[ronko]

I am new to carving and decided to start on eggs -- have several books and have started several projects, HOWEVER, I am having a difficult time on faces, particularly eyes. Does someone have some ideas on how I can learn to carve faces and eyes better --- what did you do?

Thanks Ron

[Just Carving]

Practice, practice, practice!

You can copy somebody else's technique--I tried several and eventually came up with my own--which is usually the ebst way to go about it from what I hear. Unfortunately, I'm still not that good at eyes. It can take a while to settle down on doing a good eye that you like. And, of course, it would help if I did more human eyes than teddy bear eyes! LOL

Here's a link:

The Old Texas Woodcarvers Shop provides wood carving tools, wood carving books & roughouts.

Start by making practice sticks and you'll get more comfortable in making eyes. Search the Internet--or wait for somebody here to give you some more links. You can even search on eyes here--you'll get tons of info. But I would start with making practice sticks, and go from there.

Bob L

[Robert Cahill]

Mary Finn has a good book called carving egg heads. She has you make a study stick practicing eyes another noses and another mouths.

[Tom H]

Welcome Ron! I think you picked a really difficult first learning area to carve. Faces on eggs seems really difficult. The eyes cannot be cheated on, the nose will have to be worked on so it is not so flat. The egg is hard to hold....But the advice you are gettin is good. Personally, I would think that learning to carve faces would be easier on the corner of a length of 1.5 x 1.5
But, welcome, and good luck. Well "luck" really does not have anything to do with it....It's still practice, practice, practice...

Tom H

[ronko]

Thank you for your suggestions - I have several of Mary Finn's books - and I hear what you are all saying -- eggs probably as I now realize are more difficult - I really need to practice, practice and more practice and probably doing it on a stick would be good. Thanks for your input. I look at some of the ones you have done and just marvel - fantastic - maybe someday I can do the same. Thanks again. Ron