[Caelum Ignis]

what is the best way to carve eyes, nose and hair. I am interested in carving a woodspirit and got hung up just on carving a nose

[Caelum Ignis]

ok i kind of figured out everything except the hair... Im not really sure which tool to use the v one or the other curved one i tried both and nothing seems to make it look like what i see on other carvings

[GeorgiaCarver]

For the hair I find that using a small gouge (U=shape tool) works best. Depending on the size of the carving. I use an 11/3 Pfeil tool for most of my smaller work (faces less than 3-4 inches across. I use a bigger gouge for larger work. If you are unfamiliar with the 11/3 designation you can go to a site that sells pfeil tools and look at their size chart. Cant ever remember .... I before E? Pfiel or Pfeil...... Oh well, back to carving. Greg P.S. Be sure not to carve strait lines. Lots of overlap looks good. There are many fine tutorials out there. There are other strings on this site as well that could do a much better job than I explaining.

[Caelum Ignis]

thanks i will look into all of the things you mentioned

[Mark Gargac]

The best way for a beginner to start carving I say is get a hold of a few good books on the subject your interested in carving. In your case you want how to step by step books on carving faces wheather it be realistic or caritcature. The first book I started from was titled Carving Woodspirits\and Walking sticks by Tom Wolf I hope I spelled his name right?here from this one book you will get the basics and more for carving facse (Woodspirits).
The best quick advice I can give on carving noses is get a triangle shapecarved in the wood and just exsperment with sculping something out of that that looks like a nose. The more you practice and the more interested you are in the subject your carving the better you will get. Get some good techniques down and practice,practice,practice, theres no subsitution for time!

[Claude]

Caelum Ignis:
Here's something that might help you:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_dec...427850,00.html

Claude

[rick-in-seattle]

Nose hair is very difficult to carve. I have carved very good eyelashes and even developed an eyelash tool which is now owned by Harold Enlow.

Getting back to nose hairs; while carving them may be difficult, installing them is a fairly simple matter.

Remove some hairs from a small paint brush; using a pin make a hole inside the nose and glue the hair into the hole. That's all there is to it, you may wish to get creative and add a little curl to the hair.

[Caelum Ignis]

lol i think you misunderstood... it was nose, hair

[Lindy]

Hi Caelum,

I like to use the "V" gouge plus I have a mini "V" gouge to make finer hair. For me the trick is to use both. When carving hair I always curve it and oftentimes use and "S" shape to create interest. I also carve it to the edge of the wood in a wood spirit in bark on the sides and at the very bottom leaving some of the bark in between.

Good luck and be sure to post pictures so we can see how you're doing.

[rick-in-seattle]

Originally Posted by Caelum Ignis

lol i think you misunderstood... it was nose, hair

OOPS!
You may wish to consider that perhaps I understood what you were asking, but answered what it appeared you were asking if I did not fully understand what you had asked by your original question. In that case my answer would be appropriate to the question asked, not the question you thought you had asked. To clarify my position, If the answer drives the question, then my answer may be accurate; while your question may be the source of the misunderstanding. In which case, my answer becomes the question, while your question is the answer to the answer in question.

If I can be of more help, just ask.