If I make a cane that is more complex than say, a simple one color flower cane like this
I often will draw out the cane I want to create. It all starts by browsing flower pictures, either on the web, some I've taken myself or something in my "Morgue File", which is my collection of copyright free images. Morgue File comes from the site Morgue File and they explain the name here.
After selecting the images I want to use I then go drag out my paper and pencil and make a rough sketch. Using that sketch as an outline I trace it onto a new sheet of paper using carbon paper so that I have something to color in.
I have a nice collection of good quality colored pencils, but you don't need that yourself. You can color on the computer, with crayons or just a simple set of colored pencils. Markers work too. Basically it is a drawing that you use for reference. Below are some examples of my recent flower cane drawings that I start out with:
You'll also notice that on some I show how I will construct the actual cane pieces as well. In the blue flower above, on the left shows the triangle piece that will house the stamens, and the round piece that will be put on top. With that rough cane piece completed, I then shape the piece to more closely resemble a flower petal.
I won't go into actual cane contruction since this isn't really a tutorial, but a glimpse into my creation process, but after assembling all the pieces of the "puzzle" as I like to think of it, I pack the surrounding parts with translucent clay (Premo, always since it gives the clearest translucence IMO).
The final canes often don't resemble the original drawings, usually in color, but the drawings are a starting point. Here are the finished canes that came from the drawings:
Granted, there is something to be said about the spontaneity of just sitting down with the clay and doing what you think would look cool, but often enough I've made just some horrible canes doing that. Usually it involves scrap clay and mixing it together to create a new color, pairing it with a slightly compatible color and wrapping it all in trans. Unfortunately those always seem to be the canes that I shove way in the back of storage, or toss into my scrap bag. So, I've found that careful planning usually creates the best, and prettiest canes.
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