[RoundRiver]

I dont carve fish per say, but I am working on a salmon at this time. It is semi realistic and part abstact. the piece deals with the epic journey from the ocean to up river rottenville. The front of the fish is freash and realistic and as the eye moves twards the tail the King decomposes.
Hopefully I'll get 'er dun soon, if so I'll post a pic fer ya to see...

Russ

[ejjjohns]

Sounds like a very interesting concept, Russ.
Can't wait to see it.

ej

[fishcarver]

i carve fish all the time check out my site, thanks......

[ejjjohns]

checked it out verg nice job, hope to here from you.

[Robert Cahill]

I have only carved a couple fish. I was given the Freswater Fish Carving book by James Filber. I carved the bluegill sunfish and was pretty happy with the carving but then came the painting which included the scales (done with pencil over gesso). I thought I had followed instructions but it was horrible. I went to the local carving club for help and they are a great bunch but they all spray paint. I have since sanded the carving back to the wood and it sits somewhere in my shop collecting dust. I have not found anything for doing scales or painting unless I purchased an expensive woodburning set and a spray outfit. Perhaps I can get some suggestions here.
Robert

[fishcarver]

I carve fish, not sure what class i fit in but i do mostly bass and bluegills some trout as the locals in idaho don't go in for bass so much. Would love to see more pix of other's fish carvings, thanks for posting..........

[AlArchie]

There are several ways to do scales, and all require either a bit of skill and practice or equipment and practice. I've seen (not done) some excellent work done by painting scales on a carved surface, just as you would on a flat painting of a fish......like I said, skill and practice.

I use a cheap 20 buck hobby woodburner with scaling tips I've made from brass rod.......different sizes for different sized fish. If you have access to a small metal lathe the tips are quick and easy to make. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you instructions.

Now, the hard part......patiently burning ALL those scales into the fish body!

More expensive pyro stations cn be purchased and special scaling tips are available for them. A basic station should run between 50 and a hundred bucks....the pen and tips about 20 bucks each.

Or you can use the "veiling" technique. Bridal veil material can be purchased in various sizes and patterns (round, hex, diamond, etc.) After painting the base color on your fish, spray one side of the bridal veil material with spray adhesive and let it set up for about ten minutes. Then apply that as evenly as you can to the body of the fish. It may take some trimming to get it right. Spray with either an airbrush or small can of spray paint over the veil with the color you want the scales. Then immediately and carefully peel off the veil material. You will be left with a right respectable scale pattern on your fish.

Like I said, I burn in my scales, but figure on several repaints before I get the body color and scale refelectivity right. I've used the veil method for small "minnows" in dioramas with fish, and that has worked very well, too.

Figure on a few mistakes and re-tries before you get it right though, and don't be too discouraged.....it's all part of the learning curve!

Al

[Robert Cahill]

Al,
One of the carvers in the carving club has a lath and I'm sure I could enlist his help in making the tips I have the inexpensive dremal woodburner. I am not interested in purchasing a more expensive unit or a spray gun as I don't think I would use them enough. I appreciate your reply and offer to send the plans

My e-mail is irish@zianet.com

Again many thanks Robert