New beginner

[hawkeye]

I'm just starting out trying to learn how to carve, (whittle) and would like to get the name of or recommendation of any books on caicature carving that goes step by step that would help me learn how. There is no one in my area of North Florda that does any that I know of to seek help from and this is my alterative. Thanks for any help that can be given.

[mpounders]

Here is a link to a page I made with all kinds of carving resources Central Arkansas Woodcarvers: Carving Resources

You might look at the links for Lynn Doughty and Gene Messer.....they have some very nice free videos that I bet you would like! Good luck!

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

This may also help. wood carving - YouTube. I know this is not till March, and a bit of a drive but it may be of interest, The Florida Woodcarvers Roundup <br> 20+ woodcarving classes,<br>dedicated to improving the skills of the woodcarver. I have gone the past 3 years and can't wait till the next one, great time!

Dave

[sashadoc]

Lots of good advice, and welcome.

Tim
PS: Enjoyed you in M*A*S*H

[Eddy-Smiles]

Hawkeye... For simplicity I'd recommend an artist like Harley Refsal. His book, Whittling Little Folk, will get you started with the least amount of pain and frustration. Great color step by step photographs. Then when you get a little more proficient, look into Mike Shipley's Carving Country Folk.

[Sean R]

Hi Hawkeye, My Mentor and good friend Don Mertz has a website you might find very interesting. WoodBeeCarver Give it a look.
Sean

[Whittled Thumb]

I'd say just watch some Gene Messer videos. Someone on here has them archived on one site. You can learn to carve every kind of character there is. As for Lynn, hes a pure master and I think his tutorials are a little advanced for beginners but give it a try anyway.

As for books, anything Pete LeClair. You can follow his books and pick up your own style. It took me hours to carve my first Pete Leclair character, then my dog ate it. Last one I did in under an hour. I still say that Gene has the best tutorials for beginners.

[SlowMover]

I second the Pete Leclair books (all are good but I like the one on Heads the best). Jack Prices book was an AH-HA moment for me and advanced my carving greatly...his section on faces is a little hard to follow at first, but after you figure it out it is a great method of doing faces.

[jmischel]

Gene Messer has a lot of videos, many of which are quite approachable for a beginner. I've created an index of them on my web site at Gene Messer’s Carving Videos Jim's Random Notes. The 5-minute bear and 5-minute wizard are good places to start.

Also, Arleen (Carvers Woodshop) has quite a few videos for carvers of varying ability. I've indexed them, as well: Arleen (Carverswoodshop) Carving Videos Jim's Random Notes

I try to keep the indexes up to date. I guess I've been averaging updating about once per month.

[tevita]

Just go on youtube and watch video for an hour or more. Heaps of good advice, and some bad as well...but it will get ya started.
Just my opinion...but you are not going to learn anything until you actually start digging in, taking risks, making mistakes, getting a feel for it all.
Start with just a few basic tools, learn them before you start buying everything that comes your way.