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Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70534 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 11:58am
Thread (disabled) Board
I love doing portraits! I like to use either the pencil transfer method that some others have mentioned, using a fine mechanical pencil to do the drawing in the first place or the iron transfer method with a toner-based print or copy.

In terms of carving, I start with the most complicated part first (usually eyes, then other facial details or fingers, if those are in the image). I am voted most likely to make a mistake that will deform my poor, unsuspecting subject with these critical body parts. Once the difficult bits are finished, I do have to remind myself to continue paying attention -- I'd hate to have my carving tool slip across the hair and take out an eye in an unguarded moment ("You're going to put someone's eye out with that thing!")... ;-)

Simplifying the lines and shadows to their most essential elements really helps, too. I have been known to get way too fussy about details and even though I end up with something that looks like the person it is supposed to look like, it's still too busy. I have recently had a grand time with two different three block carving sets that are portraits (one of them is my current invoice stamp and the other will launch with the Seussville PLB Ring). With those, I just break the image into highlights and light tones, midtones/shadows and deep shadows and print in light, medium and dark inks. They're so much fun to do -- I think I'm addicted! LOL!

Webfoot
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70534 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 12:02pm
Thread (disabled) Board
In my opinion, if you don't have freehand art abilites and the image isn't quality to start with, no amount of superior transfer methods and carving skills matter.

What do I mean by this? Take the time to find good images with good contrast. If you're not up to deciding for yourself, just yet, what to carve in black and white from a color photo, find some black and white images with little or no graytone in them. There are some out there, you just have to look. When you're more comfortable working on the human form like that, then graduate to something with grayscale, and start deciding what is, and is not 'stampable'.

Good images. Makes a world of difference.

Happy Carving.

Jenni P McD
Mechanical Pencil question Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70552 by SHH
Feb 9, 2007 12:07pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote I transfer with pencil, just like you do. I use a mechanical pencil, and try to get thin lines.


I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday and saw a .3 mm mechanical pencil. Guess architects use 'em. Anyone have experience using one of these? It was six bucks, so I passed (I'm still drawing stick people--not much detail needed there) But it made me curious if anyone has used a pencil like this and what the results could be! I'd love to see some pics.

Thanks,
Amy
Mechanical Pencil question Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70568 by Pierced8x
Feb 9, 2007 12:18pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote saw a .3 mm mechanical pencil


I've used one. It was hard not to constantly break the lead. I must be too strong.
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70534 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 12:39pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Using software....

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/lone-r/links.htm#software

I've found 2 sites that explain how to use Photoshop to prep photos for carving.
http://home.agalis.net/bcostley/Letterbox/PSinst.htm
http://www.designedlykristi.com/tutorials/photo_prep/index.html

Kodak Easyshare (free from the Kodak site) has a 'fun effects - coloring book' feature that turns images into coloring book pages. I have an example of how the software works: http://www.angelfire.com/planet/lone-r/kodak-easyshare-example.htm

Lone R
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70567 by Jenni P McD
Feb 9, 2007 12:57pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote ...find some black and white images with little or no graytone in them. There are some out there, you just have to look.


When searching for clip art I type the name of the image I want plus "black" and/or "white" and/or "silhouette" to narrow the search. This really helps narrow the pool of images so I can find exactly what I want much faster.

Corazon
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70574 by Lone R
Feb 9, 2007 12:59pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Thanks Lone R, for the info. I am downloading Kodak now to see if that will help me with carving. Can't hurt is my motto. (smile)

Karen
Mechanical Pencil question Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70572 by Moondog
Feb 9, 2007 1:07pm
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They are excellent for making notes in the margins of a Bible, where there is not a lot of space.
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70566 by Webfoot
Feb 9, 2007 1:16pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Just got a cool one of these with my invoice yesterday.
Very neat looking.

Is there a program or photoshop addon that simplifies the transferring into the correct shadows?
I am still not much of an artist...

DEF
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70534 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 1:41pm
Thread (disabled) Board
This year's Sun is featuring lots of portraits. One of the best portrait carvers around is Catbead..and her's are TINY. Her trick is she reduces the picture to the greatest contrast..in some of them her faces are in half profile...meaning light is on one half and the other half of the face is in shadow. This highlights the person's unique features.

I have done many portraits myself....and the real trick is to take out A LOT of the detail. You don't need to have every tiny line to know who the person is. I also like to use caricatures for the same reason.

Shaded areas may be represented by very tiny parallel lines..or cross hatching ( a criss cross pattern of very tiny lines). Use a standard #1 blade, but don't carve deeply..this way you only use the narrowest part of the V-blade, and hence your lines will be narrower.

Think about leaving a border around the image as this really helps enhance the "portrait" effect. Also, think about stamping the finished image in brown ink. This helps lend a "sepia" effect which is very attractive for portraits...especially for historic figures.

LW PhD
"Nice Counts"
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70592 by Dale End Farm
Feb 9, 2007 2:07pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote Is there a program or photoshop addon that simplifies the transferring into the correct shadows?


Actually, if you have Photoshop, you have all you need. I usually will desaturate the image and then increase the contrast (if you need a more detailed explanation of that, let me know). Next, I posterize the image to 'clump' the various grayscale tones together. I usually use 5 or 6 color levels and simplify it by hand from there, since my eye can see what goes together better than their algorithm does. :) Then, I print out three different copies, one for each color and transfer the images to the block by ironing. After that, it's all fun carving and playing with color combinations! Whee!!

Webfoot (who thinks this stuff is waaaay too much fun!) :)
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70581 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 3:55pm
Thread (disabled) Board
The Kodak thing has worked well for me too!
And remember, if all else fails, there is the Portraits Gone Bad album!! Don't throw that stamp away until you've scanned it in!!

't'
dtandfambly
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70623 by dtandfambly
Feb 9, 2007 4:41pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I'm afraid when I start carving portraits, that album of Portraits Gone Bad will fill up real quick! (snickering)


Karen
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70631 by Ballentine Buddies
Feb 9, 2007 4:51pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote I'm afraid when I start carving portraits, that album of Portraits Gone Bad will fill up real quick! (snickering)


I suspect that I could fill it up just as fast or faster. I have done one (a cartoon) which turned out way better than I expected, but . . . . .
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70612 by Alien Invasive Insects
Feb 9, 2007 4:57pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Ditto...and I have photoshop experience! LOL

D5 Mama
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70566 by Webfoot
Feb 9, 2007 6:34pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote (one of them is my current invoice stamp


Oh man...another order to Stampeaze. Oh well I can always use mystery material....it won't spoil. :)

Shiloh
Mechanical Pencil question Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70585 by Big Ox
Feb 9, 2007 6:56pm
Thread (disabled) Board
They make several leads for these pencils. The softer the lead the better they work for art. If the lead is hard you tend to press harder for a darker line. If the lead is soft (#2) you can let up on them a bit. Saves lead and does a great job on details. I have a Pentel P203 0.3mm that I carry in my carving bag and another that I carry in my pastors bag. A 0.5 is great but the 0.3 makes more detailing easier.
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70557 by Big Ox
Feb 9, 2007 7:03pm
Thread (disabled) Board
As far as transfering the image with a burnishing tool, a guitar pick works real well.
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70559 by Alien Invasive Insects
Feb 9, 2007 7:25pm
Thread (disabled) Board
An excellent example of a portrait carving is on SHH's profile showing her latest sig stamp. She's right, that practice, practice, practice is the key.

TTT :o)
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70612 by Alien Invasive Insects
Feb 9, 2007 9:34pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote "You're really cute, but I can't understand a WORD YOU'RE SAYING!"


Sorry! :-/ I didn't mean to be - well - whatever it was that I was... I had to type in a hurry because I had to go to a meeting.

So, here's a more complete Photoshop walk-through. With pictures... :) First, I open a photo I want to work with and duplicate my original layer (I'm a sucker for extra copies and backups of everything....).

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester1.jpg

Then I select the new layer copy and select Image -> Adjust -> Desaturate. That will take all the color out of the layer and leave you with a grayscale image.

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester2.jpg

Next, I make another layer (see above about backups...). Then I select Image -> Adjust -> Brightness/Contrast and play with the sliders until I have made the image more distinct in terms of light and shadow.

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester3.jpg

Make another layer (yes, I am this crazy) and then, I select Images -> Adjust -> Posterize and play with the number of colors. In this case I think there were 4.

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester4.jpg

Then, I use the magic wand tool and split the image apart by selecting the lightest gray first (click on the color and then go to Select -> Similar. Copy the selection and paste it either onto a new layer or into a new file).

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester5.gif

Do the same with the other two colors (dark gray and black).

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester6.gif

and

http://stampeaz.com/images/rochester7.gif

I then transfer each one of these to my PZ block and start carving away. :)

I hope that helps a little bit -- don't hesitate to ask if I was still a little too 'cute'.

Webfoot (who is sleepy and may not have been as clear as she meant to be...)
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70702 by Webfoot
Feb 9, 2007 10:12pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote I then transfer each one of these to my PZ block and start carving away. :)


Okay, you had me up until here. You transfer all them onto the PZ block and carve away, or do you transfer one of them, carve it out, transfer a second one, carve it out, until all are transfered?

Why not just merge them all and carve?

I guess I don't understand why you separate each of the layers just to merge them all back together again. What purpose does that serve?

-- Ryan
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70702 by Webfoot
Feb 10, 2007 1:24am
Thread (disabled) Board
Wow, what a wonderful tutorial. You had me hooked, checking each link - but then came the big let down - where was the finished stamp and image? :-(

Just teasing, thanks for the step by step instructions.

YT
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70702 by Webfoot
Feb 10, 2007 6:07am
Thread (disabled) Board
Webfoot,

maybe you can explain this...

I just copied your post and emailed it to myself from my yahoo account. I'm on the laptop and want to be able to open it (and not forget the post number) at the printer (and the computer with photoshop on it)

I sent it to my yahoo account FROM my yahoo account... it wound up in my spam folder! Guess it's not enough to get 100 spams a day from strangers, now I'm spamming myself!! Maybe secretly I love spam.

=)
made me laugh.
Amy
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70706 by Green Tortuga
Feb 10, 2007 7:39am
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote I guess I don't understand why you separate each of the layers just to merge them all back together again. What purpose does that serve?


I separate them and transfer them all at once to the block. The way I use them, once they are carved, is that I ink the one that looks lightest gray with my lightest color and print it. Then, I ink the medium gray with my medium tone color and print it over the first light colored printing. Finally, I print the third block over the other two using the darkest color in the series. So, I don't merge the colors back together at all -- it becomes a set of stamps to make a single image, with depth and shadow.

I hope that helps a little. If not, I can try to scan an example later today, after I get orders into the mail. :)

Webfoot
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70712 by The Yorkshire Tortoise
Feb 10, 2007 7:41am
Thread (disabled) Board
LOL! Actually, I just grabbed that picture off the Web as an example to show the technique. After I got it finished and posted, I sort of laughed to myself and wondered to myself what I might be carving next... ;-) So, you may yet see that set carved!!

Webfoot
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70574 by Lone R
Feb 10, 2007 7:42am
Thread (disabled) Board
I know there is a lot of fancy software out there, but I only have Microsoft Word (came with the computer), and I have been using it. When you have imported a photo from your files, or copied an image from the web onto your page, just select your image, open the picture toolbar, and select "Effects". One of the effects is called "stamp". Viola! A black and white image of the photo.

It doesn't work for all photos, mind you -- but then again, not all photos lend themselves well to stamping. You do need one that has contrasts and shadows in it, or you can play with the contrast and brightness controls before you do anything else.

Just wanted to let folks know that you can use other software that may be available to you, if you don't have any photo editiing software.

- Sitzmak
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70731 by Pierced8x
Feb 10, 2007 7:45am
Thread (disabled) Board
No, I can't explain that, but I can join you in a chorus of "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam...." ;-)

Webfoot (is it too early for Monty Python?)
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70752 by Webfoot
Feb 10, 2007 8:22am
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote So, I don't merge the colors back together at all -- it becomes a set of stamps to make a single image, with depth and shadow.

I hope that helps a little. If not, I can try to scan an example later today, after I get orders into the mail. :)


I'd love to see all three stamps and the finished combination as well. Let us know if you can scan them.
Thanks!

The Merry Pranksters
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70752 by Webfoot
Feb 10, 2007 9:05am
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote I separate them and transfer them all at once to the block. The way I use them, once they are carved, is that I ink the one that looks lightest gray with my lightest color and print it.


So each layer is transfered and carved as an individual stamp. Seems like a lot of work to end up with just one final image. ;o)

-- Ryan, who's really lazy at heart =)
Re: Carving People
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #70772 by Green Tortuga
Feb 10, 2007 9:18am
Thread (disabled) Board
Quote So each layer is transfered and carved as an individual stamp. Seems like a lot of work to end up with just one final image. ;o)

-- Ryan, who's really lazy at heart =)


Well, it turns out that it is easier for me to carve three stamps and print them with different inks (and it's fun to overlap the inks and get 5 or 6 colors out of 3 sometimes), than it is for me to do the marker thing, especially if I want to do a number of prints for cards and invoices and such before planting. Besides, think of the great possibilities for a series of boxes where you end up with a multicolor image at the end of the series... :) Find box 1, print and get the clues for box 2, find #2 and print.... The mind boggles (of course, that's not unusual around here! LOL!)

Webfoot (who is also lazy -- just in a different way...)