Perportion(?) question

[ig Jeff]

I am an absolute beginner and I bought a bunch of basswood from Woodcraft and it is a good mix of lengthsand widths, all the pieces are only 2-2 1/4" thick.

Is there a ratio for carving animals( or anything else)? (length/height/depth)

My nephews birthday is coming up and I would like to try to carve him a bear.

Thank you,
Jeff

[Colin-Partridge]

Jeff not sure what you mean by ratio. There is really no scale when it comes to carving anything. What I would suggest is to decide what size you want to make it and then take measurments. By this I mean if you have as drawing or model measure various distances. For examble distance from the top of the back to the belly maybe the distance from the belly to the bottom of the leg is the same distance. By doing this all over the bear you will get him in proportion. Hope I didnt confuse you if you need more clarification I can post a picture
Colin

[Claude]

Jeff:
The simple answer is yes; there is a definite ratio between the height, width, and length of an animal. However, as Colin says, you can carve that animal any size you want, as long as you maintain the ration. For example, if a turtle shell has a ratio of 1 high to 4 wide to 5 long, you could carve the shell 1 inch thick by 4 inches wide by 5 inches long; you could also carve it 2 inches thick by 8 inches wide by 10 inches long, which is the same ratio.

To help you get started, here is a web site with lots and lots of animal photos:
Index of /dirlist Pick out an animal you want to carve, go through the photos until you find several that look good to you. Then take a piece of paper and roughly sketch the outline of the animal from the front, the side, and the top (if possible). If your sketch is too large for the wood you have, run down to the closest Kinkos or other place with a decent photocopier and reduce the drawing in size until the dimensions match the piece of wood you have. Transfer the drawing outlines to the block of wood by using carbon paper or just re-sketch right on the wood. Then start carving, and redraw the outlines as necessary while you are carving so you don't lose where you are.

Claude

[AlArchie]

At the risk of getting a bit too theoretical, there IS a ratio called the "golden rectangle" or the relation of phi (not pi). It is considered among some architects and artists as an ideal reatio of width to heighth, and provides the most asthetically pleasing proportions for almost anything. The simple ratio is roughly 1-1.6.

This is not to say that everything succumbs to this ratio, but presenting design either of or within this ratio results in a more pleasing product.

So maybe, just maybe, drawing your bear's profile within a rectangle of phi would result in the most pleasing to the eye presentation. Phi is pronounced "fee" or more commonly "fi" like in high fi.

Somehow I don't think Nanny McPhee falls into this category.


Phi really encompasses some pretty wierd stuff....check this out...much more comprehensive than meets the eye (full pun intended) http://www.goldennumber.net/

OK, I'll go away for now.

Al