With the sides of the nose separated from the cheek area of your wood spirit carving, we can work on shaping the eye brow ridge, cheeks, nostrils, and forehead. So, Join me, Lora Irish, carving book author and carving pattern maker, as we work through the wood carving steps to free the cheek area of the Wood Spirit face from the nose and eye planes.
The sixth chapter in Lora Irish’s
Great Book of Free Carving Projects and Patterns Series –
“Wood Spirit Carving”- Steps 9 through 10.
Step 9
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| During this session we will begin to shape the individual areas of the face – the brow ridge, the cheeks, the nostrils, and the forehead area. Let’s do a quick check of where we are in this wood spirit carving. |  |
| Use a stop cut to free the top of the forehead from the hat or hair line area. Make a second cut, at a slight angle pointed towards the hat line, to free a wedge-shaped chip. |  |
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| Take a moment and place your open hand along the front line of your face, the center of the palm should be at the ball of the nose. Notice how the fingers of your hand slant away from the nose. This is because the forehead slants away from the brow ridge.Using your bench knife, cut the excess from the corner of the block to begin the slant of the forehead. Cut towards the stop cut just made. |  |
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| We have already cut a line for the top of the upper eye lid. Using the bench knife cut a triangle wedge from that shelf that will become the upper eye lid area. |  |
Step 10
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| Using a pencil, mark a line for the center crease of the brow ridge – directly above the nose bridge, and for the nostrils. The nostrils lie approximately 1/3 of the way up the nose from the mustache area.Cut a two-stroke wedge for the nostrils, using the pencil line at the center line of the wedge.Cut a two-stroke wedge for the center crease of the forehead. |  |
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| At this point we have worked all of the original guidelines that set the planes of the face. Even though our Wood Spirit is in a very rough stage, you can clearly see how the eyes set below the nose bridge, how the brow ridge overhangs the upper eyelid, and how the cheeks are shaped and drop from the lower eye to the bottom of the nose. |  |
| All we have cut so far are flat, angled planes. Yet, we have a very distinct face in the wood. These planes are the basic cuts to any wood spirit and how you mark those initial guidelines determine the size and shape of each feature. |  |
Fun
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Wood Spirit Carving, Free Project by Lora Irish 1 Introduction and Supply List 2 Walking Stick Preparation 3 Exploring the Human Face 4 Planes of the Human Face 5 Carve The Human Face 6 Shaping the Facial Features 7 Sloping the Sides of the Face 8 Rough Cutting the Features 9 Carving the Eyes 10 Detailing the Eyes 11 Shaping the Features 12 Defining the Cheek and Nose 13 Working the Facial Hair 14 Refining the Face Shape 15 Carving the Wrinkles 16 Trimming the Beard 17 Review of the Techniques |
