Problem carving where beard meets cheek

[Dan C]

I'm not sure at all if there are any easy answers to this, but I thought I'd at least ask for some feedback.

I have a problem with the area where the beard and cheek kind of merge. It never looks very good.

One solution I am aware of is to carve an actual gouge or knife cut in a kind of "J" shape going from the smile line and curving around under a bulging cheek and then up beside the ear to create a hair line. That's OK, but it's kind of a stylized solution rather than realistic because on an actual face, the line between the beard and cheek doesn't look like that.

If I let the gouge beard lines kind of trail off up into the cheek area, that doesn't look very good either. It just looks messy.

I can let the beard end just below and a little under the jaw line, and that looks OK, but most people don't do their beard that way. A beard normally goes up onto the cheek.

Anyway I thought I'd ask for advice. Maybe it's just a matter of practice, practice, practice! Thanks for any comments.

Dan C.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Here's a link to a Santa that I just carved. Maybe it will help. Just zoom in to see a closeup of how I made that transition.

Picasa Web Albums - OUT WEST BLOG - Off Season Santa

[Mitchell]

I can't see Lynn's Blog photo from work (dang firewall), and therefore can't use his ideas to compare mine to - but I'll throw in my thoughts....

In reality, the beard grows on top of the face and unless it's a very groomed beard, the separation is not very even, nor defined. Depending on the size of the carving, I will try to have the beard blocked in a little higher than the cheek. As I carve in the details using a #7 or #9 gouge, I will blend in the beard to the cheek area. This will leave some ridges that appear to be hair growing on a higher plane than the cheek. More detail can be added with a small #11 (ususally 3mm). I then throw in a few more details with a knife (or v-tool) to add even more texture to the beard.

I used to start by carving a defining line between the beard and cheek - as you described. I realized that this did not always look correct and then moved to the method that I described above.

[Dan C]

Lynn - Love your Santa! Been following the thread where you posted the roughout and then the finished Santa. Will comment further there.

I was able to see the blowup when I clicked on your link. What you did works great for caricature carvings. You appear not to do a straight knife cut where the beard meets the cheek, but more a zig zag so the cheek and beard sort of blend in together. I like that.

Mitchell - Thanks for your comments. I think what you are describing is what I've been trying to do except for the fact that I probably haven't been leaving that little bit of extra raised wood to create the higher plane. That would probably make all the difference. Without the extra wood, the gouge marks look like depressions in the cheek area, and doesn't work too well.

Dan C.

[chuckbolton]

look at you own hair line- or beard line if u have one-- yes its "higher" than your face or forehead--but there really isnt a line where it start-- it just is there-- i dont use a tool to make the line- i simply start the hair-- a technique i learned from janet cordell

[Dan S]

For my two bits you need to do a couple of things when carving hair. (these ideas are not mine. They were plagerized from Jeff Phares. Carving ears and hair. Good book!) First start with a mass of wood where you want the hair. Define the general masses. Lastly add the detail. Leave more wood than you think you will need. It's easy to remove but hard to put on.

Good luck,
Dan

[schaf]

O boy, Dan, that is so true,it's very hard to put back.