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MilleCuirs — TrollBall rulebook
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Published: 2014-09-25 07:16:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 2574; Favourites: 32; Downloads: 22
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Description
This book was created to hold rules and various files on teams playing "Trollball" at a local LARP event.
I was asked to make this book to look as sturdy as possible. Using various parts, giving the feeling of having been repaired for years. Salvaged rusted one of a kind buckles keep the book closed.
Central piece is handmade embossed oxidised copper sheet, featuring a troll head, symbol of the game.
On the spine you can see a seahorse, symbol of the local LARP.
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Comments: 5
Mmmh... i think this might be the first of your books I don´t like that much in the complete view.
Reasons for that are the following:
1.
The first thing that immediately jumps into my face are the edges of the black/dark brown leather. If you use pre-dyed leather, that is just dyed in the top layer, I´d use some edge kote or similar to "clean" it up. For me that´s not a used or rough look, it normally is a sign for people making their first pieces out of leather without the "whole" equipment and you are not one of those (kind of) beginners!. If those leather pieces would have become rough because of use, the edges would have darkened, too instead of standing out that brightly.
2.
I would have set the buckles a little bit more to the center of the front, maybe into the center between those two top layers, so you can really see them. In addition I think I´d have chosen some thicker/heavier buckles and D-Rings (maybe of aged brass, might fit better to the colour of the leather)
3.
That´s maybe just a personal thing, but I really don´t like tubular rivets! To create a massive, rough look I´d use some solid rivets, or chose a more rough looking way of stitching (lower SPI with a thick thread or a rough looking technique). Exspecially the combination of stitching and riveting doesn´t really fit for me, so I´d prefere the stitching way, maybe SPI of ~5, or even just "freehand-stitched" ^^.
4.
If it should look really used and aged, the colour of the different leather pieces are too different. I´d apply some antique or other dye-stuff after attaching the whole thing to merge the different pieces together in colour. Plus, if you´d apply that stuff uneven, if can add some used/antiqued look, you were looking for.
5.
If you would have set the horizontal straps right in line with the lower and upper part of the frames, the straps would lap over the embossed plates.
6.
Another way for an aged or used look: use (very lightly) some sort of acids (test it before on a scrap piece), some sandpaper, apply some water (spray it or similar, just do it unevenly) and let it dry, you know that you´ll see that quite clear in the end, but do everything before any dyejob - to merge it as said above.
For a repaired look: Just do what it should look like: "destroy" it and fix it afterwards. Nothing brakes with a clean cut (like the frame). Let it lap over, use one kind of thread for the "original" stitching and various different for the single steps of fixing some "misstakes".
So... well... all that might sound a bit harsh... but I think you know, that I really love your other books, so this one is just a list of things I (!) would have done in another way. If you customer likes it, everything is fine, but maybe you can use one or another point for a next project like this. And if not... that´s no problem at all, I think I won´t be a customer of yours (as I´d make one myself, not because I don´t like your work ^^)
Besides that: keep up all your great work!!
Greetings
Sona
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Hello Sona!
You could not be more right about this book! More than you could even think!
You nailed it: It's an "old book" created in 2009! So it is actually full of "beginner's" errors and experiments! I had barely any tools other than a box cutter and a hole puncher. I salvaged the buckles from yard sales purses and used left-over scrap leather from friends!
I really love your deep analysis! You pin point almost everything that annoy me and wish I could change back if I had still this book!
I hope that some of the edges would have darkened during the last 5 years!
This is a kind of technique I pretty much left out, way too much work for what the customer is willing to pay!
But you got to start somewhere! This book kinda started things for me in the "Larp" business! From then, my technique evolved into more "traditionnal binding" , using industry dyed lambskin and reliefs. I don't do much dye anymore, but sometimes I'm thinking of getting more tools and equipments, to give some color effects, like fiery or frost themes on covers.
I really appreciate your comment! It motivate me to push things up a notch!
Best regards!
ETN
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Hahaha, well, actually you are right. I didn´t expect that it is from 2009, but it just didn´t fit into the line of your craftmenship for me, so that´s a great explanation
You know, there was a time I did more of those "analytic posts", but I recognized that there are a lot of people who just don´t wanna hear that stuff. But when I see people with some high level skills and watch/comment their work here and there and maybe have one or two discussions with those people, I think it is easier to know, whether they might be interested or not and whether the post might "help" or not. Sometimes I have the feeling that those kind of posts are some kind of a "downgrade" to a piece of work somebody did, but I hope it´s not understood that way by other watchers.
About dyeing and all the technique stuff:
I think everyone of us got a niche we are good/trained in. Some create awesome books/bookcovers, others make beautifull saddles, some are more into pouches, belts and so on. And every topic needs totally different tools, so I think first of all it is important to have the set of tools, you need for the elemental work. After that you can go for some nice tools you can use quite often for different effects (border tools, stamps, whatever) and after that you can have a look for quite specialized stuff you don´t need that often, but IF you use them the result might be very unique. The result of this "timeline" in my eyes is, that you start with a solid quality of your work, less fancy, but all in all just high quality. The fancy stuff might come later, but if you are good enough to make some money or you are just willing to pay enough, it will come! In addition, you will learn more ways to use your tools and more ways to design due to the limited possibilities (which are much more than most expect)
For the dyeing idea it is a little bit different. You can´t just buy one tool and set it aside if you don´t need it. You need a quite good colour selection, need different finished, you gotta learn how to apply that stuff correctly (even and... let´s say issuefree, beleve mere there are a lot (!) of things that "can happen"), and maybe you need the same colours in different dye-types (oil-based, water-based, acrylic dyes, [...]) for different uses. The whole colour stuff is a big big thing for both: creativity and your credit card 
I for myself just have like... 6-8 stamps I use from time to time, just an example. Of course I´d like to have more, but I think it´s more important to get the rest of my tools to a good standart and with some variations in it like Pricking irons and stuff. And after that (which will take some time, maybe years) I´ll get some more stamps I think, but then, I wanna have good ones, so I just might buy from the states....
If you got some questions on that topic feel free to ask as I´d do the same. (This thing about the different styles and niches ^^)
You are welcome and thank your for the nice answer, I appreciate that, too!
At least, we all just wanna improve I think
Better regards (XD)
Sona
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