Comparison between hand engraving and machine engraving

Jul 11, 2023

From an artistic point of view, machine-carved works cannot be compared with manual carving. Machine-carved works are products of the factory assembly line and can be reproduced. Hand-carved works can demonstrate the carving skills of the master carver and the spirit conveyed by the work. Therefore, the value of hand-carved works is significantly higher than that of machine-carved works. Hand-carved furniture is also more beautiful in terms of workmanship and has more collection value.

Visual and Aesthetic Comparison

The engraving handicrafts produced by machines are assisted by computer software. From design to automated carving, the works appear to be more standard and uniform. However, this standard uniformity will make the finished handicrafts appear stiff. Whether it is an animal pattern or a plant pattern, every carved element is the same, and there will be no change at all unless the software pattern is changed. Moreover, due to current technical limitations, works carved with machines can only achieve relief or through-carving with different depths on the work. Lacks the ability to sculpt through 3D or more complex sculpting. Therefore, the carved works will appear more rigid and lack a sense of agility.

Compared with machine-carved works, hand-carved works can be more detailed and express the sculptor's thoughts better. The hand-carved pattern lines can be made in different thicknesses or thicknesses. In this way, "no two snowflakes are exactly the same." There are different options for tool engraving marks and shading techniques that can be seen with the naked eye. For example, letterpress, intaglio, and relief can be used alone or in combination. It can better reflect the ideological depth of the sculpture. Therefore, the manually carved works, whether they are animals or plants, can appear more vivid and energetic.

Compare based on touch

Due to the technological limitations of machine-carved works, which rely more on computers and mechanized operations, there will be very large limitations in the depth of carving. When you touch the work carved by the machine with your hands, it will feel very smooth. The complex texture is hand-carved according to the production process. Because the precision is calculated through software, all works maintain a very consistent depth. It can achieve almost complete verticality and smoothness in the areas that need to be hollowed out. From another perspective, the shallower relief technology of hand carving can be flexibly adjusted according to the engraver to achieve more dynamic lines. The lines are carved at different depths, giving the surface of the work a slightly uneven texture. Viewed as a whole, the entire work will appear more three-dimensional. Especially when carving objects with irregular surfaces such as clothes, hand-carved works have even more advantages.

When machine-engraved works carve the vibrant patterns of "blooming flowers", they can only show rigid flat patterns, and the details on the surface of the petals are also blurred and unclear. From another perspective, the hand-carved works can feel the vitality of the flowers, as lifelike as if they are really in front of you.

In addition, 3D shaping cannot be used and only hand carving can achieve the effect. Machine carving technology will be limited to the "pattern" drawn by the computer and cannot achieve this kind of performance effect.

Comparison of production processes

Machine carving can be mass-produced and can only be called "products" or "industrial products" or "handicrafts." Only works carved by master carvers can be called "works" or "artworks." Each piece of carved furniture produced on the factory assembly line goes through specific production steps between different machines, from computer drawing design to machine engraving, all of which are completed in batches using fixed templates. Finally, it needs to be manually polished and polished by geotechnical workers before it can be sold to the market.

The process of hand carving cannot complete the same work in batches. All carving steps are completed by the same carver, including drawing conception, carving, polishing and other steps. The time and difficulty of production are much more difficult than that of machines. Therefore, if you carve furniture, you need to pay the carver enough profit to support him to complete the next work. Therefore, the completion of each carved furniture is the thought and hard work of each sculptor. of crystallization.