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Animal and Bird Carving

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  #1  
Old 12-27-2006, 06:42 PM
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Default carving an owl eye

I've carved a life size snowy owl in boxelder and I've decided not to paint the pupil and iris, but carve them to distinquish them. Having never done this, what is most realistic way to set off the details of the eye in a dimensional way, without resorting to color?
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  #2  
Old 12-27-2006, 07:01 PM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

I think I would drill out the iris or puple area to create a shadow.

try a test piece first though.

On the horse head I did I ended up staining it darker

btw nice carving can't wait to see it finished. Please post pic's when your done
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  #3  
Old 12-27-2006, 09:07 PM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

I think Slivers has the right idea. If you look at the great carvings/sculptures from the past ,none of them were painted. To achieve the look of an eye sometimes a "v" shape was added to the pupil to give it life. I've used it several times to great effect. looks like a sparkle or flash of light reflecting off an eye. Also the iris is sometimes carved ( though on an owl it's usually the whole eye) as a slightly raised area. Works good on human eyes though.
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  #4  
Old 12-27-2006, 11:24 PM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

I just tried something different that may interest you. I created an eye out of seperate woods of the colour that closest represented the eye colour, rounded them by hand first, then stuck it in a Dremel and finished it with files and sandpaper, and polished it with paste wax. Then glued it in place in the Golden Eagle. Because the Golden Eagle has a Medium Brown iris and black pupil, I used Mahogany and Ebony, but you could use Yellowheart for a Snowey's iris and Ebony for the pupil. Gives it a striking effect.

Bob
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Old 12-28-2006, 12:52 PM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

Hoo HOO! An insert! Never would have thought of that. A clever idea.
Snowy's have very very large eyes. Because the outside edges of the iris show black, I thought I might need to find a way to show a physical definition between the outside of the iris and the "whites" of the eyes. Using a different color wood essentially takes care of that problem.
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Old 01-02-2007, 12:21 AM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

Quote:
Originally Posted by squbrigg
I created an eye out of seperate woods of the colour ....
Bob
Bob! What a clever idea. A bag of pen blanks has been collecting dust in my closet/shop.....
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Old 01-02-2007, 07:06 AM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

CCampbell.... please keep us posted on your progress. I'd be interested in seeing how the eye turns out. Nice looking Owl so far. I have promised my wife a life sized Snowy Owl, so I'll be following yours with great curiousity.

Bob
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  #8  
Old 01-02-2007, 07:52 PM
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Default Re: carving an owl eye

I'll do that, Bob.
I marked where I wanted the pupils and iris and I'll jump in soon.
I'm working on a cherrywood sturgeon carving right now that turned out great and I wanted to apply a finish to protect it from cracking before I got back to the owl.
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