How do you carve/tool and then emboss from the back without losing all the detail?

[Tangent Creations]

I need help with my latest project. How do you carve/tool and then emboss from the back without losing all the detail? What oz leather should I be using for this??? I'm so used to working with heavy 10+oz that maybe that's my problem??? I'm attempting to make a 3d dragon and am getting really frustrated....back to the flat stuff...for now...

[Johanna]

See if Billy 2-Shews' explanation helps:

http://leatherworker.net/technique.pdf

Johanna

[ClayB]

Hey, don't give up! You are going to lose some of the detail when you emboss from the back. For embossed projects, I would suggest using leather around 4-6 oz, but you can use heavier leather. You will just have to work a lot harder to stretch the heavy stuff. Usually I carve and tool the project like a flat project. Then wet just the part you want to stretch, not the back ground. If you plan to cut the figure away (no background) it is easier to emboss it before you cut it loose. To emboss, you can set a marble under the leather and push down from the front, you can use a ball modeler (or the end of a tool) and push from the back or anything else that you can think of to stretch. Then I fill the cavity created by stretching with putty made from leather dust and rubber cement. Let the putty dry which can take several hours to a day. Then you can go back and re tool the front to get your detail back. With the putty backing your work, you can really get a lot of detail into the carving. I hope this helps.

Clay

[Tangent Creations]

Cool Beanie-weanies! THank you both soooo much! And Johanna, I didn't even know that kind of work existed! That is really neat My husband asked me when I was going to try that!

Thanks Clay, that was what I needed to hear!