Thickness & depth of deep relief?

[wheezer]

Hey gang,

I'm new to this but what is the lumber thickness and the depth needed, to carve reliefs using this relief carving at youtube as an example? Also, do you leave 1/2" or more across the back to give the piece stability?

click here:

YouTube - Relief Woodcarving Demo by Artist Scott McNeill, coral reef


ps. I tried posting the question last night but found that it never showed up...still don't understand how everything works here yet.

Thanks all.......wheezer

[Rooster]

Wow what a cool carving. Well I only saw as much as you did. Well probably less actually cause I skipped on a couple of times. I looks very deep, possibly even 1", but that depends on the depth of the board I suppose. I'm not experienced enough to guide you further but I found this website (and this page in particular) very useful.

Working with Levels in Wood Carving

[pallin]

It appears to me that the piece is 3/4" to 1" thick and carved all the way through in places. I have sometimes built up a blank with 3/4" basswood (and/or walnut) as in my avatar. If the piece is over 12" wide, I put oak strips across the back, perpendicular to the grain, to resist warping. With the reinforcement, you can go fairly deep (i.e. 1/2") on the relief.

[MelNM]

Based on the tool sizes I'm guessing 1"-1.5". He has several videos, I like his carving, but really don't care for that style of painting on a carving.
Mel

[rales]

His larger pieces like Coral Reef and Jungle Boogie are 3" and it looks like he's going down at least half that. "jungle Boogie"anml His smaller pieces are 1-2" thick. I'd love to see him finishing his grounding and undercutting...must have some pretty radical grounding tools. It looks like he starts with a router but I can't tell if he's undercutting with power or not at the beginning. Great Videos though! Maybe you are right Pallin - pierced and then mounted... but why would he carve with the backing on it?

I know what you are saying about the color... pretty wild - but that is the Honduran palette. Color in general tends to kill relief work - especially bright solids... your eye is drawn to the color first - the relief second.

[rales]

A closer look at it and the board joints appear in both the backing and the carving...

[wheezer]

Hey Guys,


Thanks for all the great commentary and tips.

Yup, when I studied it, it looked to me like he took it to the final layer with a router too....and except for the piece maybe headed to a youngster's bedroom wall, I prefer the natural look too, as opposed to the loud colors.

How long would you reckon a piece like that would have taken to carve ....from the time the drawing is on the lumber ready to go?

Thanks gang.......wheezer

[MelNM]

Depends on how he does his waste. I have used a router and it can remove the waste fairly fast. I also have done it by hand and it takes a little longer.

Judging by the pics I would say a minimum of 40 hours. But I wouldn't be surprised if it took less.
Mel

[ScottMcNeillArt]

I have enjoyed reading about your curiosities and comments.

Here are some quick answers for you.

- My 'coral reef' carving (Wake Up and See the Light) was carved into a joined panel of select or better, 8/4 (2 inch thick) basswood.
- I used a router to remove the empty spaces (the router depth took me down to 1" deep, but it was only a start. The actual carving depth ranged from 1 1/2" to 1 3/4' in some places.
- The routing work took me one full day (3 passes with the router, about 1/3" each time.)
- The carving itself took 3 months. Yes, I use various skewed spoon gouges to remove the undercutting.
-The stability of the piece comes from the design itself- the wave at the top, the school of fish through the middle, and the coral at the bottom (plus the 2" border). Increasing the border sizes and having strong/ heavy design elements through the middle of your panel will keep your works flat.


I wish everyone who reads this the joy of being original and following your own artistic vision.

Scott McNeill

[rales]

Scott,

Welcome! Good of you to clear some of this up for us. I've been an admirer of yours for a long time and I really hope you keep doing the videos - they are very well done. Actually, they have started a Carving Video Gallery here - and yours sure would look good included; and be a great teaching aid for deep relief!

peace, rales