Santa Oranment (carving eyes)

[Mark Gargac]

7 of 7,This is the last of 7 total threads that have been posted on this subject (see WCI Tutorials for previous posts) Pix. #1) pencil is pointing to the results of the last cut made in thread #6. Pix.#2 taking a #7/6mm palm gouge I am putting a stop cut in for the bag under the eye, slide this cut around from the outside corner to the inside of the eye , then make your removal cuts to form the bag. Pix.#3 Overview of the finished eyes. I still have some texturing to carve in for the beard and some light sanding before applying any finish to the ornament. Thanks for looking, and I hope all who looked, liked seeing some of my techniques on carving eyes on a smaller scale. Pix.#4 & 5) Finished carving.

[Irishman]

Great carving Mark. Your carvings always have so much character. Thanks for the tips on the eyes.
Patrick

[Mark N. Akers]

Mark:
Fantastic carving,thanks for your instructional on doing eyes.

[Blake Lunsford]

Mark,

Great tutorial! Can you talk more about the bags under the eyes, the wrinkles around the eyes, and the eye lids?

Blake

[Mark Gargac]

Originally Posted by vacaricature carver

Mark,

Great tutorial! Can you talk more about the bags under the eyes, the wrinkles around the eyes, and the eye lids?

Blake

Blake, The bags under the eyes are first cut in with the #7/6mm gouge to form the mass, I am using the shape of the tool to form the bags, then to add detail taking a micro gouge, 3mm , making a few passes with the tool from inside corner to the outside corner or vice versa, and carve on top of the bags to create the wrinkles, to add more depth, take a small V-tool into the gouge cuts.
For the eyelids, I am doing the same as for the bags, except here just making one pass with the tool just slightly above the eye, and then cutting in with the V-tool for more definition.

[slivers&dust]

Mark, your carvings are awesome and I look forward to all your post and techniques.
Your carvings all look SO clean and the cuts are SO smooth. I especially like the combination of smooth areas and the "carved look" areas.

What do you do after the carving is done to get it to look so....finished? white and clean...I guess is what i'm try to say?

[Mark Gargac]

Originally Posted by slivers&dust

Mark, your carvings are awesome and I look forward to all your post and techniques.
Your carvings all look SO clean and the cuts are SO smooth. I especially like the combination of smooth areas and the "carved look" areas.

What do you do after the carving is done to get it to look so....finished? white and clean...I guess is what i'm try to say?

Tony, Thanks for the compliment, like any woodcarver, I like carving the best wood I can find. I buy most of my wood when I go to carving shows, this way I can pick through and get the pieces I like, see what I am buying first hand, and save on any shipping costs. The last carving show I attended I bought over $300.00 in basswood and butternut of various sizes. When picking out basswood, I like looking for the whitest, and the tightest grain I can find. Also I keep my carving tools super sharp, use the largest tool possible for the area being carved, and carve in all reference lines for blocking out before adding any detail to the carving. When the carving is finished, I lightly sand the entire carving with 320 grit sandpaper to mellow the piece out some, then on the face and the face only, I use 400 grit sandpaper to where the wood will actually take on a polished look. Then a clean brush is used to brush off any grit left from the sandpaper before applying any additional finish

[Tom-H]

Mark, Excellent! Just the series of photos that I need. I am seriously thinking about going out to the shop and giving it a try, instead of spending time at the turkey table. Well maybe this evening. Thanks so much for sharing your techniques. Tom H

[Bandaid]

Great job on the tutorial Mark! Very neat little carving. I like your use of bold cuts on the piece, particularly the beard.

Reg

[slivers&dust]

excellent, thanks for the extra tips Mark