CARVED A BEAR, ANY CRITIQUE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.!!
ITS FUN TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT CHALLENGING. SOMETIMES IT IS EASIER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. STICK WITH WHAT IS EASIEST AND THINGS TURN OUT BETTER. DIFFICULT TO CARVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT OR CHANGE YOUR STYLE. ITS DIFFICULT TO GET AWAY FROM THE KISS THEORY, (KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID). ANYONE ELSE PLAGUED WITH THAT NOTION??
http://www.feathersinwood.com/gallery/GALLERY-BEAR.jpg THIS IS A LINK TO THE BEAR.

[MelNM]

Looks good to me what are the demensions?

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I like your bear! How big? do you have a pattern? Picture the bear with just a bit shorter snout and the slope just in front of the eyes a bit steeper! Hope you don't mind the suggestions...but I really do like your bear!

Great bear Love the finnish

[AlArchie]

I like it, too, especially the way the grain plays with the lines of the hair. Like Dave, I don't like to be critical, but since you asked.....maybe a little thinner through the neck and a little more chest above and in front of the shoulders. Or maybe it's just too long a neck. I've only done stylized bears for small bolo's so maybe my critique isn't too valuable.

Al

I AGREE, THE SNOUT IS TOO LONG, MORE LIKE A DOG THAN A BEAR. I'LL HAVE TO REDRAW MY PATTERN. ITS ABOUT 12 IN LONG. MIGHT TRY ANOTHER WHEN I GET THINGS CAUGHT UP. AND I DON'T MIND THE CRITICISM, THAT IS WHY I PUT IT ON THERE. THE WORST OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT IS A CHALLENGE THEN TO GET IT RIGHT.

That is better than I would expect to do for a first try.

A shorter neck, rounder head, and shorter snout would make it look more realistic IMO. Along with your pattern try finding plenty of good pics to look at while working. Both Alta Vista and Google have good image search capabilities.

http://www.cameraclik.com/mammals.htm
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/ima...ck-rsstand.jpg
http://www.floa.org/images/black_bear.jpg
http://www.sailvesper.org/Summer2001...on%20Beach.htm
http://www.cameraclik.com/Black_Bear_4731.jpg

Good links, the last link, is a bad looking bear.(to quote a friend 'Oh ') He is ready for action. Worked as a guide for bear hunters in the past. I had to go into a stand after dark, just a flash lite, and get the hunter. The bear came in about dark, and wouldn't leave, and the hunter wouldn't come down from the tree. Worked around the bears quite a bit, and they are an impressive animal. Thanks for the links. I saved some photos. Thanks Clifford

[Donna_T]

Hi Hugh,
Quite frankly, I prefer to carve with clothes on--rather than bare! Â*Oh those wood chips!

The bear was a good first one. Â*Be sure to keep it to remind you of how far you've improved by the time you make five or six of them. Â*I'd agree with the previous comments. Â*There's a fine line between a bear head and a big dog head. Â*The eyes, neck, snout and perhaps ears are the parts that make a difference. Â*Be sure to get some good reference photos (try to get some hunting magazines--they usually have some good bear pictures) because a bear can look different depending on their pose: Â*snarling, standing up and fighting, walking along in the sunshine, etc. The only other thing I can add is that the eyes look a bit large--bears tend to have little, bitty eyes. I have better luck carving them and using insets.

While you're roughing it out, use your thumbs to block out different areas to see how the carving will look if you take more wood off in that spot. Â*This is especially good around the faces and necks, but works on the bodies too. Â*Don't forget that legs don't come straight down from the sides of an animal--they gradually work in and under the body...just like we don't walk with our legs straight down from our widest part--the hips. Â*

Keep trying. Â*It's a great start.

Donna T

Yup, working with bares is dangerous work :-[. Thanks for the feedback, even the bare remarks. I'll keep the bear carving, only if someone dosen't want to buy it. A picture will suffice to remind me of my errors. :