[David Morrow]

I'm having a little? BIG problem with showing depth and still trying to make it look like the photo any hints?

[Kenny_S]

Looks like you got depth to me. Your background, then your hair,ear then the cheeks, Shaldows under the chin. Neck is behinde the blouse.

To me and it may just be me, the eyes could be a little bigger and more rounder.

However, I think overall, you have captured the young girl's likeness. And a very beautiful girl at that.
Very good relief.

[Just Carving]

I haven't done much relief carving, and I haven't done any portrait carving. However, I have done a fair amount of portrait drawings from photos. So, I can offer a couple of tips from that point of view.

First off, I can offer the following observations:

1. The child's left nostril needs a bit more taken off where you have it flaring out. You can see my mark on the image attached.

2. The child's right nostril appears as if it the head is tillted back a bit. If you look at the photo, you can't see as much of the opening to the nostril. Possible you can fill in the upper part of the opening, and recarve so that it isn't as pronounced as it is now. If not, you can leave it. Only an overcritical carver like me would notice it!

3. The pupil of the child's right eye is little bit larger than the left eye. The child's left eye is acceptable, but needs too be rounded off a little more. Maybe it's the photo, but it looks to have a ridge where it should be curved. You can see my mark on the image attached.

I have read carving eyes is hard in a relief portrait. Sometimes, the carver will paint the pupil in rather than carve it.

As far as the depth, it appears to be matching the photo. If you wanted to add more depth to the background, i.e. carve away a little more wood, you could. But that is a matter of taste or preference.

A few tricks to viewing your own work:

Tricks I learned from general carving:
Look at your work in daylight--outside. Daylight seems give it a better appearance. You can also use a daylight light bulb, but sunlight is usually the best.

Tricks I learned from drawing portraits:

Look at it upside down. You're so used to looking at it right side up, your mind sees it as it wants too--whether good or bad--not as it really is. When you turn it upside down, you will see it from a different perspective.

You can also hold it in front of a mirror. That will also give you a different perspective.

There are other carvers here that have more experience in this area than I do. I would listen to them before you take my advice on the carving criticism. But I have found that by changing my view of the original photo, I can see my mistakes and the areas on a drawing where there is a need for improvement.

Overall, I think you have captured the image in the photo and transferred to the wood rather well.

[David Morrow]

Thanks: Just Carving & Kenny S for the help, I'm still working on the nose, eyes, hair brades and neck line. I just wasn't getting what I wanted and the likeness wasn't comming through. Thanks again for the help. David

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

it looks like the right temple area could be taken down some (the left looking at the carving) If you are going to paint it, you can get a lot of depth with the paint, shadows etc. as for the nose, concentrate on the girls picture (her nose) and on your carving, you will see the difference.......actually draw imaginary grid over the picture and the carving and tackle about an inch at a time comparing the carving to the picture....you will find what you need

[Ashbys]

Dave ,
I am by no ways an expert but I have done a few portraits, and if the picture was your model, I think you have done pretty well. I don't know if the girl is related to you if she is I have found doing someone close to you is always a bit harder than doing someone that is not.
Now, that being said , the right eye looking at the picture, you have raised the eyebrow which elevated the nose bridge away from the eye, this in turn lowered the forhead bringing the hair line closer to the brow. You turned the angle of the right eye forward giving the impression that the eye is smaller, yet the eye itself is almost perfect. The line under the eye was shorten and almost too close to the eye it should be slightly down on the cheek more.
The left side of the face was slightly elongated so the cheek line is a bit to flat, so the chin area became a bit too pointed . The nose need to be slight buttoned a bit more and the left cheek needs to be a bit more undercut.

That said, I think I would try to blend the left cheek area a bit more rounding the face a bit more on the left side,even if I removed a bit of the chin. Then on the right side cut back the temple eye area to slight elongate the eye the eye brow needs to almost touch the edge of the carving.

The effect your seeing is almost like a skew, effect. Where you lost the plane line of the face angle and parts of it on on the orginial plane and part is on a new plane more to a frontal view.

It does have the likeness of the girl and is a good carving, and I am not an expert. Just my opinion since you asked.

Ash

[David Morrow]

Thanks Ash & Hi Ho Sliver! I'm heading back out to my shed and try to work on these areas that everyone has suggested. Thanks again David

[Claude]

Dave:
You might consider lowering the relief of the chin a bit - give her a bit more of a receding chin. If you compare the shadows under the chin of the carving and the photo, it appears to me as if the chin is sticking out too far in the carving...

Other than that picky remark, it's an excellent carving!

Claude

[wade clark]

David,
Great carving! And what a sweet little girl! Take your time and you'll have it perect! If it takes a few more months you can work on anything else for a day or two, but don't rush this one!
Wade

[David Morrow]

Thanks Wade & Claude for the help, and I started to push back the chin and round the face a little allready, Thanks again. David