WIP. The first attempt to emboss the human face

[immiketoo]

As someone who specializes in (and teaches) facial carving, I think this is a fantastic first effort.  The most impressive thing about this carving is the lips.  They are the most difficult part to reproduce.  While the eyes are the most important, the lips or mouth make this piece.  So much of the expression comes from the subtle curves of the lips.  

My only recommendation is the technique you used for the hair.  There is only one way to make realistic looking hair textures and that is one strand at a time.  Its a pain in the ass, but anything else detracts from the image in my experience.  I've never had much for floral carving.  It's over done, mostly stamp by numbers (And often poorly, with deco cuts that are nothing more than unplanned scratches).  

Faces take skill, subtlety and most of all attention to detail.  Very impressive.  

One other thing.  You may want to experiment with acrylic paint for coloring.  Leather will darken with time, and in a year or so, you'll have Mexican Cameron Diaz due to the natural darkening of the leather.

Also, here are my first two attempts at faces.  I'll let you decide which one is which

[ABHandmade]

2 hours ago, immiketoo said:

As someone who specializes in (and teaches) facial carving, I think this is a fantastic first effort.  The most impressive thing about this carving is the lips.  They are the most difficult part to reproduce.  While the eyes are the most important, the lips or mouth make this piece.  So much of the expression comes from the subtle curves of the lips.  

My only recommendation is the technique you used for the hair.  There is only one way to make realistic looking hair textures and that is one strand at a time.  Its a pain in the ass, but anything else detracts from the image in my experience.  I've never had much for floral carving.  It's over done, mostly stamp by numbers (And often poorly, with deco cuts that are nothing more than unplanned scratches).  

Faces take skill, subtlety and most of all attention to detail.  Very impressive.  

One other thing.  You may want to experiment with acrylic paint for coloring.  Leather will darken with time, and in a year or so, you'll have Mexican Cameron Diaz due to the natural darkening of the leather.

Also, here are my first two attempts at faces.  I'll let you decide which one is which

Mike, thank you so much for taking the time and willingness to pay attention to my work!
It probably took about 30-40% of the time on the lips in this work, because it was not possible for a long time to get the necessary form. It turns out that even the smallest details radically affect the result. It was a very valuable experience for me.
Eyes are still a weak point for me.
With your comment on the hair, I absolutely agree and accept the recommendation with gratefully.
Regarding the coloring I want to ask your opinion.
The fact is that in this work (as well as in several previous works with animals) I first perform a protective dye with an alcohol dye on all surface, in the specification to which the manufacturer reports that this dye provides protection against ultraviolet.
After that, I primer the area, which are to be colored, with white paint diluted by isopropyl alcohol.
And only after that I perform coloring of the primed areas with alcohol dyes.
Upon completion, the work is covered by the finish.
Will there be a darkening that you mentioned in case this technology?
I use several things myself that are made in this way. So far I have not noticed darkening. True, the oldest of them is only 6 months old. You have the experience and use of products much longer than mine, so your opinion plays a big role.

Regarding the quest with 2 of your first works... I have already seen the first photo in one of the topics of this forum with your comment that this is the first work with figured carving. I tend to believe you

With great respect and gratitude,

Andrey

Edited October 3, 2018 by ABHandmade

[immiketoo]

Andrew,  if you have found a UV protective finish that works, you might not experience the darkening, or maybe it will delay it for a long time.  I don’t use a product like that so I can’t offer any opinion other than I’d like to see your results over the course of time.

In the piece with the braid, you can see my struggle with the lips (well, all of it really) and how badly I mangled it.  Do you have some sort of art background?  Most people that can pull off a first piece have some sort of familiarity or artistic history.  Again, well done.

[ABHandmade]

Mike, I'm not 100% sure yet that the finish I used provides the necessary level of UV protection. Although in the summer I exposed out on sun for a long time a piece of leather with several types of finishes applied and chose two of them, which practically kept the leather color unchanged.
Apparently, the only way to check this is to wait. I will definitely share with you the result.
Unfortunately, I do not have any art education and my main profession is a programmer. And all my experience is the small time that has passed since the day when I really liked some kind of leather work seen on the Internet. I really wanted to achieved the same results. This is still far away, but the goal has been set I have no abilities (at least I haven’t found them yet) to draw something from memory
I will be very grateful to you if you can in the future point me to my mistakes and help me with advice - a critical look from the outside is very important for moving forward.

Edited October 4, 2018 by ABHandmade

[immiketoo]

Yes, we shall see how the finish fares.  Hopefully you've found a solution.  As for your background, that's doubly impressive.  Ian more than happy to offer whatever help I can, but I doubt you'll need much in the future.  Stay in touch and we can talk about hair and eyebrows!

[koreric75]

On 9/26/2018 at 2:20 PM, ABHandmade said:

Work done.

Coloring is done with alcohol dyes.
Finish - matt polyurethane lacquer.

 

that is jaw dropping, breath takingly awesome! I can barely draw a stuck figure let alone draw it on leather and then make it 3d...I would love to see a picture of the inspiration if you have it to compare...

[koreric75]

On 9/27/2018 at 5:41 AM, ABHandmade said:

Sorry, I miss this comment.

Thank you, @bikermutt07.

You guessed right about Cameron Diaz

Never mind on my previous post lol, I thought it looked like Cameron Diaz, and it truly does

[Northmount]

Really fantastic work.  Inspiring to us all.  I've only done a small amount of figure carving.  Will take me centuries to get to your level of accomplishment.

Tom

[JLSleather]

26 minutes ago, koreric75 said:

I thought it looked like Cameron Diaz, and it truly does

And there lies part of the talent... ONE thing to make " a portrait".  ANOTHER thing to make an accurate, recognizable representation of a specific person.  

AB → this looks great.. if I can ask... can we get a picture with some perspective?  I think it would help folks 'round here to see the EMBOSSING you did here, maybe make more sense to some folks (plus, for those of us who "get" it and would love to see it anyway).  You know -- like a pic taken ACROSS the carving to show the "topography" of it....

[ABHandmade]

5 hours ago, koreric75 said:

that is jaw dropping, breath takingly awesome! I can barely draw a stuck figure let alone draw it on leather and then make it 3d...I would love to see a picture of the inspiration if you have it to compare...

I tried to play this photo. Unfortunately, it is precisely in this resolution, so it was very problematic to consider the small details.
It is clear that I still have something to work on. In particular, above the eyes, eyebrows, hair, as Mike (@immiketoo) rightly pointed out.

And the line of the mouth, despite all my efforts, is not quite similar.

Edited October 4, 2018 by ABHandmade