Symmetry in head marking...

[Craftsman]

Hello folks,

I'm not sure if this tip has been posted before but I find it very helpful when marking out something which is the same on both sides. The pic explains it all really but if you carve or mark out on one side of what you are doing and then hold up a mirror behind it you can draw onto the other side and see them both at the same time.

hope it comes in handy sometime!

Andrew

[cgm]

That a good idea, thanks for sharing.
Carl

[Kaledrub]

WoW!

In these digital days we live in we tend to forget the simple ideas.

(I've used digital photography and photoshop software to check porportions on sculptures - I could have saved a lot of time if I had thought about this one!)

[Ed Redwine]

The mirror idea has been around before but folks tend to forget it. I find that if I stand in front of a mirro with a carving then it becomes obvious which side is out of sync. Thanks for the reminder.

[Joy]

Thanks for sharing! Like Ed, I use the mirrow to check for symetry....but I hadn't thought about using it to draw the opposite side.

[Coffeeman]

Andrew, Yes, another great use for the mirror, will begin using it as such. Like the others, have stood in front of the mirror looking at shapes, proportions, etc, never thought about how to use it for other reflections.

Also enjoyed your website very much.

Bill

[Craftsman]

Thanks very much everyone for commenting!

I am learning a lot from everyone here, and gaining a great deal of inspiration from all your beautiful work.

Andrew

[Larry Bev]

Thank you for this post.

[Wildbirdcarver]

Just learned another way to make both sides of a carving symmetrical. Slide a rubber band (a little smaller than your carving) down your carving to a point you want both sides to be equal...such as a wing tip, shoulders, tertial feathers, etc.
Keep the rubber band at 90 degrees to the center line of your carving...both the front and back of the carving. Now you know where to mark the other side.
If this is not clear please ask the question. This tip was learned from Clair Smith, a bird carver in TN. Dick

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Great idea Andrew, thanks for sharing.

Dave