[sludgeguy]

Hello all,
I've done several smaller indvidual figures but want to try a scene.
Was just wondering how big is a typical caricature scene? I’m laying one out and was kinda curious how big a normal one is. I am typically working in the 3 to 4 inch tall range, this one I want a little more detail (Lynn, Bart, Arnold and Gene have inspired me) so I’m going taller
I’m planning about a 15” base with figures about 7 inches tall. It will have two man figures at either end and a bit of a slope to it. I guess the real question is which comes first the design, base, or figures?
Thanks for your input.
Doug

[Mitchell]

The design.

All else revolves around that.

[wood-whittler]

doug,

design would come first, then what i normally do is go for one of the figures,when the first one is done or close to being done i may cut the base and start laying them out on the base and then extra figures and all the little details.

bart

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I guess I look at it a little different..... The first thing I do is to construct or carve the main feature, be it human, horse or whatever. Using the piece I'm working on at the moment as an example, I'm going to have a figure warming his backside next to a Pot Belly Stove. While the figure is the action the item that action is built around is the stove. So, I built it first. Next, now that I have the scale of the scene I carved the figure. Placing the figure next to the stove in the posiiton I want gives me the size of the overall scene so now I can build the base and start putting everything together.

I guess I don't really use a design. Oh, I'll sketch out a little thumbnail drawing to give me an idea of just what the scene might look like but have never tried to draw it out full size. I always wait till the last step to do the base as something else might show up in the meantime that makes the whole scene come together better. That seems to happen with just about every piece I do.

[Mitchell]

By "design", I mean what Lynn has described above..... a sketch to get an idea what the scene will look like. Even the idea of what the scene is going to look like is a design. You don't have to go to the extremes that someone like Marv K goes through with drawings, pipe cleaner stickmen, clay, etc. to have a "design".

It (back to a sketch) does not have to be detailed or exactly as you see the piece finished.... it's more a matter of "seeing" the pieces in some organizational form.

As far as size => I don't know if there is a "normal" size. I have carved scenes with caricatures 15" tall and some with caricatures 2" tall - both somewhat effectively. I like the smaller one's better, but that's just my preference. Seven inches should work fine.

You can look at one of the CCA books and patterns to get an idea on sizes. I'm not trying to say that you should carve based on their dimensions, just use those as an example for reference.

[gene messer]

Doug ... Thank you for adding my name in this list of wonderful carvers .. but to be truthful ... I have just started myself in creating scene's .. But it is definately a lot of fun thinking them up ..
Lynn is the most experienced one in this field and Mitchell and Bart are a close second .. So all I can give you is how I approached it ...
Lynn is right about the carving's coming first as far as I approached it .. But as Mitchell and bart said .. I already had the design and idea visualized before starting .. But since I wasn't as experienced at it as they are .. I went ahead and carved all the figures and extra pieces and arranged them in the way I wanted them without the base before I ever added the base to it .. And I will tell you that made it easier for me .. For example in the police lineup scene I just finished .... I started out only to carve 6 figures in the scene .. but after getting into it .. I decided that eight figures would work better .. If I had built the base for only six figures as I planned .. I would have had to redo the base .. So carving the figures and arranging the scene before the base came easier for me .. Some people can visualize better then others .. Ia'm not always one of them ..
The main thing I found for my first time in doing these is to start simple at first and get better with future carving's ...
And I already know your a good carver .. so the scenes should be easier for you ..
But to finish about doing this kind of work .. Remember what Lynn said in my post of the police lineup about scene's ... He said to remember that a carving scene should be able to grab the attention of the person observing it and hold it for a period of time trying to look at all the hidden deatils in it ..
It is definately great advice to consider in doing a scene ..
If you havent seen Charolette's wonderful Santa scene in the new projects yet .. check it out .. it's great .and definately catches your attention ..
I hope I helped in some way ..
Gene

[Lynn O. Doughty]

One more thing that's important to mention is that scene should have one main focal point. Sure you can have a group of figures but remember that your scene is about "something"! No matter where the viewers eye might wander when looking at the composition it should eventually be drawn back to the main character. I did a pretty involved scene years ago titled "West Texas Tank" that had a wrangler hanging his clothes on a line stretched between the gate and windmill after he washed then in the nearby watertank. One of the two horses getting a drink from that tank was looking at the other saying "It wasnt too bad till he put the socks in!" The socks were hanging over the edge of the tank and, although they were the smallest pieces in this scene that was the point that the eye naturally gravitated to.

As far as size goes, you don't want to make your scene so big that it won't fit comfortably in someone's home and you don't want to make it so small that it would be lost among other things setting on the shelf or table. I started out like most carvers doing 7-8" figures. Now I do 12-15" if only one or two figures are involved.

[sludgeguy]

Excellent advice all around.
I did a quick sketch of the idea last night.

As a wastewater superintendent, an outhouse is manditory.
I am planning a sceen of a potbelly fellow trudging back from the out house newspaper under one arm in fuzzy pink slippers and mismached pajamas.
I'm going to have the door open and a mouse wearing a gasmask holding a sign that says "PU". I think he will act as Lynn's socks.

I'm picturing a bit of a stone path with a slight incline.

Think that will keep me busy?
The result I'm shooting for is a smile from those who see it.

Thanks for the advice, I'm ready to get going!
Doug