Hey Lee, thanks! I don't have a picture of the "picture" that I used for the pattern (I'm at work
). But usually what I'll do is just draw something out (or in this case I cheated and found a picture of "Chief" on google. I am kinda artsy but not that great at drawing). There are different ways to make the pattern. For example, in the arm guard I made with the 2 deer, I used trace paper, put the outline of the arm guard on it, and then just filled the space by tracing different examples of leather carving from a book I bought. In the case of Chief, I just printed it off on normal paper.
Then it's just a matter of casing the leather (wet it down with a sponge and let it sit a few minutes till the color goes back to normal, then the water has been absorbed and it's ready to tool), laying your patter on top (I tape it down so it doesn't slip), and then go over your lines with a scribe to transfer the design on to the leather. With good veg-tanned leather, you don't have to press very hard at all.
Hope that answers your question. Better get back to work