Step by step to a Dragon chess-box...

[Scorch]

Would anyone be interested in seeing how I've burned a project, step by step?

I took several scans as I burned a dragon into a chess-box, starting from this, with just the pattern rubbed down onto it :


and ending up with this, finished :


Right now, it's the top of my Flickr page : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tannison/

If I've uploaded since and you see something else, then try this link instead, and click therough them : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tannison/tags/progress/

[Happybunny]

I love all your work. Those dragon pencil cases are so cute!!

Sue x

[indri]

Wow! An amazing dragon! I sometimes wish I could draw like that!!

[autumn rose]

Fantastic Art work Scorch, you have a real talent

[Scorch]

Thanks, all! Though I confess that I didn't draw it - it's a pattern from somewhere...

[Nader]

This is really nicely done! The final piece looks great.

[Scorch]

Thanks! Thought it might be interesting for people to see it "grow"...

[Scorch]

Wow! An amazing dragon! I sometimes wish I could draw like that!!

I wish I could draw, too! Best I can do is improve on existing patterns... sigh...

[nettie]

Brilliant!

[Scorch]

This is really nicely done! The final piece looks great.

A thought - is that the same sort of process you'd use? Or would you go about it differently?

[Nader]

A thought - is that the same sort of process you'd use? Or would you go about it differently?

A lot of the work I do is burnt straight onto the wood, particularly the smaller pieces.
If the piece is something I can't afford to make a mistake on, then I'll lightly sketch some guidlines in pencil first, usually as little as possible. So its similar in that respect, but I wouldnt normally draw everything out first especially the shaded areas.

Saying all that, im not 100% sure how your prcess works! Did you trace the design on somehow? If so, do you use a special technique?
Your lines seem to be really clean and neat, so you must be fairly good at drawing!

[Scorch]

Ah... you're a "proper" artist, then! I'm just a craftswoman, really...

I don't usually draw my designs, 'cos I'm simply not that good at drawing. I can draw leaves, flowers and knotwork and the odd cartoon, but that's pretty much it.

The designs I use are usually from books & clipart, amended and put together and generally changed as I need with a paint package. They're either traced, or rubbed down from me making a reverse print. This particular design is unusual, as it has all the shading drawn in, but typically they're just the outlines - I make the rest up as I go!

[Cowslip]

What type of machine do you use, Scorch? How do you get such smooth lines? I use one of the multi-head type, and find that lines are 'blotchy'. Even with the wood sanded very smooth, the grain seems to burn differently in places so that some bits are darker than others. Any ideas, please?

[Scorch]

Heya, Cowslip

I have a Peter Childs wire-tipped pyrography machine, which I find excellent. Smooth and even speed is the way to beat the blotches, and the reverse of a scalpel blade the way to gently scrape them out if they happen anyway!

The light & dark effect is due to the soft and hard grain pattern in the wood itself - stuff like pine is especially bad, for this stripiness. Light-coloured even grained hardwoods are the best for pyrography - sycamore, beech, birch, maple, lime...

I haven't time to write more right now (ought to be working!), but there's more info about these things on my site (below) on the "Hints & Tips" pages.

[Cowslip]

Heya, Cowslip

I have a Peter Childs wire-tipped pyrography machine, which I find excellent. Smooth and even speed is the way to beat the blotches, and the reverse of a scalpel blade the way to gently scrape them out if they happen anyway!

The light & dark effect is due to the soft and hard grain pattern in the wood itself - stuff like pine is especially bad, for this stripiness. Light-coloured even grained hardwoods are the best for pyrography - sycamore, beech, birch, maple, lime...

I haven't time to write more right now (ought to be working!), but there's more info about these things on my site (below) on the "Hints & Tips" pages.

Many thanks, Scorch. I've found your site and started to browse around. I can see how the PC machine would be easier and better quality.
Some very helpful info there, thanks! And beautiful work!