Hair

Hello, I am a new wood carver and just love it. I am retired with a dissabillity and need some help with carving. I have been carving canes, walking sticks, and santa figures. I am having trouble with the hair on the heads. I can look at a picture and go from there. Can anyone tell me where I can find a good link or some patterns for long hair. Thanks, Dan.

Hey Dan, I don't have any links, but maybe I can give you a few pointers. The most common mistake is a carver will take one tool and make evenly spaced straight lines. This puts hair on the suject, but is not realistic.
Try cutting 'waves' first, with a #7 or #9 gouge, and remember to put curves in the waves. Then, use different sizes of #11 or v-tools for the strands. Alternate the tools to get different widths and depth. Don't have them all going the same direction. Cut some sections deeper, and have the 'locks' overlap. Hope this helps.
Remember, there are NO straight lines.

[noel58]

Dan a good place for hair and faces is some of the women's magazines at your favorite news stand. You can have your wife bring home an old magazine from her stylist too. There are also good books available on carving heads.

http://carverscompanion.com/Ezine/WWWEzine.html

go to back issues and click volume 5 issue 2 for Harold Enlows tips

Thank you both very much. I really like the link you sent, DaveE. That was the best I've been able to find. Not only for the hair, but for a lot of info. Thanks again. Dan.

To add to what RANDO said, I always start making (carving?) hair at the bottom. Meaning, if it is a beard that you are carving, then start making the cuts at the bottom of the beard and work your way up . This allows you to make overlapping cuts or layered hair.
Look at your own hair in a mirror and you'll see what I mean. The longer hair is down by your coller and the shorter hair is on top. The shorter hair lays OVER the longer hair. Therefore you carve the long hair (at the bottom) first.
I hope you understand what I'm saying (I'm even confusing myself a little).
Study any and all pictures that you can find, go to the art gallery, and even observe other peoples hair and keep trying, you'll get it eventually