Drawing........You can do it!!

[Tim Adlam]

There's tons of drawing and design books available to learn the basic as well as the advanced techniques from. The two listed here are ones that I have found that address these techniques best as it pertains to engraving and scrimshaw.

1.) The Technical Pen. Gary Simmons. Watson-Guptill Publications.

2.) Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Betty Edwards. Tarcher.

Engraving and scrimshaw, to put it simply, consists of 90% drawing ability and 10% learning to manipulate the tools.
You can engrave and scrim with minimal draftsman skills but you will have difficulty with composition and perspective.

It's like this...I was a drawing student before I became interrested in engraving. I had a fair knack as a youth. It wasn't until I had teachers at the college level that I really got a grasp on the artform. As a "non-traditional student", I also had the maturity and will to learn then. I paid my "dues" at the drawing board and the painting easel. When I got involved with engraving....I had to pay "dues" again. When I added scrim to the mix...."dues"!!! I have a more than passing interrest in "making" knives...guess what?

So...what I'm trying to say is...identify your weak areas and concentrate on strengthening them to the point that you have confidence in your ability to move on to the next level... no matter what you are attempting to do. I was taught that you bring every "life experience" to bear to the task at hand. I've never found an instance where that wasn't true.

Tim