Glossary of Engraving Part 2 - Terms and Methods
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BULINO ENGRAVING --- Engraving high definition images by means
of a small graver using hand force to produce micro lines or micro dots.
BULINO DOTTING --- Engraving extremely high definition images
by producing thousands or even millions of micro dots into the surface of the
metal controlling tonal reflection density changes from light to dark by means of
manipulating light and or light absorption. In general there will be
several tones between light and dark which will represent gray's, these are called mid tones
and in general contain most of the details of a specific image.
A standard black and white photograph will be gauged on a 16 step gray scale and will have a
mid tone range of at least 8 steps. Shadow tones will have at least 5 steps on the scale and highlight tones
at least 3 steps, making a total of 16 steps. For the graphic arts print industry 16 to 24 steps are available even though
realistically the eye will not be able to differentiate more than 8 steps possibly 12.
Knowing this means that you can now target how many tones you need to produce on steel to create photo realism.
Knowing and being able to produce it are two different things. You will likely find that the first 3 tones are easily achieved,
Moving beyond 4 presents many problems as metals are not paper and react differently. I have successfully produced 7 tones
and still striving for more however I feel that if achievable anything beyond 8 would not be noticeably visible and therefore largely a waste
of time. Still the challenge does beckon me to try for as many as possible.
This technique has the capability of producing near photo realism including full
3D imagery and is considered the most difficult and most prestigious part of
an engraving. Bulino dotting is a painstaking long winded approach and when
in the hands of a well versed engraver will define the most complex and realistic
of results. It is however the most expensive technique to produce per inch
and much care must be taken to prevent damage to the refined image after
engraving.
The above images define the level of detail & graduated tonal changes which
may
be achieved utilizing high resolution bulino dot techniques. The lion face
shown above is a mere 3/16" tall, where as the size of the Cape Buffalo face is
approx. 4 times the size, lion details are comparable even at this smaller scale.
ABOUT BULINO DOT ENGRAVING:
Information regarding "how to engrave bulino" is difficult to locate and few books cover the topic at all, basically the logic
of bulino is simplistic by nature however it is extremely time consuming and you will likely curse at
what is takes to produce a 3" bulino scene to the high resolution standards. I myself have
laid in as many as 2 million or more dots by hand graver on each of 3 scenes 3" x 2 1/2" and spent 637 total hours in
dotting spanning the scenes containing 5 elephants on one commissioned order while employing several combined
techniques and an additional 300 hours for the balance of the vine leaf motifs all relieved with backgrounds lined
on a .600 English double rifle, viewed in Gallery #2.
Never mind complete miniature paintings created for these scenes from scratch.
The knowledge of 'what to dot or line' and 'when to dot or line heavily or lightly' is what defines individual technique / style
and seldom is such information made readily available, mainly because each engraver needs to
find their own best approach which in turn will define individual style and character.
Bulino as a topic cannot be lumped into a straight forward answer such as correct or
incorrect methodology. High definition bulino engravings can be achieved using any of the standard graver types currently
found on your engraving bench. The tool itself is basic but it has the ability to change the feel of the work
and for this reason it is best left open for experimentation by each engraver.
In this manner one is able to find a comfortable working style and an appealing look all their own.
My own technique has become well defined with its own characteristic style and subtle nuances and is carefully implemented
with a very select number of gravers which I can say reflects my personal individuality. However with one single graver
be it square, flat, onglette or others, virtually all can be achieved, it's a matter of experience and experimentation.
Primary the most important thing to learn is the material you are working on and a firm
understanding of all its characteristics in relation to light reflection.
It is not necessary to fill bulino work with any inks
as this literally takes away from the intent of the bulino which is to cast natural shadow and
highlight tones within the imagery.
This is controlled by density of dotting, depth of dotting,
angle of dotting, graver geometry and other things as well. It is possible to produce up to 7 tone levels
from black through to white highlight on steel which is completely clean and void of any color fills.
Fills may be used as there are no real rules but much can be said when an engraver is fully capable of
creating proper tonal graduations without the use of artificial enhancement.
There are times when ink fills are beneficial as they certainly punch up the contrasts of an engraving.
Often times relief backgrounds may employ inks to strengthen contrast between foreground and background.
However they also will disguise the characteristics of a cut line and often times the appeal of engraving
is the glitter achieved from a bright cut, especially when it is designed to create its own tonal changes.
Many engraver's attempting bulino tend to believe that depth is possibly
the most defining factor in achieving black levels. This is a misconception as best results can
barely be felt by touch, meaning that you are not raising high barbs in the material
which is what occurs during deep dotting.
Doing so counters the desired effect as the work viewed from the appropriate angel
will appear black however rotating the work will bring into view the back side of
the raised barbs, at this point you will have light reflection off the barbs as micro mirrors and your image
dramatically loses tonal depth.
The answer lies much more deeply rooted to density, more dots, finer dots, tight packing of dots and minimizing
their depth to 1/1000 or less of an inch. Deeper dots are used in conjunction with small barb
raising to produce special characteristics sometimes in foliage where texture is
necessary in order to define realism. Also selective barb raising can add dimension to the work but should be used
carefully to maintain continuity within the engraving.
Bulino is about as close as you can come to drawing and because of this the most important thing of
all is the ability to draw well and to understand all the fundamentals of design such as vanishing points, perspective, composition,
light and dark, some basic anatomy and creativity.
Do not expect to find scenes already prepared for you from
photos in books as this is unlikely to happen but is more likely that you may need to use many resources for all
subject matter or create them yourself for your scene. Your artistic abilities will need to come into play here, lighting
will need to be changed, scaling of each item selected and its perspective in relation to other elements within
the theme, they must all be worked together in order for them to appear as they always existed.
Personally I never use a subject as it is found in a book, in my opinion this would be an infringement on the originating artists
copyrights and we take photography far too loosely at times believing that we have the right to do as we please with it.
Preferably it is best to alter the image if it is a focal point of the originating photographers art.
Redraw the Image, change its direction alter its body mass, alter lighting....
In closing it is realized and understood that as an engraver seeking knowledge you would wish for more
definitive answers on how to engrave bulino step by step, unfortunately bulino engraving is the high point of an
engraving artists abilities and each engraver has found their own ways of approaching this area of engraving,
to simply define one specific engraver's approach will only undermine the individuality and growth of engraver's
wishing to learn bulino.
As an artist you must experience by trial and error which methods best define your own individual style, the road
traveled will be a superior instructor.
BULINO LINE CUTTING --- Also known as (Bank note engraving or
Woodcut engraving) hand held graver producing micro lines closely packed
together in order to produce tonal density changes. This technique has the
capability to define images very well in high detail and creates a fair amount
of realism however it will not produce the smoothness of tone or as many
subtle variations and graduations of gray as Bulino dotting. This method
produces the fastest results and the best wear ability of the two Bulino
techniques.
Note:Above image — bulino line cut background scene digital photo loss of 1/3 details.
RAISED INLAY --- Inlay is the means of
inserting precious metals such as Silver / Gold / Platinum into a base
material such as steel. The process involves cutting out the pattern from the
base material to the exact shape of the image to be inlaid. The depth of the
cut out is relative to the thickness of the material being inlaid and should be
approx. half its thickness. After the cut out has been leveled the inner edges
are under-cut (dove-tailed) and the material to be inlaid is then hammered into
place causing the precious metal to expand into the under-cutting. The
mushroomed surface material is then leveled by either chisel, stoning or sanding...
off the excess, then the material is trimmed back to the proper image
shape and finally detailed as needed. A proper inlay should never be easily
removed and certainly not without serious damage to the inlay itself.
Note:Above inlay size is approx. that of a dime, digital photo has lost 1/3 of all fine details.
RAISED OVERLAY --- Basically this appears as
an inlay however it is not a true inlay in the sense that no cut out has been
made in the base material but instead a fine checkerd pattern is cut and
thin materials are hammered over the checkerd area, the precious metal fixes
itself to the checkerd base. The mushroomed surface material is then leveled by
either chisel, stoning or sanding... then trimmed back to the proper image shape
and finally detailed as needed.
This method is less expensive than inlay however is never as secure and is easily
removed. Care must be taken around thin areas such as dogs tails, birds
feathers.... A poorly executed overlay will be susceptible to lifting if care is
not taken. I have personally seen many an old firearm with parts of the gold
missing and have also seen some poor overlays loosened due to heavy gun
recoil over time. It really depends on the skill of the engraver.
FLUSH INLAYS --- Same as the raised inlay's with the
difference that the precious metal is than chiseled, stoned, sanded.... flush
with the base surface. Inlay's that vary in width such as a borders or vine
patterns which taper may required multiple pieces of varying
widths of material to be fitted together then hammered and merged as
one. Consequently the time and effort is far greater than a simple inlay and
cost rises accordingly.
The below sample is a combination of a 3 level relief with bulino line cutting and bulino dotting techniques.
The face including jaw are higher than the mane and the mane is higher than the background.
The mane and most of the face are in line work and the interior of the mouth, eyes and other selective areas are dotted.
RELIEF ENGRAVING --- This method involves the removal
of material within the backgrounds of the engraved motif. The process itself requires
that the main pattern be engraved as per conventional methods and then followed by
the slow and meticulous cutting away and leveling of the surrounding material which in
turn lowers the background from the foreground, the foreground being the actual design
pattern. The result is the elevation of the engraved design. The background itself is then
generally treated in a variety of techniques, such as punched, stipple, lined or dotted.
Each of these treatments may carry its own unique characteristics depending on the
particular style and abilities of the engraver.
PUNCHED BACKGROUND --- The punched background is created
by using a fine punch with a slightly rounded tip, usually shaped to meet the engraver's
needs. The result is a series of concave punching which create a darker contrast
against the engraved pattern. This is perhaps the most commonly used method of backdrop
treatments and is the fastest to produce, least expensive while creating uniformity and contrast
throughout the relief.
STIPPLE PUNCHED BEADED BACKGROUND
When executed well this method will result in a beautiful arrangement of raised domes which will refract light due to the
convex surface. Stipple punches (AKA BEADING punches) may be hand made however it is far better to purchase these
inexpensive punches as there is difficulty in making two or more exact punches and since size, depth and uniformity is of utmost
importance then it pays to purchase a handful of each size if you plan to use them often.
Stipple punches are available in a variety of sizes and this may be seen in many early
period American engravings. In my personal opinion the smaller the stipple the more attractive the background will
be and the better the contrast from foreground to background.
This method takes longer than the standard concave punched method
and size of stipple will determine amount of time required to fill a given background area. Note that stipple punched (beaded punch) is less forgiving than concave punching and flaws are more readily visible therefore uniformity / arrangement / organization of punched groupings is imperative in producing a top grade background.
STIPPLED DOTTED BACKGROUND --- The basic principal of this stipple technique is very
similar to dotting in the sense that the engraver still dots the backdrop however with one major
difference and that being non controlled dots but rather as rapid markings of the surface and passing over the
same spot time and again until the entire given area is completely filled or matted by a texture.
LINED BACKGROUNDS --- This method is universal in the sense that
it works equally as well with relief engravings as it does with non relief. The method is
simplistic however time consuming. It involves cutting fine lines tightly packed to create a very
attractive dark contrast from background to foreground.
The tighter the arrangement of lines the darker the contrast will be and the more time
will be required to achieve the desired result. Depth of cut for each line is less relevant
than the spacing between each line. These lines need not be deep at all. Many engraver's
fall prey in thinking that depth solely controls density in contrast. A far
better approach is in ascertaining the most appropriate angle for the lines to be cut, in
conjunction with the viewed position of the engraving. What this really means is that a firm
understanding of light reflection is important in order to best
represent the desired effect. This method eats up more time than either of the
aforementioned punching techniques, however it truly does a wonderful job of separating the
backdrop from the foreground for high contrast results.
BULINO DOTTED BACKGROUNDS --- Now this is the ultimate in
contrasts and the hours required are simply overwhelming, especially when this treatment is applied to a rifle or
shotgun receiver and its many individual parts. Here the technique is identical to bulino dotted scenes...
hundreds of thousands of dots are created which in turn will have the
versatility of controlling absolute tonal changes. e.g. fading a background into a
foreground literally from black to white... The cost soars when this technique is used and most
commonly a complete treatment in this fashion is reserved for the finest of
engraved objects. This method once again is universal in the sense that it may be
implemented within all styles of engraving, relief, non relief... The final result when correctly
executed with precise even uniformity is spectacular and can literally achieve satin like finishes.
I have yet to see a bead blasted effect that can come close
to the exquisite beauty of a Bulino dotted background.
LINERS AND SHADING --- The liner tool is essentially the same as a flat graver with one major
difference, unlike the flat graver which will have a shaped polished heel the liner has a series of fine lines grooved
along the entire length of the graver bottom. Liners come in a variety of sizes and line spacing and are generally
marked with two sets of numbers, one defines the width of each line and the other defines the spacing between
the lines. This tool is designed to make a series of uniformed cuts mainly for shading purposes, however it can be
put to other effective uses such as matting a background and even for shallow relief cutting, a curved liner works best for
these purposes. The straight liner is mainly used on curved objects and curved liners mainly used on flat objects.
There is no comparison to single shaded lines and a liner will never replace the fine free detailing of singular shading.
A single cut allows for far more expression and variable depth / width of a cut where as a liner tends to produce less contrast
and less control over individual characteristics of each cut line. It does however have it's uses and does produce very nice
results when applied correctly and within the appropriate engraved style.
LETTERING --- Engraving has several areas which tend to be understated
and under appreciated, lettering just happens to fall under that category, perhaps
because lettering is such a common element of everyday life we seem to ignore the
precision of its structure, therefore it tends to often pass unnoticed in engravings.
Lettering is one of the hardest things to do well and few engraver's are able to tackle
it with confidence and assurance of quality final results.
Its nature is so sensitive that the slightest deviation from its perfect alignment seems to
stand out like a sore thumb. Script lettering (stylish hand writing) is by far the most forgiving
of styles for engraver's, though at first impression it may appear as complex largely due to its stylish
and sometimes intricate format, it is in fact the most forgiving of lettering styles as it is not rigid
in structure.
English style lettering which is comprised of thick and thin strokes aligned perfectly
from one letter to another and contain delicate suref's which enhance it tremendously tend to be
extremely difficult to execute perfectly as even the slightest deviation in angles becomes most apparent.
This style of lettering looks very much like Roman letters. Lettering by nature can be deceptive since
spacing between letters is not uniformed and is determined by the letter directly to the left and to the
right. This presents a problem since it becomes a visual determination in order to achieve correct spacing.
Another problem is that letters like "A" "C" "G" "Q" "S" "U" "V" have at least one end that is not a
horizontal line such as "B" "E" "F" "P" "T" these letters have a wide horizontal surface at one or both ends
(top or bottom) What this really means is that the first grouping of letters described above will appear to
be smaller than the second lot of letters below because there is less horizontal surface. It is an optical
illusion and one that can only be corrected by slightly expanding the height of first grouping of letters.
Lettering in most cases is cut from many angles, in other words each stroke of a letter be it horizontal,
vertical, diagonal, or curved is cut in two directions, entry point will be a shallower cut then
the exit point, therefore it is necessary to turn the work around and cut the same stroke from the
opposite direction to even the depth of cut. As you can see every letter will have at least two passes before
completing it and when you add up all the different strokes in a letter and multiply them by the various passes
it becomes very clear that lettering is not just a simple process, although a proficient engraver sure makes it
appear so.
Many times it is not possible to engrave the letter from opposite directions, there may be
raised portions on the object being engraved which inhibit multi directional cutting.
This situation makes life difficult for the engraver and when a beautiful lettering job is
completed many times it simply goes unnoticed, but ask an individual to draw a series of letters at 1/16" or so
and witness the horrible results, at this point they easily become aware of the engraver's skills, lets not forget
that engraver's do this on metals where there is no erasing or second chances.
"one shot get it right and get it right every time".
Difficult is an under-statement and consequently few engraver's wish to tackle lettering and some literally
avoid it like the plague. Well rounded engraver's have devoted much time and effort in learning to letter well,
it's unfortunate that it should be so under appreciated by most. But I suppose it's just human nature, after all
lettering is in all our faces day in day out.
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