Hey everyone 
I don’t think I can draw very well, and I often see these beautiful sketches from other jewellers. Do you all draw your pieces? I’d love to read how each of you approaches the creative process. Thank you.
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Much of what I make I have done before, so it isn’t a challenge. When that is not the case, I do some drawing, more for proportion than a rendering of the finished piece. I like to say that I draw in metal. I hope that this makes sense because I have done it for years…Rob
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Hi,
welllll…i haven’t made much jewelry lately…boo!…but when i do, and it is not a commissioned piece with specific parameters, my process tends to start with a technique or skill i want to learn, or i see something that i want to figure out how to do, and then i just kind of freestyle a piece that i can try it out on…
i feel more like an engineer rather than a designer…? i should search those definitions…
haha…i guess i am a maker…a tinkerer…
interesting article…probably open to much debate on particulars…sounds like one persons interpretation…but makes sense to me…
https://www.electronicproducts.com/maker-vs-designer-vs-engineer-whats-the-difference/
i am not good at sketching…my mind is more mechanical in nature…that is why i also like the precision of Gemvision Matrix/ MatrixGold CAD software…being able to build things, from the center out, with actual stone sizes, and precise measurements, to scale, see it in 3D instantly, make adjustments, etc…versus spending (more) time trying to draw correctly…
julie
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haha! i should also add, that because my jewelry “making” 
has been more or less sidelined…by life…lately…my “process” is often based on the need…for expediency…extemporaneous!…in that i just “need” to get into my studio “right now” and start bending, hammering, soldering……and if i stop to plan something out, i will inevitably get sidetracked by the details…i start researching techniques…shop for “better” tools…procrastinate because my plan is not “done”…
i analyse…often to the point of “analysis paralysis”
to break free from the paralysis, i have discovered that i just need to “get in there, and do it, see it, revise it, make something physical with my hands…get out of my brain…stop the bus…which is usually careening down a windy road…
another outlet is watching “how to” jewelry making and stone setting videos, which allows me to be an “armchair jeweler”…”if i can see it, i can do it” kind of thing…
hmmm…is this my process?…or just…my life…
julie
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As the late Maurice Galli (one of my professors at FIT) used to say, “A designer thinks with his pencil.”
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i am looking for a posted i commented on…about this topic of design…
i found this post, by Charles Lewton-Brain, and thought i would share…
julie
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here is another post share:
julie
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Some great books:
in order of my personal preference..all different…
my all time favorite…kind of like a kindly mentor sharing his knowledge…
the next 2 go hand in hand
the first goes deeper into technical drawing
the second goes deeper into rendering
the next one delves into the creative process…i aspire to the skills, but it is not how my brain works…great book…
this last book is my all time favorite in terms of technical fabrication…you will love it if you are into “exploded views”!
one of my early “issues” with “designing” was that i aspired to make pieces that were created using old world and master skills…which i realized would take me two lifetimes (or more!) to become adequate in…
i needed to understand it…be able to see it…before i could even begin to draw it…so i (still) often just dive in and “attempt it”…so i guess that is my process..
…my friend advised, learn to discern what “it is” about something you like, and interpret it…seek your own voice…like for example etruscan jewelry…the humanistic touch…the rubbed/ worn/ burnished…the age…the richness…the
…and as the Rose Cirino book writes…the path from imitation…to creation…can be bridged by variation…i love that concept…a lot of design can be said to be derivative…
i guess it seems like i wonder more about “what to draw” versus “how to draw”…
i think i am more driven by “i want to be able to do that technique” versus having a design in my head that wants to come out”…if that makes sense…
julie
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Thank you!
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Good article. I have some advice as well. Look at what is around you. What are you drawn to. What clothing patterns and designs are drawn to. what type of art do you like. where do you like to go. I could go on, but you get the idea. Inside of your head are the things that draw you to them. the lines, the colors, the light etc. Some like linear art that is more geometric. Others might like curves and the flow of an item. Why do you like the color that is your favorite. I live in Florida, but love the mountains the life I find naturally there. Once we know what we like, and why, it becomes easier to take those same questions and ask our clients. We can then take their wishes and have a starting point. Creation, and sketching all comes from communication within ourselves and from interactions seeking what moves others. OK, time for another ulcer med. I’m off my soap box
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aggie…When I was working, I had to endure many long useless meetings. I was also losing my hearing at the time, so I would sit and draw jewelry designs in my notebooks as it helped me to stay focused on what I could hear or needed to hear, which wasn’t much. I would also study the jewelry that the women in the room were wearing as their jewelry would sometimes come into these drawings or modify them. At first, they were a bit un-nerved by my looking at them that way until I explained why I was doing it. They all knew that I made jewelry. At the end of the meetings they would ask to see my drawings. You are correct that there is inspiration all around us, you just have to look for it…Rob
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I used to design living spaces for people with disabilities. As I did that job I learned to think through my pencil. If I am doing a new design in craft jewelry I put masking tape on a sheet of. 20ga. Sterling. This is my base plate. I divide the space into fifths and I build a simple x/y grid with the centerline being X and the Y at 2/5ths from the top. All my design takes place in that space with the center of interest being the vertices of the grid. This allows me to have a balanced design. I can build off into any of the quadrants for a less formal or unbalanced piece.
Don Meixner
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This is an interesting topic with some terrific discussion! 40+ years of designing jewellery and I still can’t draw! My designs on paper are generally doodles.. cartoonish …. Nature has always been my inspiration and I prefer to create and render pieces as inspiration strikes or carve models to cast. Somehow I can relate more to 3-D in a wax than exploring on paper. As much as I appreciate technology, I have not used CAD or 3-D printer ro build models…. My pieces are not precise as a result but its interesting how we all manage to do our thing using whatever methods work for us.
Wizard… That first book you posted has been with me since the 1970’s…. Definitely resourced it many times!
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Pencil, paper, eraser, extra fine permanent marker, tracing paper, Scotch brand removable tape, sketchpad. I’m old!
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when i was little, my mom would buy me old sewing pattern catalogs and i would trace the figures and “design” clothes…
when i was taking a jewelry drawing class…trying to learn…never really gained this skill…i would sometimes look at my jewelry supplier settings, findings, and finished jewelry catalogs for “models” to try to draw…
i would “study” them
rob used that word…”study”…i like it!
study…deliberation…contemplation…
julie
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I teach jewelry rendering. It’s an important skill. My husband and I do custom work. After asking what a client wants, we can draw a design in front of the client in 15-20 minutes. We sit down with the clients and ask them something like what was your first date, etc. Meanwhile when they are almost done arguing over who made the first move, what they wore, etc, we will show them a realistic life size 3D looking design. We work in black and white mostly. If it’s a very high end we do it in color. Even if what we draw is not exactly what they want, they will most always trust us as we refine or redraw. Most importantly never ever give the clients a copy of the drawing. Why? Because many folks will take the image around to other jewelry makers or send a copy of the image to an online jeweler. Most likely to find someone who will do it for less.
And best of all… One 3rd or less percent of customers who buy from a retail store will walk out without making a purchase. Custom work that is well rendered in a live setting has a 90%close rate.
It’s a very easy skill to learn. And when I teach I tell my students to not let the clients or the retail jewelers know just how easy it is to make jewelry images look real.
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Very interesting. How can I know more about learning that skill?
Growing up I always loved the way they drew things in scout handbooks and Ripley’s Believe it or Not books. I loved how the illustrations had little arrows pointing out certain details that were crucial to understanding the image. So when I sketch a jewelry design, I am not at all concerned with the quality of the sketch. I tend to draw very sketchy, like Lucky Strike says, “cartoonish”. I’m more interested in remembering the idea I just had and getting the details down so I can actually recall how the piece should be assembled and what materials I’ll need. Concentrating on those areas instead of the drawing itself takes my mind off all that irrelevant “quality of my drawing” nonsense.
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Hi!
i love you drawing style!
julie
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I doodle my stone’s shape multiple times on printer paper, then add whatever comes to mind to each one. On a page filled with stone shapes, a few of those sketches warrant better drawings and result in a finished piece, and maybe not for that particular stone.
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