How to do a portrait from a photo?

[meipo]

My little nephew asked me to "carve him". I have never carved any "realistic" chip carvings. I wonder what the approach is to convert a photo into a drawing so I can carve a portrait of the boy. Please enlighten me.

Thanks.

meipo

[mpounders]

You might try scanning the photo or using other methods to get it on your PC in electronic format (.JPG). Download the free program Paint.net ( Paint.NET - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com ) and use it to open your JPEG picture. You can use Any of the items under "Effects" to convert it to a pen and ink drawing or sketch and then lighten or darken it to make a pattern that you could use.

[meipo]

Hi, Mike!

I did go to the website as you suggested, only to find that the software works on PC, not on Mac, which is what I have. Sigh! Most people around me are Mac people. I gotta reach out to find a PC person for help now. Thanks for the suggestion and advice!

meipo

[ragiarn]

On your Mac - Scan the photo and import the photo into Iphoto. in Iphoto go to the edit (bottom left corner) - click on the edit then click on effects- You can also manipulate the photo using the adjust button-

[jimmy joe]

Thanks for the link on paint.net !

[Dennis Taylor]

Are there any books/dvd's on relief carving a portrait?... I have searched but don't seem to be any info on the subject.... anyone know of a "how to" to get a fellow started.... I can convert the picture to a pattern, but need what follows?....Dennis

[ragiarn]

I am no expert at carving portraits. I did make try to make a portrait carving but never finished. There is a big difference between carving a generic face and a portrait. In a portrait every little detail is important. The first thing you need is several photos of the subject. You need one that is taken straight on- any angle will distort the proportions. You then need a side view to ge the contours of the face and the proportions correct.
You need calipers and measuring tools. If the eyes are too wide or the nose is too long the face will not resemble your subject.
You might consider purchasing some clay and try to make a clay version of you subject first.
With wood if you take a little too much wood away it will change the look of the carving and it will be difficulty to correct your mistake. With clay you simply put the clay back until you get it right. Once you have made a clay version that looks like your subject it will be easier to recreate in wood. Just my 2 cents.
You could purchase Ian Norbury's book Carving Classic Female Faces in Wood - A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors He starts with photos of real people as models.
Jeff Phares Carving the Human Face, Second Edition, Revised & Expanded - Capturing Character and Expression in Wood

Carving the Head in the Classic European Tradition - A woodsculpting course in proportion and design

Drawing the Human Head

Scroll Saw Portraits - 1st Edition - How to Turn Photographs into Wooden Keepsakes This book will show you how to convert a photo into a usable plan.

[ragiarn]

There is a DVD by Ian Norbury Carving a Portrait in Relief - Ian Norbury

[mpounders]

Steve Oliver (www.olivercarvings.com) taught portrait relief carving at the WarEagle seminar and I believe he studied with Ian Norbury. I was impressed with the work produced by his class. I know he is out of Indiana and teaches classes. I believe he had his students send him the photographs they wanted to carve and he prepared the blanks for them. I believe he also printed his photos and the converted drawings on transparent plastic that could be laid directly on the wood to help with accuracy. I believe his were all profiles, which may be easier to carve. You might contact him and see where he might be teaching or what advice he might offer.

[Just Carving]

I have been working on a portrait of my nephew. It is from a photo of him with a buck that he shot. It is taking me a long time--several years--to do this carving because I was afraid of messing up the face. This past Christmas, I finally got over my fear when I realized that it is only a relief carving. You carve away the wood level by level. Whether it is a landscape, a truck, an animal--it's still removing wood up the line of whatever you're carving. Concentrate on transferring the image to the wood, and carve the wood away up to the line. Bottom line is you have to take the plunge and do it. Mistakes or no--that's the only way you're going to learn how to carve a portrait. I looked at a lot of books, articles, and the basic information is in the article posted below. It's just a matter of practice. I took the plunge and the big hurdle is pretty much behind me.

I did quite a bit of research, and here's an article on a website that I found to be the most helpful.

http://carverscompanion.com/Ezine/Vol3Issue3/SteveSchoolar/Schoolar.html

Tips from my experience so far:

Measure, measure, measure. The old adage "measure twice, cut once" is so true. So, use a ruler, a pair of dividers, a compass--whatever works as long as you use them.

Start with a high resolution photo of the subject--one that can be enlarged to the size of the carving with no blurriness. The detail you carve into the wood will only be as good as the photo itself. Otherwise, you will need to improvise or use other photos for the details not readily visible in the subject's photo.

I took the enlarged copy of the photo, laid it on the wood to where I wanted it. Leave more paper at the top so you can fold it over the edge and put two push pins into the edge of the board where they won't be in the way. You should be able to flip the copy up and down. I folded the top edge over the end of the wood, and used two push pins to hold the photo to the board's end. It stayed in the same place and protected the carving when I haven't been working on it.

After transferring the main features to the board using carbon paper, I started removing the wood level by level, starting with the background--very much like doing a relief carving. I think I had a total of six levels--1/16" each on a 3/4" piece of pine. Now that I think about it, I might have had 8 levels leaving a 1/4" of wood left which should be the least amount of wood you want to leave. The total area of the portrait at that thickness should be minimal to reduce the chance of warping. Now that a lot of the wood has been removed, I have to transfer information from the photo by measuring which I do with a small machinist's ruler--but any ruler that measures 1/32's or 1/16's should suffice.

Use basswood--or a wood you're very comfortable with carving. I used eastern white pine because that is what I had. While I am familiar with pine, next time, I will use basswood. It's an easier wood to work with. You just need to use a piece of balled up brown paper to buff away the fuzzies. However, I do want to try doing a portrait in a harder, denser wood like maple, mahogany, oak, etc. that will take better detail.

There are mistakes in my carving, and they do bug me. While it is true that the portrait should dead on, the small mistakes that bug me probably won't be noticed by the average person unless they were comparing the same size photo with the portrait--and had enough time to study it. Learn not to point out your own mistakes, too.

I could fix the mistakes with wood filler, or cutting out a piece of wood and replacing it, and recarving. But I think the repair would be more noticeable than the mistake. Another option is to paint the portrait after I finish it but I'd rather just leave it the way I intended and that is natural. I will probably seal the carving and then apply several coats of paste wax.

Sometimes, it helps to "turn everything upside down" to get a better handle on what's going on. You need to change your perspective since you've been looking at it from the same angle for so long. So, if you're working from an existing photo, turn the photo and carving upside down and see if the photo and the carving correspond. If not, than take a picture of the carving, and mark up the areas that need to be changed. Mark a photo rather than the carving so you can erase, or throw out the photo and start over if need be. Once you are satisfy with the "plan of attack", than transfer some lines to the carving and you can begin to revise the carving. If you're working from "imagination" or a memory of someone, do the same. Take a photo of the carving, and turn it upside down, and mark it up to match what you envision the carving to look like.

Look at your work in daylight--outside. Daylight seems give it a better appearance. You can also use a daylight light bulb, but sunlight is usually the best.

Do take photos as you progress through the carving. I usually work on the portrait for an hour or two at a clip. At the end of each session, I take a couple of photos. When I get done, I will put all the photos in a small booklet and give them along with the portrait carving to my nephew.

In the beginning, I showed the carving to him, and he was thrilled to see what I was doing. Then I hit the wall with my fear of doing his face. Since I wasn't working on it, he became frustrated because it wasn't done. This isn't a commission; it is something I wanted to do--for him, and to satisfy my desire to do a portrait carving. In hindsight, I shouldn't have shown it to him. In the future, I will not show a carving like this to the person until it is finished. The stress of doing a carving like this for the first time is enough in itself. Then to have to deal with the subject's impatience only makes it harder.

I'm away from my PC at home right now. I don't have any photos with me so I'll have to post what I have done later.

Feel free to ask questions--I'm more than happy to answer what I can.

BTW--Ian Norbury's video is helpful. But like I said, I found Steve's website article to be the most helpful. You might want to do a fun portrait first--one that you don't care if you mess up.

Bob L