Where to start?

[cedarshavings]

This is an elementary question but I haven't done any relief carving. Do you start with the deepest parts first and work your way up the the shallow areas?
I'm carving an egg with a hole in it and inside the hole will need some carving so I'm guessing I need to do the deepest parts first. Am I on the right track?


Thanks
Steve

[lorax]

Good luck on the egg Steve. But if you mess up you can carve an omletteTalking

Think of the relief the same as you would lay out a 3d carving (sort of). You have to rough it out, getting rid of the wood around your workpiece. then refine shapes as you go down, doing the whole carving in concert with itself. So, the short answer is yes, you have to block out the back so you get the right dimensions. But if you only concentrate on the back, you may short yourself on the front parts.

Good luck on your egg-cellent carving