Help with beginning relief carving?

[howardp]

I did a little carving, oh, almost 30 years ago, but I want to start up again. I'm trying a landscape relief, from a picture of a carved restaurant sign. I'm trying to attach an image of it.

I'm a lousy artist so I'm having trouble even starting. Mainly, I don't know how deep to carve each "layer" and a couple other things, such as do you bevel each layer to the other, or just carve each part of each layer the same part?

If you can see the picture, I'm guessing the layers are from deepest to shallowest:
Blue Sky
White mountains
Far green trees
Closer green trees connected to green hills
Lake
Trees

I've no idea how deep to carve each layer.
The wood is 1 1/4 inche deep, so how deep do I go down for the deepest layer, the sky?
And for the clouds, do I just carve them less deep, say 1/2 inch, and then how do I merge them with the sky?

If the lake is a shallow layer, how deep would it be? I have it like 1/8 inch so far, but it seems so shallow.

A question about what happens when the layers meet. Do I cut the deeper layer right up against the more shallow layer, or do I kind of bevel the shallow layer to the deeper layer.

Well, difficult to ask these things in a text message, but the main quandaries I have is how deep to do each layer and if I just butt up a deeper level to the side of the more shallow layer?
I hope this makes sense.

[Ron T]

Hello and welcome, Howard. It's great to have you here with us on the board. I'm not a relief carver so I can't really help you but if you do a search, there may be some past posts that can help you.

[Mike L Hasler]

Hi Howard. When I first started on this amazing journey, I was doing simple relief pieces with a laminating router. I soon saw the limitations of it, but they did sell at craft shows. What I see is your on your way! Try softning the bottoms of the cloulds to blend into the sky a little, also the mountains seem to need some depth, the painting eludes to it but actual cuts would help. Just my 2-cents, but you seemed to be actually looking for help.

[Ashbys]

Howard welcome .

There is a lot of information in the relief section on determining the depth. I suggest you do a search for the information already posted.

The simple way is count your layers.

Determine how much support you need to avoid cupping. or release the back of the carving to counter the stress in the wood.

The amount of wood not effected will be your carving area.

1.25 board / 2 = .75 working area

working area / layers = max layer depth

If you want a larger layer add material to that layer remove from another.

Depth in most relief carving is achieved by shadows and undercutting .


There are a lot of different ways to do it, but if you search the forum you will find information from LS Irish, Mark Yundt, Mottles and many other professionals to give you the information your looking for.

Ash

[howardp]

Okay all, thanks! Your replies are already helpful, as I had started getting that "No way I can do this" feeling. I will keep going now. I'll do some more searching on the forum - there is a lot of info here.

Seeing the pages from the guy carving the ship helped, too, as I see my work is looking similar to the way he is progressing. I see he used a Dremel tool some, and I have one of those, so that will be fun.

So thanks, and I'll post a picture when I get further on.

[squbrigg]

Susan Irish has a wonderful tutorial on relief carving levels that might help you. Sorry I don't know how to attach a link to it, but if you go to the Wood Carving Tutorials catagory, it is on page 4 of that, listed as "Levels in Relief".

Bob

[Irish]

Hi Howard!

What I see is the background layer which includes the mountain. Next foreward is the tree line and water layer. That layer has just a simple carved dip where the water touches the bottom of the tree line but not enough, in my opinion to be called an entire layer for the water. The clouds are at the same level as the tree line-water layer. The foreground is the free standing pines.

For me, by using only these three layers instead of the six you are looking at would give each layer much more wood.

As you work on a piece this size you will see that one layer - the sky and mountain - will become a shallow dish shape. You can gently carve from the outer edges of the sky into the edge of the mountain to create just enough depth to give the mountain it's form. This is the same for the water.

KISS - Keep It Super Simple in the early working stages. You can always break each layer down later for more detailing.

Susan