything else that overlaps.

Since the T overlaps the D, any line that is above the D needs to be a little lighter to show that there's less space between the two (let's call it 1 foot in regards to perspective). So, we're looking at this D and T sitting in the distance and we see that the T is closer to us, followed by the D that's 1 foot away, followed by infinite space. That means that the deepest cuts should be those that outline the T above the infinite space (since that's the largest amount of space we're dealing with), and the second deepest cuts need to be those outlining the D, since it has a little less space between it and the background. And, as mentioned, the lightest cuts will be those separating the two letters because there's only a little bit of space between them.

Sign up for these free lessons here. There's some awesome stuff there in regards to depth and perception. Study it, practice it, master it in your mind, then give it another shot and see the difference

http://paintingcow.com/content/index.php/publications/free_lesson_sign_up/

[coop]

No doubt, that totally makes sense. I understand that concept, I draw a lot of black and grey art. I had read so much on designs not being carved deep enough and I have a heavy hand, (must be the bass playing) that I was focused on that aspect and didn't even think about that. I will just have to use the tools and try to shade heavy to light, and maybe even reverse the bevel it towards the end of the flames. Might even texture the flames this time. I have several cut out on scrap so I'll see what I can come up with. Thank's for the link, just signed up.

[coop]

I just used the B 701 and the A 104 for the tooling this time. I will invest in some more tools on the next project. I see how the depth of the cut relates to the image and will incorperate that in on the next design. Over all it has not turned out to bad for my firt tooling job I guess.

Right side up.

Edited July 12, 2013 by coop

[coop]

So far hasn't turned out too bad, I was able to keep the end of the flames from lifting or folding over but will def let the tooling create the ends next time.