[ccampbell]

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?

[slivers&dust]

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

[mark yundt]

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.

[squbrigg]

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

[ccampbell]

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.

[ElWoodTroll]

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.....

[squbrigg]

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

[ccampbell]

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.