No matter what side of the flow line the long lines are on, they still work back towards the flow line much the same way they do in a layout circle and do not touch it. This same architecture works on flow lines as well to carry the desired motion of the vine work on a given path. This same concept is used on flow lines as well as we will see next. This is to leave space for the next long line to come in. The long lines are not touching the circle as they end. The long lines are set in place using the layout circle as a guide for their motion. If they are farther apart you will have more background.Īfter the long lines are in place, the short lines are added in which closes off the vine and separates it from what is to become background. If they are closer together, you will have less background. If you want more background or less, then you would space the long lines accordingly. You can see here how the long lines are setting motion from the flower at their tips and curving back towards the layout circle as they get longer.Įach long line is spaced apart taking into consideration the space needed for the short line while considering the size of the background piece that will be left. In this drawing I have drawn the Long Lines in pink and Short Lines in green. This short line normally intersects the long line of the next vine up the line. The Short Line is the top of the vine and the portion of the vine that finishes off the vine.
The Long Line is the bottom side of the vine and is the part of the vine that gives it its length and its motion. When we dissect one section of the vine work, we can see that each one of the vine segments is simply a LONG LINE and a SHORT LINE. As you can see this structure is usually used in conjunction with many of the same in order to create a group of vines moving along a circle or flow line to create the fill. The simple vine structure that is most common is shown in this drawing. Much like flowers, leaves, and other elements that you will draw, the vine work has certain aspects in their design that need to be understood to design them well for tooling into leather. This means that as you begin to construct the fill of your pattern, you must be aware of the direction and flow that you decided upon when laying out the framework of your design.īefore we begin trying to construct the fill of any of our leather tooling patterns, we must first understand the different aspects of the vine work that make up the fill.
You are free to design the fill in any way that you find fits with your style but you are bound by the rules of direction and flow. You have the opportunity to be as creative as you would like to be with this area of your patterns.
This is the part of the pattern that is the reason for different elements being where they are in the pattern.ĭesigning the fill is where the majority of the creativity is shown in your designs. As we talked about in a previous section, this fill determines the direction and flow of all the elements. The bulk of leather tooling patterns is the “fill” or vine work that surrounds the flowers and other elements within the pattern. * This is an excerpt from our eBook “Introduction to Leather Floral Design” Designing Vinework in Leather Tooling Patterns The tooling designs that you come up with today, will be different than the patterns you design 10 or 20 years from now… even if only slightly.
Leather tooling patterns change over time and styles are always on the move. You have to be okay with the fact that you will never be a finished tooler that requires no more training or growth. Learning to draw leather tooling patterns and to tool them, takes practice and commitment to the idea that you will become a true life long student of the subject. Tooling isn’t something that you can just read one book about, watch one youtube video, or spend one weekend in a workshop and become a master at. But I hope to shed a little light on the subject and hope that you will find value in it. We won’t even have enough time to cover a quarter of the subject. We will not have enough time in one month to cover it all. So whether you are a seasoned leatherhead or a rookie, be ready to follow us into this deep subject. I want to spend the time using our different platforms to help you improve your tooling and design. Everything from drawing leather tooling patterns, carving them, and tooling them. Introduction into February Tooling Floral Themeįor the entire month of February, I want to focus on floral design and tooling.