The Carving Path: Carving dragon scales - The Carving Path

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Carving dragon scales One method of carving dragon scales

#1 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 10:15 AM

Greetings all,

the following is a very brief and rough guide to one approach to carving dragon scales in metal. There are other procedures that are traditionally followed but this is probably one of the most accessible. I put this together rather hurriedly at the request of someone who was keen to carve a dragon. He was able to replicate the method perfectly so I hope this works for you too. Big apologies to our admin for the obscenely large image files. These images were produced with very high definition and my image reducing program doesn't seem able to compress any smaller without becoming too "grainy" As soon as I've resolved this issue I'll replace the images, I promise :)
Step 1

chisel the layout, in this case the lines are 4mm apart.

Step 2

Using a triangular, flat punch work one corner down.

Step 3

Using a curved punch, a bit like a blunt gouge, work the leading edge ( the opposite corner to the one you just worked down ) of the "scale" round. Only work on the tips at this stage.

Step 4

Use a scraper to remove the sharp teeth you've raised and begin to generally round the forms a little bit.

Step 5

Using a suitable tracing punch begin to define the shape of the scales.

Step 6

Quite vigorous shaping with scrapers at this stage after trimming and cleaning up with a shishiai-bori chisel where needed.

Step 7

scraped and defined with the use of various punches.

A very close view, the scales are 4mm across. Naturally this was a very hurried and rough demonstration but you can take your time and achieve much cleaner results.



For this exercise I marked the initial lines out to create little squares and a very regular pattern. You can lay your lines out to create a graduation in size and by curving the line introduce a great deal of movement, which you expect on a writhing dragon. Certainly all those I've seen were quite vital and sinuous. ;)

Namaste, Ford B)

#2 User is offline   Mumtaz Baber 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 11:33 AM

Whoa, fantastic pictures and explanation , Sensei Ford

If you dont mind I'd like to save those pics to my photobucket page.

#3 User is offline   Janel 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 11:59 AM

Hello Ford,

Great little tutorial! Thanks! A question, in steps 2 & 3, are you pushing the metal down/around rather than removing it at this stage?
Teachers open doors, you enter by yourself. Chinese proverb
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. ~ Goethe ~

Janel Jacobson's web site

#4 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 12:39 PM

Hi Muntaz,

be my guest with the images, hope they help :) .

Hi Janel, yes steps 2 and 3 are essentially moving the metal.

Ford

#5 User is offline   Dick Bonham 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 01:09 PM

Hi Ford,
Nice job on the scales! Thank you. When I became interested in how The Japanese created their fantastic metalwork a few years ago I bought every book I could find. I must have about a hundred books and catalogs on Japanese carving and metalwork some from the 19th century. Many from Japan. The tutorials you have shown us have much more information than all of the books combined.
Thanks again,
Dick

#6 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 01:19 PM

Hi Dick,

thanks so much for that great compliment, it's very heartening to know that I'm able to communicate these things like this. It spurs me on to do so much more.

btw, I meant to say, regarding your dragon embellished sword, I could really have done with your help on so many jobs I tackled while working as a restorer in the UK. It's so hard to find skilled help these days :) , I'm sure we would have had fun too. ;)

regards, Ford

#7 User is offline   wunderlich 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 02:03 PM

Hi Ford,

Thanks for that enlightning tutorials from me too. I agree with Dick`s opinion.

Anyway, I want to recommend two books related to the treads subject .

The first one is edited by Charles Holme (editor of the legendary The Studio magazine). It is a "Course of instruction in wood-carving according to the Japanese method" (London : Offices of the Studio, [1899])
As stated in the title is was written for wood carvers but the chisel strokes used for metal are proberbly similar.

Engraving is a matter between sculpture and painting. For the painting side I think Henry P. Bowie´s book "On the laws of Japanese Painting" (1911) could be helpful.The Katakiri bori engraving style was thougt to imitate brush strokes.

Karl :)
Karl Wunderlich

#8 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 02:16 PM

Hi Karl,

thanks, and thanks also for the reference to the woodcarving reference, it sounds very interesting.

One of the next tutorials I'll be putting together will focus on kebori and katakiri bori. When I first entered my teachers studio the first "tool" he had me use was a brush. As I said to Dick a few days ago, the use of the brush is fundamental to this style of chiseling. Right now I'm thinking about how best to illustrate the common technique, when actually using the chisel. I'll get it figured :) in a while.

Ford

#9 User is offline   Greg Obach 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 07:32 PM

beautiful tutorial... just amazing how you can turn some griding into dragon scales.......

are there any online pictures of what a traditional japanese dragon should look like... sorry for the bother but i would love to see more ...


thank you so much
Greg

edit...
--- dragons do interest me... as i did abit of research into chinese dragons and culture.... they are important

#10 User is offline   Karl Carvalho 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 08:04 PM

Aloha Ford,

What can I say? Another great, action packed installment. :) Thanks! My mind is swimming with possibilities for snakes, fish and other shapes of scale.

Question: Is the aforementioned scraper the same one (about 6 inches long) that you showed us in an earlier tutorial? So you are maneuvering the very tip in there to work the scales individually?

Karl
Accept what the fire gods give you. Serendipity is part of the process.

#11 User is offline   wunderlich 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 08:48 PM

View PostGreg Obach, on Jun 6 2007, 09:32 PM, said:

are there any online pictures of what a traditional japanese dragon should look like...


Hi Greg,

I have no idea how a standard dragon :) should look like but I know the male one have a chinese sword (ken) on their tip of the tail. This one is wrapping around a ken. (this horimono is quoted from Icke/schwalbe; Das Schwert des Samurai, Berlin 1977 _ one of the few books on that subject edited in the GDR)



Some carry a pearl (tama) which could symbolize wisdom. (Please correct me when I am posting rubbish- (as usual)) (This particular dragon is a masterpiece by Koun - pic found in "Le bronze dans la art japonais"

There are rain and water and fire dragons each one with different features. But the myth and symbolism of dragons requires a thread of its own...

This is a design for a tsuba I found in a library in a handwritten book of the Edo era. I like him best.

Karl
Karl Wunderlich

#12 User is offline   tsterling 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 09:38 PM

Excellent tutorial, Ford! I'll make a pdf for the Resource section when the thread dies down.

I'm a little gray on the punches - any chance of some pics of those, with dimensions?
Tom Sterling
www.sterlingsculptures.com
Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't. Richard Bach

#13 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 09:42 PM

Hi Guys,

I'll be a bit busy tomorrow but I'll post some images of the tools I used with a ruler for scale.

cheers, Ford

#14 User is offline   Phil White 

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Posted 06 June 2007 - 09:55 PM

Thanks Ford,

This is great stuff!

Phil
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#15 User is offline   Greg Obach 

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Posted 07 June 2007 - 12:02 AM

thank you

i see ...very nice dragons ..forsure

definitely a very cool post...

Greg
:) ;) B)

#16 User is offline   Karl Carvalho 

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Posted 07 June 2007 - 02:36 AM

Aloha

For those who forgot, and others who have yet to find it, here's a reposting of a past link (courtesy Dick B.) for Kees Engelbart. I was conflicted as to where to mention him because his work could easily go into any of the last three Metalwork threads. If you go to his site and look up the mokume dragon watches, there is an enlarge function that gives you a closeup of scales and other details.

Karl

Does not work for Tatiana though. (Okay, I'm being a sexist pig.) :)
Accept what the fire gods give you. Serendipity is part of the process.

#17 Guest_ford hallam_*

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Posted 07 June 2007 - 05:40 AM

Thanks for the link, Karl. Now, where can I get a Tatiana as a workshop assistant? :)

#18 User is offline   magnus homestead 

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Posted 14 June 2007 - 09:08 PM

Hello hello , :) :D I love this forum!

Thanks Ford for another excellent tutorial. I am just in the process of creating my first dragons and all this info is helping tremendously!
Thanks also to Karl and Karl and Phil and Dick and others for your splendid dragon posts.
My mind is reeling with ideas - so awesome to get to play with the universe for a living is it not?
Blessings All,
Magnus
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"if not for the point, the still point, there would be no dance. And there is only the dance." T.S.Elliot

#19 User is offline   Kei Tsuzurahara 

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 06:10 AM

Hi guys,
This is my first post on this forum,since i work as a tattooist here in Japan,dragon or ryu are playing very important part in my profession.so just to share some information on the background of the design.In mythology, dragons are found all over the world but while on the western hemisphere they are often times portrayed as a evil creatures.In the east they are together with phoenix,white tiger and turtle represented as a messengers of the gods and four sacred animals protecting east, west ,north and south.Dragon in Japan differs from his Chinese relative only in numbers of the claws,ordinary Chines dragon have 4 claws imperial have 5.Since dragon mythology past from China to Japan some people say that the monks who traveled to China at the time were only allowed to hear about the lower cast dragons,that is the reason why Japanese dragons have only three claws.it is said that dragon is created from nine animals: head of the camel, neck of iguana,scales of carp,eyes of hare ,horns of deer,ears of bull,paws of tiger , claws of an eagle and the body of the snake,scale number supposedly is nine times nine which is lucky number,(thou I personally never seen any image with that number seems to be impossible to draw such elongated form with just 81 scale,maybe its just me :) )anyhow
scale on the the throat are reversed and that is the only vulnerable point.In the Chinese legend there is a carp that swam up the rapids of the yellow river and past the dragon gate and there fore become dragon that is why sometimes you can see the image of dragon with the body of the carp.dragon's body changes with their ages
black dragon is less than 100 years old as its getting older it scales become gold and his status and power grows,after 500 years it start to grow horns,another 500 sees wing sprouting from its flesh,Golden dragon is most feared of all heavenly creatures and its said that it bring good luck,it cannot be defeated due the energy emanating from its body dispels evil and beacons good.Often these creatures are portrayed with religious figures Kannon (buddhist god of compassion),Benzaiten (female deity within seven gods of fortune)and most seen often as horimono on the swords is kurikara which represent Fudo-myo deity as a dragon coiled around vayra headed sword ready to swallow the tip.
Also mentioned by a Wunderlich is a dragon caring pearl ,it represent ryu-o or ryujin (dragon king of the sea)the pearl represent tide ruling gem which is used to control the sea.
best resources are found on the temples and festival floats,often done in metal and wood.and of course in the master works of Hokusai ,Kuniyoshi, Kyosai... etc.
recent boom in Japanese tattooing results many contemporary artists to take the image of the dragons on the next level.
some of the books I can recommend solely on dragon design are
Dragon Tattoo Design by Don Ed Hardy
Dragon Sketch Book 1&2 by Filip Leu
hope this will help.if you need more informtion let me know

#20 User is offline   Janel 

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Posted 17 June 2007 - 12:07 PM

Thank you Tei! That was very informative. Here is a different question. Are you familiar with netsuke?

Janel
Teachers open doors, you enter by yourself. Chinese proverb
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. ~ Goethe ~

Janel Jacobson's web site
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