Leather Carving Styles....

[DJole]

A lot of what people identify as "Celtic" (especially knotwork) is actually Anglo Saxon or Germanic in origin. Viking art is often pretty distinct from the Anglo Saxon stuff
Looking on internet image searches, If you want the actual historical motifs and designs, you will have a difficult time figuring out what is the real stuff. 
Or you could look for the British Museum Pattern books, which use line drawings taken from historical artifacts from the cultures in question:
Early Celtic Designs by Ian Stead and Karen Hughes is a nice collection of actual Celtic designs from the 5th C BC to the 1st century AD (thus avoiding the Celtic/Anglo Saxon knotwork). I've got this one on my shelf in the other room. 
The British Museum Pattern books also include the following (in no particular order):

• African Designs
• Ancient Egyptian Designs
• Early Medieval Designs
• Islamic Designs
• North American Indian Designs
• Roman Designs
• Greek Designs

Iain Bain's famous Celtic Knotwork book is a nice mixture of historical patterns and instructions of how to make your own. He also points out that what we call "Celtic" when referring to knotwork is a conglomeration of cultural art motifs. 

Looking at illustrations from medieval illuminated manuscripts is a great way to get ideas, too. (see here: http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/NativityPix/LeatherNativity.htm)
Woodcuts are great for leather, since the lines used to both cut wood and leather are similar (<http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/SerpentBox/SerpentBox.htm>
I've used the Bayeux Tapestry as well. (http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Pouch/CometPouch-1.htm)

You could do a google search for "celtic motifs" or "anglo saxon motifs" and get better results than when searching for "XX art"

You could also look for books from the Dover Pictorial Archive (such as Viking Designs or Celtic and Old Norse Designs). These ones are not for the person who wants authenticity, though. 

That might be enough to get  you going for a while. 

[Instinctive]

My go to now is tribal tattoo patterns in what ever subject I want to carve. Once I find a design, I tweak it to be suitable for carving. I found them excellent for skill development. "Line" drawing look simple, your swivel knife and beveling skills get elevated really quickly.

Be sure to get yourself a set of modelling tools. Very helpful to add the finishing touches (and fixing a bad bevel line).

[bikermutt07]

2 hours ago, DJole said:

A lot of what people identify as "Celtic" (especially knotwork) is actually Anglo Saxon or Germanic in origin. Viking art is often pretty distinct from the Anglo Saxon stuff
Looking on internet image searches, If you want the actual historical motifs and designs, you will have a difficult time figuring out what is the real stuff. 
Or you could look for the British Museum Pattern books, which use line drawings taken from historical artifacts from the cultures in question:
Early Celtic Designs by Ian Stead and Karen Hughes is a nice collection of actual Celtic designs from the 5th C BC to the 1st century AD (thus avoiding the Celtic/Anglo Saxon knotwork). I've got this one on my shelf in the other room. 
The British Museum Pattern books also include the following (in no particular order):

• African Designs
• Ancient Egyptian Designs
• Early Medieval Designs
• Islamic Designs
• North American Indian Designs
• Roman Designs
• Greek Designs

Iain Bain's famous Celtic Knotwork book is a nice mixture of historical patterns and instructions of how to make your own. He also points out that what we call "Celtic" when referring to knotwork is a conglomeration of cultural art motifs. 

Looking at illustrations from medieval illuminated manuscripts is a great way to get ideas, too. (see here: http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/NativityPix/LeatherNativity.htm)
Woodcuts are great for leather, since the lines used to both cut wood and leather are similar (<http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/SerpentBox/SerpentBox.htm>
I've used the Bayeux Tapestry as well. (http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Pouch/CometPouch-1.htm)

You could do a google search for "celtic motifs" or "anglo saxon motifs" and get better results than when searching for "XX art"

You could also look for books from the Dover Pictorial Archive (such as Viking Designs or Celtic and Old Norse Designs). These ones are not for the person who wants authenticity, though. 

That might be enough to get  you going for a while. 

Thanks for all the links.

38 minutes ago, Instinctive said:

My go to now is tribal tattoo patterns in what ever subject I want to carve. Once I find a design, I tweak it to be suitable for carving. I found them excellent for skill development. "Line" drawing look simple, your swivel knife and beveling skills get elevated really quickly.

Be sure to get yourself a set of modelling tools. Very helpful to add the finishing touches (and fixing a bad bevel line).

I'm pretty set on the tool end less the good swivel knife.

[YinTx]

6 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

Maybe I should just go back to my old black on white roots. I used to draw in my teens. People always called it tribal though. It wasn't of course, it was mine.

This.  Do this.  You will already have an artistic bent that allows you to understand and be inspired by what you are trying to accomplish, and your work will be yours.  It may not start out looking like you intend, but you will quickly progress after a few practice pieces to a place where you are improving on your own work.  It will be unique, and I think folks gravitate towards that.  Just my thoughts.

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

3 minutes ago, YinTx said:

This.  Do this.  You will already have an artistic bent that allows you to understand and be inspired by what you are trying to accomplish, and your work will be yours.  It may not start out looking like you intend, but you will quickly progress after a few practice pieces to a place where you are improving on your own work.  It will be unique, and I think folks gravitate towards that.  Just my thoughts.

YinTx

Thanks, Y.

[glamb]

How about tattoo books?

[bikermutt07]

6 hours ago, glamb said:

How about tattoo books?

I have thought about those too. Thanks.

[kiwican]

I have a few tattoo books for this very reason 

[HaloJones]

+1 for tattoo books, great practice for tracing and tooling

[johnv474]

There is a great book available free online called Handbook of Ornament, by Meyer.  He was a professor of architecture, I think.  The book is from the early 1900s and goes through the types of design / decoration people have used since ancient times to more modern.

There are tons of illustrations of geometric (think: Middle Eastern mosaic tiles), animal, plant, etc., with explanations. From it I was able to invent a few patterns and invent a couple of crest/shield type designs.

Edited February 20, 2018 by johnv474