Recommended Drawing or Composition Resources?

[Frozen Run]

Outside of studying originals, are there any good resources for learning how to draw and compose designs for engraving or carving? Any thoughts on Ron Smith's two books on drawing scrolls, or would you guys recommend something different? Also, drawing folk art animals and other images? Any recommendations related to drawing or composition would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.     

[Marcruger]

There are many wood or leather carving and metal engraving patterns and books online.  I would start there, and adapt to what you need.  A French curve, a mechanical pencil and lots of paper are needed. I hope this helps. God bless, Marc

[smart dog]

Hi,
Dover sells many inexpensive books of historical designs that can be useful.  You can find them on Amazon.  In your practicing, I urge you not to just focus on folk art.  If you draw an animal, draw as realistic an animal as you can complete with shading.  Same if you draw a leaf or any object. Draw human faces again with shading.  You can always rusticate those images but drawing as realistically as you can will discipline your skills and help you "see" things.   I keep a sketch book in which I periodically draw things that capture my imagination.   

dave

[Daniel Coats]

I used to have drawing software on my computer. This type of artwork is really a sequence of circles and ellipses. Drawing these and erasing unwanted lines made it easy to create original designs that could be adjusted in size then printed out and taped to the stock for review and execution. That was 20 years ago so I'm sure there's something much better now.

[J. Talbert]

Or you could keep it simple.   
Draw out the profile of a butt stock to scale with buttplate, cheek piece, and lower molding included, and then run off some copies.  These blank templates are useful because well designed carving flows in harmony with the shape of the stock and the position of the other features.
Use these as your canvas. 
Then pick some designs you like from originals or contemporary work and practice drawing these on to your stock templates.
Believe it or not, with repetition your drawing skills will improve and you’ll also begin to notice more quickly the errors or problem areas of your designs.

This is what worked for me.  Hope it can help you too,
Jeff

[Scott Bumpus]

Get a copy of John shippers book.  Very good info there.

[Ron Scott]

There is a book titled Drawing with the Right side of the brain by Betty Edwards that you might find thought stimulating. I am not aware of any complete books on the topic drawing on firearms. For most of us drawing is task that somedays flows easily but more often takes a lot of diligence and consumption of erasures. If you have been looking at photos of originals you will have noticed animal figures and people often are not anatomically correct. That seems to be pretty characteristic of art on firearms in the 18th century, the exception been the most expense high art guns. I have been preparing resin casts of carving on the flintlocks my seminar students are building. Casts enable you to study the shape of the stock upon which the carving is upon and understand the depth of the relief. In some cases the original tools marks are visible. The casts I have made have been from European Flintlocks, so they would not have much application for study of American work. Wallace Gussler has taught a three days class at NMLRA seminars on the topic of drawing. It might be worth considering, if the class is offered again.

[smart dog]

Hi Ron,
The engravers of the period rarely ever saw any of those animals in real life and so they copied what some else engraved having not seen the animal in real life either.

dave

[Frozen Run]

Thank you to everyone who has helped out thus far. There has been a lot of great advice and things to chew on as I progress. I was fortunate to pick up "Authentic Pennsylvania Dutch Designs" by Frances Lichten this last weekend, it is a remarkable book.