Step Two of Plugging

The next step in the embossing process: the second layer on the plugs. I found that some of these second tier pieces will actually completely overlay some of the ridges I already carved in the first layer.

This is tedious work - for every second layer piece, I first put tracing paper over the original plug and trace the outline of the piece I will cut to go on top. It is glued down and then the scalpel and French edger is used again to achieve the sculpting effect.

For the top layer of leather - the visible piece - I picked a 7 ounce leather, thicker than what Al Stohlman suggests, but I did this on purpose as I do not want all the fine details of the plugs to show. I want to achieve a balance between a feeling of smooth skin and a certain ruggedness, so my plugs are not extremely detailed.

A New Anatomy Study

This is the next big project I am tackling. It is based on a drawing by Hogarth and from the quarter you can get an idea of the scale.

The first step was to get the design down on the leather and cut it with a swivel knife. I then decided to do a full test piece first. In the photo at the top you can see the test piece still damp after I beveled it with the plug in place at the back.

In the next photo you can see the test piece after I applied some dye - it looked fairly good at this stage, but after I darkened the background with a darker brown, the skin tone appeared far too yellow. So in the final project I will use a redder shade of brown for the skin.

I started the plugs for the embossing next. I am doing them in three pieces just to make them easier to handle, because the project is so big and I want to turn the plugs very often as I do the carving.

These photos show the first layer of plugs with most of the contours carved in so that I can get an idea of the size of subsequent pieces that will form a second and even third layer of plugs.

Doing the plugs is the biggest part of the job that takes the most of the accurate work - if you do them well, the covering layer almost tools itself ...!