feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

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Elleth
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feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

So between other projects, I've been working on some new leather stamps. All are loosely inspired by the Professor's flower drawings: my working rationale is that they draw a bit from Tolkien's heraldry of the elves filtered through the Dunedain kingdoms, simplified and ornamented a bit by Dunlendish/other mannish peoples of Eriador through the Third Age. Thus I'm aiming for "appropriate for Rangers and Bree-folk alike"

The leaves and vines are more initial proportions than finished design, but the idea is close.

I've got two sets of preliminary designs so far - border stamps about 1/4" across ( i-vi ) and belt designs about 1" across ( I-IX )
I'm going to have made at least a couple for myself, and probably make the rest publicly available.

Any advice / feedback?
merf-stamps-01.gif
merf-stamps-01.gif (22.97 KiB) Viewed 27269 times
merf-stamps-02.gif
merf-stamps-02.gif (47.35 KiB) Viewed 27269 times
edit - these are all a first stab, so please don't feel bashful about criticism and preferences. There's a couple in there I'd toss out myself. :)
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Kortoso »

Beautiful! I like that ornate first example from the second set. Very distinctive!
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Elwindil
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elwindil »

going to have to agree with kortoso on this, I think that would look amazing on a sword belt, perhaps with some silvered accents.
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Ursus »

I'm more partial to number 8. My thoughts run to questions like "Does this represernt something purchased?, Crafted?, Is it a gift?" If the first two I think a simpler version better as a ranger would likely spend what little money available on something more functional over flair. If crafted, again I imagine what down time there is would be spent repairing gear or training/acquiring current and new skills. If gifted the sky's the limit, but again you would have to be aware that wearing anything with the star on it could betray your identity as a ranger to those who know what to look for.
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Greg »

For authenticity's sake, I'm partial to the black & white, unnumbered one at the top of the second set, because it closely mirror's Caedmon's arc-based extrapolations of Numenorean artwork.
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Elleth
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

Thank you gentlemen!

The white pattern is indeed intended to be more directly Numenorean inspired - the floral patterns more distant descendants of the same basic aesthetic. I do think belt pattern #1 is most promising, but it'll take some time to get those vines to a place I'm happy with. In the meantime, I've decided I like the flowers in #1 and #6 and have some stamps of those on the way to play with.

#8 was intended to be a flower-in-a-diamond, but I do see how it looks like a star: I think it's kinda cool how it can have a double meaning that way. :)
Anyhow, the lines-and-diamond layout is a nod to WETA's Aragorn belt. I'm not quite sure how it would scale to a wide belt like his, but it might work.

Ursus - I have come around to your point of view on stars, I think. That's part of why I've been revisisting the topic: I think flower patterns would work better on most of my stuff.
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Elleth
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

Well, they're coming along:
merf-flower-leatherstamps-01.jpg
merf-flower-leatherstamps-01.jpg (67.41 KiB) Viewed 27101 times
My initial attempts arrived in the mail this morning and I ran downstairs to try them out.

I was a little sloppy on the arbor press, but happy so far! :)
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Manveruon »

:O

I... I WANT THEM ALL!!!

Wow though, seriously, these are gorgeous! I too am fond of the black-and-white one Greg pointed out, as well as i, v, I, III, and VIII (and yes, I see what you did there, and I LOVE it). The one labeled I definitely has a more Weta feel to it, but as I am rather partial to their Elven motifs, I think that one is probably my favorite of all.
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Elleth
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

Tried out another two designs in plastic - plastic is less crisp, but good enough for simpler designs I think. I really like how the flower on the right came out - the diamond on the left needs some work, but punching that center bulge down after stamping helps a bit.
merf-stamps-flowers.jpg
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elwindil »

with that diamond one, you could take a small diamond stud and punch it through the center in either brass or steel and I think that would look pretty darn cool. those turned out beautifully, and I'm thinking of using some of those designs in the pouches that I will hopefully be making in the coming months, with permission of course.
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

Neat idea!

It has occurred to me that almost all of these designs are easily inversed and turned into belt mounts - and using both stamp and mount on the same piece would be kind of a cool effect, if a little dressy for a ranger. :)

I'm remaking that star-in-a-diamond pattern, and will be re-uploading it soon to be a little crisper. It was intended to be a small flower, but that small the curves get lost, and since everyone sees it as a star anyhow, might as well go all the way and take out some of that center poochiness at the same time. Should be up by midmorning.

And of COURSE you can use 'em on your projects. That's the whole point. Have fun! :)


EDIT:
============

"Flower-in-a-Diamand" has been replaced by "Star-in-a-Diamond" and should now print better - I'll post a pic of the stamped image when it arrives.
ALSO I went and made all the stamps orderable in plastic as well. The images aren't as sharp as steel gives you, but it's a lot cheaper! :)
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Elleth
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elleth »

Last couple test stamps came in today - I think I got the leather a bit too spongy for nice crisp images, but they're working well on the arbor. Sometime in the future I think I may do a separate stamp for connecting vines, but so far so good.
merf-flower-stamps.jpg
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Peter Remling »

Question for any of you who use stamps for their leather projects: Has anyone tried attaching the stamp to a drill press. I'm wondering if you'd get a clearer, cleaner stamp than by using a mallet.
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Elwindil »

I wonder if you might be able to do these as a brass wheel that would fit on the tandy embossing roller tool. I don't know much about shapeways so I'm not sure if they can do something like that at all or not...
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Re: feedback on leather stamps? (design elements of Eriador)

Post by Echadron »

Peter Remling wrote:Question for any of you who use stamps for their leather projects: Has anyone tried attaching the stamp to a drill press. I'm wondering if you'd get a clearer, cleaner stamp than by using a mallet.
Obviously with it off!

I haven't tried it, but I doubt it would work very well, the pressure a drill press exerts isn't that great, being meant to push a cutting bit. An arbor press might work really well. They tend to be on the order of 1/2-1 ton, but the way they work you can just turn the wheel lightly to apply less than the full force.
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