Appreciation of Chu seal script works
Pictures of Chu seal script works 1
Picture 2 of Chu seal script works
Figure 3 Chu seal script works
Figure 4 Chu seal script works
On the basic knife method of seal cutting
Knife, like the brushwork of calligraphy, is one of the expression methods of seal cutting. Finally, seal cutting, composition and lines should be completed by knife method. If you are not familiar with the knife method, you can't carve beautiful and successful works Knife method consists of three parts: holding knife method, transporting knife method and basic carving method.
(1) Holding knife method
Holding a knife is like writing a pen. What is a knife in the hands of a seal engraver? Iron pen? Known as. The correct method of holding the knife can punch at will, which is light and flexible. There are two common ways to hold a knife, namely: three-finger method, also known as finger pinch method; Make a fist, also known as a full grip.
1, three-finger method
Three-finger method is to hold the tool holder with thumb, index finger and middle finger, forming a separation trend of the three fingers. The ring finger and little finger are attached to the middle finger, and the end of the middle finger is about 1 cm away from the blade, and the tool holder and the printing surface are about 30? Angle, like holding a pen. With a pen, three fingers is enough to write. When holding a knife, because the stone has a certain hardness, in order to prevent it from getting out of control, the middle finger end must be pressed against the top side of the stone seal to control the knife conveying speed, and the ring finger and the little finger should be close to the middle finger, so that the five fingers can Qi Li and push from right to left.
2. Boxing grip
The fist grip method is that the tiger's mouth is facing up, and the knife bar is completely held, and the knife bar is slightly forward (outward), making an angle of 60 with the printing surface. The angle between left and right. Palm, wrist, finger and arm exert force at the same time and plow into the body. The fist grip method is strong enough because it starts with the arm and wrist strap, so you can take the knife straight in and cut the long fist short.
These two methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. The three-fingered method is flexible and light, and the knife method is changeable. However, the power to carve a bigger seal is not enough. The fist grip is strong enough, engraved with big seal and huge seal, and the lines are strong and vigorous, but the flexibility is poor, so it is not easy to show subtle changes. There are other knife-holding methods such as straight knife method and five-finger oblique law enforcement. The arbor of the straight knife method is perpendicular to the printing surface. Did the ancients have it? Holding a knife like a pen? Metaphor, so the method is the same as holding a brush. Although the fingers are driven by the wrist when transporting the knife, the strength of the fingers is limited, the engraving line is weak, and the knife is not flexible enough. Five-finger oblique law enforcement is actually a change of three-finger law enforcement, and it is a knife used to punch. Compared with the three-finger method, this method holds the knife more smoothly, and the five fingers assist the knife shaft to rush, and the engraving line is fast and smooth and overbearing.
(2) Tool transportation method
The knife conveying method is a method of cutting movement of the blade on the printing surface. The ancients described various names in the theory of printing, which was very confusing, and some of them were even mysterious, which made beginners confused after reading them. In fact, there are only two basic methods of transporting knives, namely, punching knife method and cutting knife method.
1, knife punching method
Punching knife method is a plough cutting method along strokes. Three-fingering and fist-clenching are both acceptable. Three-fingered method, the stone is held in the left hand, and Qi Li is held in the five fingers of the right hand. With the force of the wrist, the knife bar crosses the chest and forms an angle of 30 with the printing surface. Angle, ring finger against the upper end of Yin Shi, push hard from right to left, plow out a? v？ Special-shaped groove In fist grip, the knife bar is vertically inclined to the printing surface, the stone is held in the left hand, and the knife bar is gripped in the right hand, and the stone is knocked out from the outer corner of the knife and plowed in from the outside.
In addition to the above two methods, there are three-finger vertical boxing. The method of holding the knife is the same as the three-finger method. The index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the left hand hold the stone, the palm is perpendicular to the chest, the thumb is tilted, and the lower side of the arbor is held, and both hands work together from inside to outside. The division of labor between the left and right hands is as follows: the left hand holds the stone, the thumb is responsible for pushing forward against the pavilion, and the pavilion also acts as the fulcrum of the lever; The right hand only needs to hold the meat cutter firmly, and master the running direction, the inclination of the arbor and the carving depth. The advantage of this vertical knife method is that both hands cooperate, it is easy to operate the knife and cut straight lines, but it is not as flexible as the three-fingered method in terms of roundness and exquisiteness.
When transporting the knife with a punching knife, pay attention to the angle of the knife not to go too deep into the stone, otherwise the knife will not be transported smoothly. Don't rush to the end from the beginning, but rush one by one, otherwise you will easily go astray and your lines will lack dignity. After you have a certain skill under your wrist, you can learn Changquan. The combination of long punch and short punch can produce lines with different texture changes.
2. Knife cutting method
Knife-cutting method is a method that the blade cuts one knife after another on the printing surface. The method of holding the knife is the same as the method of punching, but the angle between the handle and the printing surface has changed, which is about 65? Horn. Cutting method: the cutting edge of the starting knife enters the stone with the angle, and the direction of conveying the knife is three fingers to the left. Hold the fist inward (in the arm), and take the back angle of the stone-entering knife as the fulcrum, and vigorously push the push rod in the carving direction. The cutting edge slowly enters the stone until the front angle of the knife completely enters the stone, and then move forward to receive the second knife. Repeat the movement process of the first knife and connect the knives until the line to be cut is completed. Another cutting method is to use a part of the blade to move with the angle of the knife. This cutting method is called fine cutting knife.
When cutting and transporting tools, we should pay attention to the natural connection of tools, and there are changes in them, so as to avoid excessively exposed tool angles or regular tool contact marks.
Punching knife and cutting knife are two different knife methods, and the shape and quality characteristics of lines are completely different. The lines of the punching knife are hearty and lively; Knife work is steady and dignified, steep and moist. In seal cutting genre printing? Anhui school? Be good at cutting. Zhejiang school? To win by cutting, each formed its own unique cutting characteristics. At the same time, in the knife method, drilling and cutting are also used. Because of different habits and pursuits, different line effects will be produced. Straight into the knife, shaking the blade during the operation, is this what the ancients said? Knife? The former is bright and clear, while the latter increases the sense of coarseness with broken words. In addition, different angles between the tool holder and the printing surface will also produce different effects. If the included angle is large, the friction between the cutting edge and the stone is small, and the carved lines are deep and smooth; The included angle is small, and the friction between the cutting edge and the stone is large. The cutting edge excites the stone, on the one hand, it naturally bursts, strong and powerful, wide and shallow. Therefore, only a slight change is needed to transport the knife, and the lines can be ever-changing
In addition to the above two knife handling methods, there are some auxiliary knife handling methods, such as throwing knife, turning knife and flat knife.
The knife throwing method is to carve a wide line on one side, which is basically enough for the required width, and then cut it with a knife on the other side. One side of the line is smooth and the other side is slightly serrated. The effect of this kind of knife method is different from that of the same knife on both sides.
Chinese characters are carved with a rotary knife, and the lines are angular at both ends, which are generally flattened with a knife angle. Using the rotary knife method can make the two ends of the line feel round. The method is: the angle of the knife is opposite to the top edge of the line, and the cutting edge rotates into a stroke, which tends to be round.
The flat knife method is a knife method sometimes used to carve the bottom of a seal. The blade is placed flat on the printing surface, shoveled into the stone, and the redundant parts other than the lines are removed to make the lines bulge. This method is also used to scribe lines, but it is too rigid.