Okay, you have the knife and the wood; so what now?

You can save time and get better results with just a little planning. Let's say you have some idea what you would like to carve. Before you start making chips, make a couple sketches; they need not be perfect. Transfer the sketch to the block of wood and remove the obvious waste wood.

Now draw in a bit more detail and remove a bit more wood.
Your carving should look a little like the idea by now.
Decide which details you should see from six feet away.
Those are the important cuts; the remaining small details are to improve the visual appearance and surface texture.

Sure it can be fun and rewarding to carve without a plan, but when you are just starting out, think before making the cut.

8) Â*Great tips Rick.

I might also add that all things look different in the morning.

Sometimes you can get so caught up in your carving that you
don't realize your mistakes, and just keep right on carving.

It's good to step back and look, and sometimes wait til the next day.

That's why I always have 2 - 3 projects going on at once.
I figure odds are I can't screw 'em all up!

If you only have two or three projects going at one time, you are doing pretty good. I normally have five or six carvings that I am working on, not counting the boxes of unfinished carvings in the garage. I actually have a shelf just for carvings that are unfinished.
On the other hand, I also have large plastic bins of finished carvings. They are rotated with the ones on display; depending on the season.

As for carving *without* a plan...

My first carving was a stick of scrap cedar, a few inches long by about an inch or so square. Once I got my knife sharpened, I just wanted to practice, so I whittled it lengthwise into a hexagon, getting a feel for how the wood cut, etc... Then I started rounding off an end, just learning the basics and practicing...

Eventually, I decided to try to whittle a chain from the piece, but after I made a couple of cuts I realized one end was a bit too thin. After a few more cuts, the slender rounded shape suggested something, so I wound up carving a thumb--after all, I had two models to work from! After a while, I had an almost passable likeness... but one of my previous cuts from the aborted chain attempt still mars the backside of my first carving. Â*:P Good thing it was only a practice, eh?

Still, judging from a friend's reaction when I showed him the carving, I'd say I'm not off to a bad start. Suffice it to say: I shall henceforth know what I want to carve before the knife blade touches the wood!

8)