:Hi all, I am a newbie to the board and have a question on terminology..What is the difference in the various TYPES of relief carving ie; High, Low etc... Where would gun stock carving fit in????
Thanks for the info.....

Low relief, same as bass (pronounced base) relief is what you would see on gun stocks, and is what most relief carving done today is. It is basically a drawing outlined in cuts and rellies heavilly on perspective to give depth to the piece.

High relief is almost a carving in the round, placed on a board. It still relies on perspective, but has elements that are heavilly separated from the background, like 3D figures that may be attached from the backside or actually standing out from the background.

Just where the distinction between the two develops is up for debate I think, but maybe an art student would have a definitive answer, here. Art students??

Al